The doll's house stood in the courtyard and the Burnell children could ask the girls at school, two at a time, to come and look. Not to stay for tea, of course, or to come wandering through the house. But just to stand quietly in the courtyard while Isabel showed them the attractions of the doll's house, and Lottie and Kezia looked pleased. At playtime the girls of her class surrounded Isabel. They nearly fought to walk away with her, to be her special friend. Laughting together, the little girls pressed close to her. And the only two who stayed outside the ring were the two who were always outside, the little Kelveys. The fact was, the school the Burnell children went to was not the kind of place their parents would have chosen if there had been a choice. But it was the only school for miles. And the result was that all the children of the neighbourhood, the judge's little girls, the doctor's daughters,the shopkeeper's children, the milkman's were forced to mix together. There was am equal number of rough little boys as well. But some children could never become friends; there was a limit. The line was drawn at the Kelveys. Many of the children, including the Burnells, were not allowed even to speak to them. They walked past the Kelveys with their heads in the air, and as the other children always copied what the Burnells did, the Kelveys were avoided by everybody. Even the teacher had a special voice for them, and a special smile for the other children when Lil Kelvey came up to her desk with a bunch of cheap-looking flowers.They were the daughters of a hard-working little washerwoman, who went from house to house. This was bad enough. But where was Mr Kelvey? Nobody knew. But everybody said he was in prison. Vere nice company for other people's children! And they looked it! Why Mrs Kelvey made them wear such strange clothes was hard to understand. The truth was they were dressed in 'bits' given to her by the people for whom she worked. Her (Lil's) hat, resting on top of her high forehead, was a grown-up woman's hat, once the property of Miss Lecky, the postmistress. It was turned up at the back. It was impossible not to laugh.And her little sister, Else, wore a long white dress, rather like a nightdress, and a pair of little boy's boots. But whatever Else wore, she would have looked strange. She was a very small child, with short hair and big, sad eyes. She went through life holding on to Lil went, Else followed. In the playground, on the road going to and from school, there was Lil marching in front and Else holding on behind. Only when she wanted anything, or when she was out of breath, Else gave Lil a pull, and Lil stopped. Переведите ​

Zhanna278    3   18.04.2021 11:47    1