A Little Princess (1986) s01e03 Episode Script

1
(dramatic music)
(gentle music)
- [Becky] Miss! Miss!
Time to get up, miss.
- It's real.
Thought it was a horrible dream.
(gentle solemn music)
- You're late Sara.
- I'm sorry, Miss Minchin.
- Don't let it occur again.
And in future, you will
address me as ma'am.
(Lavinia laughs)
Well?
- Yes ma'am.
- Now, you will begin your duties
by helping with the younger children.
See that they behave and
do not waste their food.
Lottie has already upset
her milk. (tutting)
- Yes, ma'am.
- Come along everyone.
Get on.
- Is it true, Mama?
Are you really poor now?
- Yes, Lottie.
- As poor as the beggar?
- No, beggars have nowhere to live.
At least I have a room of my own.
- A new room?
- Yes.
- Is it nice? Can I come and see it?
- I don't think that
would be a very good idea.
- Why not?
- Miss Minchin wouldn't approve.
- She can't stop me, you're my Mama.
- No, Lottie, not anymore.
You don't really want a poor mama, do you?
- I wouldn't mind, but
I don't like your dress.
- Ermengarde.
- Neither do I.
- Why do you wear it then?
- Don't ask so many questions.
Get on with your breakfast.
- You will no longer associate
with the other pupils.
When you are not helping
the younger children with their revision
you will lead a separate life,
one more suited to your
changed circumstances.
Is that clear?
- Yes, ma'am.
- And you will not behave
like an ill-used heroine.
I do not want my girls
writing to their parents
that you have been badly treated
because you're not being badly treated.
I have given you a home and
that is a great deal more
than you have any right to expect.
(bell ringing)
Come.
During the rest of the day,
you will be at cook's disposal.
In the evening, when you have finished
your household duties,
quietly in the corridor,
You may concentrate on your education.
Take whatever books you require
and study them in the privacy of your room
away from the other girls.
Still no word of thanks?
- Thank you, ma'am.
- That's better.
Now go down to the kitchen
and see what cook wants you to do.
(Sara sighs)
(tray rattling)
- Oh.
Well, well, well.
Not much of a princess now are we?
- Sold your tiara have you, love?
Nevermind, if you work hard
you can buy another one next week.
- Don't tease her, Henrietta.
She's just lost her dad.
- So? I lost my dad when I was seven.
And good riddance too, drunken brute.
- Right, you can start
by scrubbing this floor.
Oh, sorry to spoil them
lily-white hands of yours, love,
but now you're a member
of the working classes
you can forget about looking pretty.
Come on. Through here.
Bucket's under the sink.
- Where's the mop?
- The mop?
I didn't say mop the floor, did I?
I said scrub it, with a brush.
That means getting down
on your hands and knees.
- Here, I'll fill it for ya.
- No you won't, let her do it herself.
She's got to learn sometime.
Right, now put the soap flakes in.
(water pouring)
(laughs) Lord bless us!
You're not in a doll's kitchen now.
Take a proper handful so you
can work up a nice lather.
(water pouring)
(water sploshing)
Right, now, back in there.
Come on, we haven't got all day.
We've got bread to make.
Start here.
(solemn music)
Sara, you blacked them shoes yet?
- [Henrietta] Take that coal bucket
up to Miss Lavinia's room.
- [Cook] You've still that grate
to clean out yet, you know.
Look at the princess, Henrietta.
You ain't half a sight, your highness.
(cook laughing)
- Maria?
- What?
- You don't think cook's driving Sara
a little too hard do you?
- No, I don't.
The sooner the child learns
what's expected of her the better.
- You don't think she's
expecting a little too much?
I mean she is only 11.
- Amelia, do you know how
much Captain Crewe owed us?
With the birthday gifts, the party,
the hire of the pony and carriage,
somewhere in excess of 260 pounds.
- I know but-
- On top of which, I
have received a letter,
a solicitor's letter, informing me
that since I engaged Mariette
I am legally responsible for her wages
till the end of term,
which amount to another 20.
- Yeah, but that is hardly her fault.
- Well, of course, it is.
Shouldn't have had such
ridiculously expensive tastes.
- [Amelia] But it wasn't her,
it was just that her
father indulged her so.
- Exactly, and the sins of the father
shall be visited on the children.
- That is God's prerogative, not ours.
- Amelia, how else are
we to pay off that debt?
- I'm not saying that she shouldn't work
just that the regime should
be a little less harsh.
- Oh, but it will become
a little less harsh
as she grows older.
At the moment she is
merely saving us the wages
of a maid of all work.
In time, as she begins to
teach the older children,
she will save us the
wages of an instructress.
Then, and only then, will her
duties become less arduous.
- [Ermengarde] Sara.
- Yes?
- How are you?
- Well, I haven't had
time to think about it.
How are you?
- I'm very well.
- Good.
- Are you, very unhappy?
- You mean scrubbing floors all day?
Carrying coal buckets up the
stairs, peeling potatoes?
How could I possibly be unhappy?
(somber music)
(rat squeaks)
Hello, mister rat.
Do you know something?
I'm glad to see you.
I never thought I'd be glad to see a rat.
Prisoners in the Bastille used
to make friends with rats.
Why don't I make friends with you?
My name's Sara.
And your name is?
Let's see now.
What shall I call you?
You look like a king rat,
so I shall give you a kingly sort of name.
I know, Melchizedek.
He must've been a kind king
because he gave Abraham
some bread and wine.
Perhaps you're hungry and
thirsty now, Melchizedek.
I'm afraid I haven't got any
wine but I've got some bread.
If you come here I'll share it with you.
(melancholy music)
I see.
So you don't want to talk to me?
So you don't want to be friends after all?
Well, see if I care!
It's no use, Melchizedek, I do care.
- I'm sorry, this must
be very painful for you.
- [Anna] Yes, Colonel Sahib.
- For me to.
Your master wasn't just my
junior officer, he was my friend.
- I know.
- I still don't understand it.
I thought he was a man of means
but it seems he owed
money all over the place.
I had to pay his mess
bill out of my own pocket.
(colonel speaking in a foreign language).
(Anna speaking in a foreign language)
- Who has bought all these things?
- I have no idea.
I had a message from a bank in Delhi.
A gentlemen who wished to remain anonymous
offered to purchase all
the captain's effects.
So they asked me to have them
valued and put into storage.
All except this.
- Kali?
- He wants to take her
back to England with him.
She's to be sent straight
to the docks in Bombay.
- That is very strange.
- What?
- Well, that he should know the captain
possessed such a statue.
- Yes, suggests he's been here doesn't it?
- Very good.
No, Lottie, not (speaking
in a foreign language).
- But you said that feminine
words ended with an E.
- I said most words ending
with an E are feminine,
but some words that don't end
with an E are feminine too.
- I hate French!
- You'll like it when you get used to it.
- I don't think I shall
ever get used to it.
Why can't French people speak English?
- Some of them can.
- Well, then what's the
point of us learning French?
- It's a beautiful language.
- But it's so confusing.
- At first perhaps, but it gets easier.
- How did you learn it?
- My mama was French.
- You mean before she went to heaven?
- Yes.
- That must mean I've
got a French grandmama.
- No, Lottie, I told you,
I'm not your mama anymore.
- I don't mind if you're poor.
And I want to see your new room.
- You wouldn't like it.
- Why not?
- It's right at the top of the house
and it's small and cold and damp.
- But that's the skivvy's room
and I know that you're not a real skivvy.
- Oh, yes, she is, Lottie.
She tried to hide it by wearing
all those expensive clothes
but she was always a
real skivvy underneath.
- Now, where were we? (speaking
in a foreign language)
- The house is big but my room is small.
- And damp and cold.
Ask her to translate that for you, Lottie.
- Or ask her to tell
you one of her stories.
Once upon a time, there
was a little princess,
only she wasn't a real princess,
she was just a beggar girl
who wandered into the palace
by mistake. (laughing)
(gentle solemn music)
- [Market Trader] Buy me apples!
Buy me apples!
(dog barking)
(chicken clucking)
- Penny a bunch, sweet posies.
Five pound for the lady, sir?
What about a nice violet, eh?
(doves cooing)
Sweet posies, penny a bunch.
(somber music)
(wind whistling)
- [Lottie] Hey, Mama.
- Lottie?
What are you doing? You
shouldn't be caught here.
- I wanted to see where you lived.
- Well, now you've seen it.
You better go back downstairs
or I shall get into trouble.
- You're right, it is cold and damp.
- It's not so bad.
There's a nice view from the window.
I was just looking at it.
I can see all sorts of interesting things.
- What sort of things?
- Rooftops, the chimneys, and
smoke curling up into the sky.
Sparrows hopping about
and talking to each other.
Attic windows belonging to other houses.
You couldn't see any of those
things from my other room.
- Can I see?
Will you lift me up so I can see?
- All right, but you
have to be very quiet.
(birds chirping)
- Oh, yes, it is a nice view.
- You see that window?
- Yes.
- That's the attic
belonging to the next house.
- The empty house? The
one that's for sale?
- Yes.
But I pretend that
another girl lives there.
A beautiful French princess.
And her father and mother,
the king and queen,
have just been sent to the guillotine.
- What's that?
- A sort of mechanical ax,
that chops people's heads off.
- Oh. I shouldn't like to be sent there.
- So she's in great danger, we both are
because we're a threat
to the king's enemies.
- You mean you might have
your heads chopped off?
- They might come for us any day now.
But, there's just one hope.
A handsome soldier called D'Artagnan.
He and his Musketeers are
loyal to the Crown, you see.
I know they're making plans to rescue me.
- Look at that bird over there.
I wish I had some crumbs for him.
- I've got some bread.
I was saving it for myself,
but one ought to share
things with visitors.
- Thank you.
He doesn't seem to be hungry.
- Wait. He's just not used to people.
He's wondering whether it's safe.
- Come on, mister sparrow,
don't be frightened.
- There.
Now that he knows we're here
he'll probably come back
with all his friends.
(melancholy music)
(blade scraping)
Thank you.
- Oh, nice of you to
drop in, your highness.
- [Sara] I'm sorry, cook,
the shops were so full.
- Oh, excuses, excuses.
Do you think the mistress
would listen to my excuses
if supper wasn't on time?
All here is it?
- Yes.
- Come on, hold that.
Sugar, tea, sultanas, cheese.
Where's the parsley?
- That wasn't on the list.
- I can't serve boiled
potatoes without parsley.
You'll have to go back
to the greengrocers.
- But it's nearly closing time.
- Then you'll have to get
a move on then, won't ya?
Go on. Off you go.
Go on.
(suspenseful music)
(people laughing)
(horse hooves clopping)
(people chattering)
(banging on door)
(door thudding)
- Oh!
What a sight.
I hope you didn't tell anyone
you was from this establishment.
Fine advertisement, I must say.
Well, don't just stand
there dripping on my floor.
(bell ringing)
Where's the parsley?
- I was too late, they were closed.
(bell ringing)
- Too late?
What'd you do?
Stop to order yourself a
new ballgown I suppose?
Get those upstairs.
All right, you're too
late for supper and all.
- [Sara] But it wasn't my
fault, cook, I ran all the way.
- Look, don't give me
no more of your excuses,
or I'll give you a good hiding.
You're not having any more
supper and that's that!
- Can I have some bread?
- No, you can't!
Didn't they teach you the Bible in India?
To them that hath not shall be taken away.
You hath not the parsley.
Therefore I'm taking away your supper.
Now get out of my kitchen.
Get out!
(somber music)
- Oh, miss, whatever happened?
- Everyone laughed, Becky.
I fell down in the street and
no one tried to help me up.
They just laughed.
- I know, I got knocked over by a cab once
and the toffs inside
thought it was great sport.
- I didn't realize.
- What?
- People could be so cruel.
(somber music continues)
Ermengarde?
- Hello, Sara.
It's all right, I made sure no one saw me.
- What do you want?
- To talk to you.
I've been so miserable.
- You've been miserable?
- You're my only friend and
when I meet you in the passage
you treat me like a stranger.
Don't you like me anymore?
- Skivvies can't afford
likes and dislikes.
They have to keep away from the pupils
in case they contaminate them.
- Oh, don't be so silly.
We don't have to take any
notice of Miss Minchin.
- Don't we?
- No. I'm willing to
take the risk if you are?
- You mean you're willing to
risk being sent to your room
or given some lines to write?
You expect me to risk being
turned out into the street?
- [Ermengarde] So you want
to stop being friends?
- I thought we had stopped.
- That's not the answer.
If you don't want me to
come and see you I won't!
- It's not what I want, Ermengarde,
it's what's best for you.
- For me?
- If Lavinia and Jessie find out
they'll make you even more miserable.
- At least I won't be lonely.
I'd hoped someone in
this place cared for me!
That is if you still care?
- Ermengarde, of course, I care.
It's just that I've seen so
many people change lately.
I thought you might've changed too.
- And I thought it was you who changed.
- I have.
- How?
- I don't trust people anymore.
- You trust me though.
And Emily.
- Emily's not a person.
She never feels anything,
because she hasn't a heart.
And she can't think because
her head's full of sawdust.
She's nothing but a stupid doll.
(gentle downbeat music)