Theatre Shoes (34 page)

Such a lot of talking went on. Luckily, their father had been able to gossip to Uncle Mose on the train or he would never have sorted out the jumble about “The Babes in the Wood,” Wilton House, the dame in the pantomime and the Fossils; but as he knew it already, he was able to sit on the bed amongst them and tell them with absolute truth that he was proud of them all and thought every arrangement was splendid. He told them a little about himself, how he had been wounded and hidden in a native's hut, and finally escaped across India, and how they were meant to have had a cable and he did not know why they had not.

While their father was talking, Hannah and Alice went away. Uncle Mose was following when he popped his head back through the door.

“See you to-night, everybody. What's the betting this is the best Christmas night this house has ever had?”

About the Author

Noel Streatfeild (1895–1986) was born in Sussex. Her father, a clergyman, was vicar of St. Leonards-on-Sea and then of Eastbourne during her childhood. She was one of five children and found vicarage life very restricting. At a young age, Streatfeild began to show a talent for acting and was sent to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, after which she acted professionally for a number of years before turning to writing. After working through the blitz of the Second World War, Noel devoted herself to the field of children's literature. She won the Carnegie Medal for her book
Ballet Shoes
, and was awarded an OBE in 1983. A vicarage daughter, factory girl, actress, model, social worker, writer, and crusader for good books, Streatfeild led a full life. Her experiences enriched her stories, which were so popular that, by her eightieth birthday, she had earned herself the title of a “national monument.”

All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 1944 by Noel Streatfeild

Cover design by Connie Gabbert

ISBN: 978-1-5040-2104-3

This edition published in 2015 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

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New York, NY 10014

www.openroadmedia.com

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