Mrs. Pringle of Fairacre (19 page)

That last skirmish with Mrs Pringle happened an hour ago, and I shall not dwell on it. She has not changed over the years, and is not likely to now.

Outside the snow still falls. The playground, which Bob Willet cleared so recently, is white again, and the sky looks menacing. But here, in the school house, all is snug and quiet. The fire crackles, Tibby purrs, and soon I shall make some tea. The Christmas holidays lie ahead, and what a comforting thought that is!

Meanwhile, I must stir myself to wrap up a box of chocolates, my annual present to Mrs Pringle.

After all, this is the season of peace and goodwill.

M
ISS
R
EAD
is the pen name of Mrs. Dora Saint, who was born on April 17, 1913. A teacher by profession, she began writing for several journals after World War II and worked as a scriptwriter for the BBC. She is the author of many immensely popular books, but she is especially beloved for her novels of English rural life set in the fictional villages of Fairacre and Thrush Green. The first of these,
Village School,
was published in 1955 by Michael Joseph Ltd. in England and by Houghton Mifflin in the United States. Miss Read continued to write until her retirement in 1996. In 1998 she was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for her services to literature. She lives in Berkshire.