The Canterville Ghost

Miss Virginia E. Otis was a little girl of fifteen. She was slim and fit and lovely as a baby deer, and she had lovely large blue eyes. She was very fond of sport. Once she had a race against old Lord Bilton on her pony twice round Hyde park, and she won by several yards when the race finished just in front of the Achilles statue. The young Duke of Cheshire thought she was really delightful and he immediately proposed to her. Because of this his guardians sent him back to Eton that same night even though he was very upset about going.

After Virginia there were the twins, who were usually called The Stars and Stripes, because they were often on the end of a stick (when their father beat them for being naughty).They were delightful boys, and like their father, the Ambassador, they were not impressed by people just because they were aristocrats.

Canterville Chase is seven miles from Ascot, which is the nearest railway station, Mr. Otis had telegraphed for a waggonette to meet them. Everyone was in a good mood as they started on their journey to their new home. It was a lovely July evening, and the air had the lovely smell of the pine trees in the woods. Sometimes they heard the voices of the birds calling softly, or saw, deep in the ferns, the shining feathers of a pheasant.

Vocabulary:

Slim: Thin in a good way.
Pony: A small horse.
Hyde park: A park in London.
Achilles statue: A statue in Hyde park.
Duke: A high English aristocrat.
Proposed: Here it means he asked her to marry him.
Guardians: People who look after a young person who has no parents.
Eton: A famous boys' school.
The Stars and Stripes: The United States flag.
Telegraph: An early form of e-mail.
Wagonette: A vehicle pulled by a horse.
Fern: A kind of plant
Pheasant: A kind of bird