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MIGNON . Here is the story of Mignon as I remember having read it in a famous old book . A young man named Wilhelm was staying at an inn in the city . One day as he was going up - stairs he met a little girl coming down . He would have taken her for a boy , if it had not been for the long curls of black hair wound about her head . As she ran by , he caught her in his arms and asked her to whom she belonged . He felt sure that she must be one of the ropedancers who had just come to the inn . She gave him a sharp , dark look , slipped out of his arms , and ran away without speaking . The next time he saw her , Wilhelm spoke to her again . " Do not be afraid of me , little one , " he said kindly . " What is your name ? " " They call me Mignon , " said the child . " How old are you ? " he asked . " No one has counted , " the child answered . Wilhelm went on ; but he could not help wondering about the child , and thinking of her dark eyes and strange ways . One day not long after that , there was a great outcry among the crowd that was watching the ropedancers . Wilhelm went down to find out what was the matter . He saw that the master of the dancers was beating little Mignon with a stick . He ran and held the man by the collar . " Let the child alone ! " he cried . " If you touch her again , one of us shall never leave this spot . " The man tried to get loose ; but Wilhelm held him fast . The child crept away , and hid herself in the crowd . " Pay me what her clothes cost , " cried the ropedancer at last , " and you may take her . " As soon as all was quiet , Wilhelm went to look for Mignon ; for she now belonged to him . But he could not find her , and it was not until the ropedancers had left the town that she came to him . " Where have you been ? " asked Wilhelm in his kindest tones ; but the child did not speak . " You are to live with me now , and you must be a good child , " he said . " I will try , " said Mignon gently . From that time she tried to do all that she could for Wilhelm and his friends . She would let no one wait on him but herself . She was often seen going to a basin of water to wash from her face the paint with which the ropedancers had reddened her cheeks : indeed , she nearly rubbed off the skin in trying to wash away its fine brown tint , which she thought was some deep dye . Mignon grew more lovely every day . She never walked up and down the stairs , but jumped . She would spring along by the railing , and before you knew it , would be sitting quietly above on the landing . To each one she would speak in a different way . To Wilhelm it was with her arms crossed upon her breast . Often for a whole day she would not say one word , and yet in waiting upon Wilhelm she never tired . One night he came home very weary and sad . Mignon was waiting for him . She carried the light before him up - stairs . She set the light down upon the table , and in a little while she asked him if she might dance . " It might ease your heart a little , " she said . Wilhelm , to please her , told her that she might .
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