word of the day: bibelot
context: Miss Bianca of the Mouse Prisoners’ Aid Society has come to The Orient (presumably Indian) to rescue a boy condemned to be trampled by elephants. In order to gather information and plot a strategy for the rescue Miss Bianca must first get in with the queen (or ranee). When Miss Bianca is presented to Her Majesty, the genteel mouse sees something that will help charm her new acquaintance.
[Miss Bianca’s] eye had been most fortunately caught by a little bibelot in the shape of a miniature harp standing on a low mother-of-pearl table beside the Ranee’s sofa-throne. Miss Bianca instantly ran up and struck a few chords. The strings, though of gold wire, responded sweetly to her touch: even though each pedal was a pearl, and thus dreadfully slippery, she managed to control them. First she played ‘Greensleeves’ …
definition (Merriam-Webster): a small household ornament or decorative object
source:
Miss Bianca in the Orient
by Margery Sharp
illustrations by Erik Blegved
1970. Little, Brown, & Co., New York
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