Theresa, Who Was Not Afraid of Change

Theresa, usually a happy little girl, had been feeling blue. Even today, after coming home from school, she threw her backpack angrily on the floor.

“Theresa, what happened?” asked her mother.

The little girl was quiet, then said: “Mummy, I’ll be in a new class next week, right?”

Her mother immediately understood what was bothering her daughter. Theresa liked to learn languages, so they’d agreed that she’d transfer to a language class. But it meant big changes.

“I won’t know anyone there,” cried the little girl. The thought of a new class and losing friends was scary.

Theresa’s mother smiled at her. “You may not know it, but I know of another Theresa who also spoke many languages. She, too, experienced a lot of changes. And not only was she not afraid of them, she even invented some of them herself.”

Theresa didn’t think it was true. How could anyone like changes, especially scary ones?

Her mother went to the kitchen briefly, then sat down on the sofa with mugs of hot tea. She patted for Theresa to join her and began to talk:

“The year was 1717 when little Theresa was born. Back then, it wasn’t at all usual for any girls to go to school - many boys didn’t go, either. Ordinary people could not afford to study, so instead of going to school, they took their children with them to work in the fields. But Theresa was no ordinary girl. She was a princess.

Her dad was a powerful ruler - the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. He ruled many countries, and so Theresa learned Latin, French, German, Italian, Hungarian and Spanish. She also took classes in history and religion, drawing, dance and music. She went to church every…