E. Nesbit

“ Where's the other child?"
"Gone to bed," said the witch-nurse shortly.
"Te-he!" chuckled the Mouldiwarp. "Some people's too clever by half. Think of you not having found that out, and you a witch too. Te-he!"
And all the time the soldiers were hammering away like mad at the front door.
Elfrida caught the Mouldiwarp and the nurse caught Edred's hand, and the four raced up the stairs to the very top landing, where there was a little window at the very end. The air was keen and cold. The window opened difficultly, and when it was opened the air was much colder than before. ”

“ But before they had time to begin to understand how cold it was, and how comfortable they were likely to be for the rest of the night, six swans' heads appeared at the window and said something.
"Oh," said Elfrida, "I do wish we'd learned Swanish instead of French at school!"
But it did not matter. The next moment the swans' heads ducked and reappeared, holding in their beaks the soft, fluffy, white rugs that had kept the children so warm in the snow-carriage. The swans pushed the rugs through the window with their strong, white wings, and made some more remarks in swan language. ”

“ There was very little time in which to get even with any one, and, of course, getting even with people is not really at all a proper thing to do. Yet Edred did it.
Edred had got Elfrida out of the Tower just as Lady Nithsdale got her lord out, and now he and she and Cousin Richard were at Arden House, in Soho, and the old nurse, who was also, astonishingly, the old witch, had said that there was no time to be lost. ”

“ And again the Brownie clicked.
"And we'll make the castle like it is now," said Elfrida. "Come on; let's photograph it."
So they went back, and they photographed the castle. They photographed it from the north and the south and the east and the west, and the north-east and the south-east, and the north-north-west—and all the rest of the points of the compass that I could easily tell you if I liked; but why be wearisome and instructive? ”

“ They were walking beside it, and it ran swiftly—looking like a steel-grey ribbon on the green cloth of the field—and half-way across the field it did stop short; there wasn't any more of it—as though the ribbon had been snipped off by a giant pair of scissors, and the rest of it rolled up and put by safely somewhere out of the way.
"My hat!" said Edred; "it does stop short, and no mistake." Curiosity pricked him, and he started running. They both ran. ”

“ You'd better get off while you can—while you can." A quite violent ruffling of the fur round the neck of her coat said, as plain as it could speak, "Don't stop to jaw. Go now—now—now!"
When you say a lady is a "true daughter of Eve" you mean that she is inquisitive. Elfrida was enough Eve's daughter to scurry to the window and look out. ”