Miss Minchin treats her as a star pupil because she's rich, but secretly she has a serious dislike of the little girl because she's intelligent and independent—and Miss Minchin doesn't like to feel threatened in any way. Sara makes friends with a not-too-bright girl named Ermengarde and takes a little girl named Lottie under her wing. She also befriends a scullery maid named Becky and wows everyone with her impressive grasp of the French language. So far, London is a success.