Original subtitles

[Train whistles]

Dom Pedro, would you give us a statement?

Will you tell us how long it'll be?

Just a word, it'll only take a moment.

We'd appreciate it very much...

Shh, wait up. Please. Please, Gentlemen.

I demand a little privacy.

Please, thank you, Señores.

Fuera, fuera, por favor.

Thank you. You stay, O'Kelly.

I hate to be like this with American correspondents,

but is it so difficult to understand

that all I want is to be Dom Pedro,

a private citizen?

I understand,

and I'm sure President Grant sympathizes,

but you happen to be the Emperor of Brazil.

You're a guest of our country, and if anything should happen to you,

we'd never forgive ourselves.

What could possibly happen to me?

Is there someone waiting out there on the tree,

ready to assassinate me?

No.

[Sighs]

What a beautiful country, this is.

Just magnificent.

Those are the foothills of the sierras.

You're now in California.

So much to see and to absorb.

And what am I doing?

I give interviews,

I attend receptions, I make speeches,

I listen to speeches.

What I really to do is to steal away,

meet people, and just be another tourist.

Let me go out and talk to the correspondents.

Perhaps we can arrange for a little more privacy.

Till San Francisco, and another official reception.

Thank you, O'Kelly.

[Train whistle blowing]

♪♪

Howdy, folks. I'm the Old Ranger.

They called Dom Pedro, "The Magnanimous,"

and he was that kind of a man.

Real friendly.

But he was more interested in the simple people

than all that pomp and ceremony.

He sure met the folks the way he wanted

when he missed his train in California

and would have given...

Yowee!

[Girl] Seize him!

Santa madre!

In heaven's name. Give up?

Release the prisoner.

[Boy] Give up?

Tommy, you heard me. Release the prisoner.

On your knees, slave.

You.

Bow to the Princess.

Pequeña hermosa, you are a Princess?

Of course I am.

He talks funny.

Your humble servant.

Rise, slave.

Speak your name.

I, too, am of noble birth, Princess.

I am Dom Pedro,

The Emperor of Brazil.

The Emperor of Brazil.

He don't look like no Emperor to me.

Young man, I am in complete accord with you.

At the moment, I am just a weary traveler

who would give his kingdom for a horse.

Would you be kind enough to tell me exactly where I am?

This is the kingdom of Becky Mitchell.

That's me.

That there's my brother, Tommy.

What can I do for you, Emperor?

I need a little help, Princess.

What can a Princess do for an Emperor?

It is very important that I get to the nearest town.

You see, I missed my train.

I'm on my way to San Francisco.

Fancy that, a train!

San Francisco.

I've never traveled anywhere like that.

I wish I'd go to cape horn, some day,

but it's about 50 miles from here.

If you want something, you believe in it.

You keep believing in it until it happens.

Look at the little acorn.

It dreams of becoming a tall, beautiful tree,

proud,

and one day, it does.

Come on, Becky, we gotta get home.

Could I speak with your father?

I would like to borrow a horse from him,

or buy one.

We ain't got a pa, just Ma.

I'm sorry.

Perhaps I could speak with the queen mother.

Queen Mother?

Your, uh--

your "Ma."

I'll take you to my castle.

Uh, Princess?

Would you kindly remove your little feet from my coat?

That's where we live,

me, and Tommy, and Ma.

I mean, The Queen Mother.

Ma! Ma!

We got a visitor.

How do you do, Señora?

I am very happy to meet the mother of Becky and Tommy.

What's the meaning of this, Becky?

Me and Tommy, we captured ourselves a slave,

but he really isn't a slave.

He's an Emperor of a far-away kingdom

called bra...

Brazil, my little Princess,

Emperor? Brazil?

Enough of this foolishness, Becky.

Tommy, get over here behind me.

Come on.

[Becky] But, Ma!

[Mrs. Mitchell] You heard me, Becky.

My Dear Madam.

None of your smooth talk, Mister.

Just speak your piece.

Well, Mrs. Mitchell,

I was on a train.

At a stop, I made a mistake.

I got off to look at the countryside,

and the train went away without me.

The Emperor's going to San Francisco, Ma.

Well, I bet they waiting for him there.

Yes, as a matter of fact, they are.

Oh, sure. Sure.

Please believe me, Mrs. Mitchell.

I believe what I see, Mister.

Well, I can understand your attitude,

a defenseless woman,

alone in a wild country.

[Gun cocks] Not so defenseless.

My apologies.

Now, you get moving before I fill you with buckshot.

Um, I could pay you a lot of money for that horse.

That's the only one I got, mister.

Oh, I forgot I, um,

left my money on the train.

Your lies are past all shame.

Perhaps, uh--

perhaps you could use this?

Wow.

No law-abiding man would be carrying a ring like that around the country.

Now, you get over there. You get in that barn.

Now, you get.

Git!

Madam, I'll "git."

Tommy, give me your knife.

You close that door.

I'll help you, Tommy.

Now, you lock it.

Please, Ma,

you can't lock up an Emperor.

Can't say I didn't warn you, Becky Mitchell.

Now, Tommy, you ride into town, and you get the Sheriff.

Now, come on. Come on, Becky.

Now, Becky, you hold Ma's gun,

and Tommy's knife.

Come on, now. One, two, three, jump.

Got it?

Good.

Now, you be sure and tell the Sheriff to get here soon,

and you ride careful.

He don't mean us no harm, Ma.

Oh, Becky, when are you gonna stop

living in a world that ain't?

Now, listen to your Ma, Becky.

Folks like us don't never meet princesses...

Or emperors.

Not ever, Ma?

Not never, Becky.

[Footfalls]

Are you all right, your Majesty?

Yes, I'm all right, Princess?

Tell me, what are you doing up there?

I thought you might be hungry.

It's only a piece of bread.

My Ma bakes it herself.

Oh, she did?

Hm, homemade bread, huh?

Delicious.

Thank you.

Does your mother know about this?

Ma's been sticking as close as a tick on a hound dog,

but she don't know about my secret passage.

Where my army brings in prisoners.

I can look down on them from here without being seen.

So, you look down at me, your prisoner.

You're not a prisoner.

You're my friend.

You just met me.

How do you know I am your friend?

I can just feel it.

Oh,

you can?

Tell me, Emperor, what's your palace look like?

Oh, very big.

What color? Pink.

Pink's a right pretty color for a palace.

Mm-hm.

There's a picture of a palace in the book my pa gave me.

On the shelf over there.

Oh?

The red one.

This one?

You found a picture of my palace?

I found something much nicer than that.

Your father's inscription.

My Pa and me,

we used to make up our own stories.

Ma thinks I'm just silly.

Kind of like having a palace.

She can't see nothing pretty.

Not even the flowers I give her from the fields.

She says I'm wasting time.

I can't never remember seeing Ma smile.

[Mrs. Mitchell] Come on, Becky!

I gotta go!

I unbolted the door.

When Ma gets in the house,

get going before the Sheriff gets here.

I appreciate your thoughtfulness, Princess.

Goodbye.

Bye.

[Sheriff] Howdy, Ms. Mitchell.

Howdy.

I under you've been having trouble out here.

Where's he?

Locked in the barn.

He was locked in the barn.

All right, you.

Oh, hello.

It was little stuffy in here.

I thought you were never coming.

Just who are you?

I am Dom Pedro,

the Emperor of Brazil.

[Sheriff] All right, that's enough of that.

Come on, get moving. I'm taking you in.

Exactly what I want.

Thank you, Princess.

You have been very kind.

Goodbye,

your majesty.

We shall meet again.

No, a gentleman bows, like this.

But a lady-- a lady curtsies, like this.

You try it.

Like this?

No, no, no. You hold your skirt,

like this, with the fingertips.

Now, very daintily,

we do it together.

You will never be alone, Princess.

You will always be accompanied by your own beautiful thoughts.

[Sheriff] All right, let's go.

Right down the road, there.

Guess what we're having for supper tonight?

Your favorite dish, spring beans and pork chops.

Becky?

Look at me.

Well, folks say you've got the prettiest little smile

in these here parts.

Where is it?

Oh, honey.

Oh, it hurts me to see you fret like this,

but life just ain't like the pictures

in that there fairy book, Becky, life is different.

If only I could make you understand.

Now, you look at your hand.

It's smooth and soft, not rough and ugly, like mine.

Mine used to look like yours, oh, so long ago,

but living made it this way. Just living.

Now, there's a time for dreaming,

and there's a time for living, and you're growing up, child,

and you gotta start thinking like a grown-up.

Dreaming is for babies and fools.

Honey, I don't want to see you hurt,

you ain't never gonna have no castle, Becky.

And you gotta quit making believe your a Princess.

Aw, I should have taken that book away from you

a long time ago.

If you want something, you gotta believe in it...

And just keep believing,

and then, one day, it happens,

just like a little old acorn.

And you watch, one day, I will get to cape horn, too.

[Sobbing]

[Sheriff] Whoa, boy. All right.

Howdy Miss Mitchell, Becky, Tommy.

Sorry to bother you folks, but I need you in town.

In town?

Well, that fella you turned in.

I was just doing my duty, Sheriff.

That you did, but now I need you and Becky

for identification purposes.

I'd rather not, Sheriff.

Now, Ms. Mitchell, you know, if you're gonna collect that reward,

you gotta identify him.

I knew he was wanted some place.

I just knew he was a bad one.

Might say, he was a big one.

Tommy, you stay here and mind the place.

Aw, gee, mom!

Well, now, you sure you want Tommy to Miss the excitement?

He has his chores, Sheriff.

Tommy, unhitch your horse.

We'll get our wraps.

Well, things are humming.

People can always smell trouble.

We'll stop here for a minute.

The jail's on the other side of the square, ain't it?

♪♪ [Band playing]

What's the band playing for?

It isn't every day we have a friend

of President Grant in town.

[Cheering]

It's him.

Ma! Ma, it's him!

It's him, all right.

Yes, Ma'am, it sure surprised me when he turned out to be

the real Emperor of Brazil.

It's true.

I knew it, it's true!

All the folderol, the music,

the parade, it's for you, Miss Becky.

The Emperor, requested it for you.

How do you, Mrs. Mitchell.

We meet again.

[Dom Pedro] My pleasure.

Uh, Princess?

Would you honor me by accompanying me

in my carriage for the remainder of the parade?

You bet!

It's my honor, your Majesty.

May I also have the pleasure of the Queen Mother's company?

Of course.

Ma, you look so pretty smiling.

Princess?

For you.

Wow.

It happened in old California,

and the date was April 25th, 1876.

For Fern and Becky Mitchell,

it was Christmas come in spring.

They exchanged the gift of love.

It might never have happened

if Dom Pedro, the Emperor of Brazil,

hadn't missed his train.