noon
She was hungry , -- seriously , distressingly hungry . She had been too happy to eat the day before ! Though she had sipped and tasted many delicious beverages and viands , which the Prince had pressed upon her , she had not taken any substantial food , and now she began to feel faint for the want of it . As noon drew near , -- the time at which she was accustomed in her father 's house to eat dinner , -- the pangs of her hunger grew unbearable . `` I ca n't bear it another minute , '' she said to herself . `` I must , and I will , have something to eat ! I will slip down by some back way to the kitchen .