Life at Miss Minchin's school offered Sara many chances to take easy dishonest shortcuts.
She could have stolen food from the kitchen on the nights when she was starving.
She could have spread rumors about Miss Minchin to make herself feel better.
She could have said cruel things to Lavinia who was so often unkind to her.
But Sara refused every one of these easy paths without any hesitation at all.
She believed that what she chose to do was more important than what was done to her.
Her behavior was her own and she guarded it carefully no matter how difficult things became.
She kept her integrity.