If the recipe for a successful drama is to balance these with moments of despair, then Princess Sarah succeeds in spades. Here are some of the many examples:
- Sarah "adopting" Lottie, the youngest child at Miss Minchin's Seminary, who has lost her mother.
- Sarah and her father taking Peter on as her carriage driver, after his father was injured and unable to come to work.
- Sarah comforting and befriending Becky, and pleading for her to not be punished after she had accidentally spilt a tureen of soup.
- Becky making Sarah a pincushion for her birthday — out of the precious shawl her grandmother had given her when she came to the city to work.
- Sarah saving Ermengarde from her classmates' taunts, and later saving her from a beating by Miss Minchin.
- Peter rushing to Sarah's defence when her belongings are taken away, and helping her with her shopping and other errands.
- Lottie climbing up to the attic alone, despite being terrified, just to see "Mamma Sarah".
- Peter helping Sarah send a letter to Bombay, to find out the truth about her father's death.
- Sarah's French teacher, Monsieur Dufarge, who encourages her to keep hope, and stands up to Miss Minchin over her treatment of Sarah.
- Ermengarde nursing Sarah when she falls seriously ill, and Becky's midnight journey to get medicine for her from Ermengarde's Aunt Eliza.
- Lottie — and eventually all the students — standing up to Lavinia when she wants to take Sarah's doll, Emily, away from her.
- Later, after Lavinia nearly hits Sarah with her chalk slate, causing the slate to fly into a glass window and break it, Lavinia tells Miss Minchin a tall tale about how the whole thing happened, and Lottie interrupts angrily to tell Miss Minchin the truth. It doesn't do any good as the headmistress believes Lavinia's story anyway, but it's still gratifying to watch Lottie stick up for her Mama Sarah.
- Sarah finding a fourpenny piece, buying herself buns from a kindly baker — and then giving all but one of them to a younger child who is even worse off than she is.
- Becky is sent home for summer vacation, and her interactions we see with her family are very sweet, from giving her siblings some candy to helping her mom with dinner. It's clear despite their poverty, they all love each other.
- A kindly dressmaker (the same one who sold Sarah her doll, Emily) helping her out when she is in trouble due to Lavinia.
- The "Magic" — Sarah and Becky mysteriously receiving food, warm clothing and blankets from an anonymous benefactor when they are at their lowest ebb.
- The episode in which Amelia Minchin hurts her back in a fall, and Sarah looks after her — in which we also learn why Miss Minchin is the way she is.
- Peter taking Sarah in when she is cast out of the Seminary — despite his father being unemployed and his mother seriously ill, they not only offer her shelter but help her find work.
- Donald Carmichael's kindness towards Sarah, including his gift of sixpence, as well as buying matches from her when he sees her out in the cold.
- Sarah's letter to her mysterious benefactor, who turns out to be her father's friend, Mr. Carrisford. In a touching scene, we see him read the letter and hear Sarah's voice speaking the words she has written.
- The end of the penultimate episode - in which Becky, believing that she will never see Sarah again, trudges up to her attic in tears... only to find a fire lit in her room, and Mr. Carrisford's servant Ram Dass waiting for her with a letter from Sarah.
- Sarah's reunion with her friends, and their Christmas celebration. Rarely has "Joy to the World" sounded more joyful.
- Even Lavinia caves in and becomes friends with Sarah. Their goodbye to each other is oddly touching, all things considered.
- The end credits during the second half of the series, in which viewer art of Sarah and other characters from the show, along with the names of the artists, was displayed for all of Japan to see.
