Anne of Avonlea

Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Dedication to my former teacher, HattieGordon Smith, in grateful remembrance of her
sympathy and encouragement. Flowers spring toblossom where she walks the careful ways of
duty. Our hard, stiff linesof life with her are flowing curves of
beauty. Wittier, Chapter one.An irate neighbor, a tall, slim

(00:24):
girl half past sixteen with serious grayeyes and hair which her friends called auburn,
had sat down on the broad redsandstone doorstep of a Prince Edward Island
farm house one ripe afternoon in August, firmly resolved to construe so many lines
of Virgil. But in August afternoon, with blue hazes scarfing the harvest slopes,

(00:45):
little winds whispering elfishly in the poplars, and a dancing splendor of red
poppies out flaming against the dark coppiceof young firs in a corner of the
cherry orchard, was fitter for dreamsthan dead languages. The Virgil soon slipped
unheeded to and Anne, her chinpropped on her clasped hands, and her
eyes on the splendid mass of fluffyclouds that were heaping up just over mister

(01:07):
J. A. Harrison's house,like a great white mountain, was far
away in a delicious world, wherea certain school teacher was doing a wonderful
work shaping the destinies of future statesmenand inspiring youthful minds and hearts with high
and lofty ambitions. To be sure, if you came down to harsh facts,
which it must be confessed, Anneseldom did until she had to,

(01:30):
It did not seem likely that therewas much promising material for celebrities in Avonleas
School. But you could never tellwhat might happen if a teacher used her
influence for good. Anne had certainrose tinted ideals of what a teacher might
accomplish if she only went the rightway about it, And she was in
the midst of a delightful scene fortyyears hence, with a famous personage.

(01:52):
Just exactly what he was to befamous for was left in convenient haziness.
But Anne thought it would be rathernice to have him a college president or
Canadian premier, bowing low over herwrinkled hand and assuring her that it was
she who had first kindled his ambition, and that all his success in life
was due to the lessons she hadinstilled so long ago in Avonlea school.

(02:13):
This pleasant vision was shattered by amost unpleasant interruption. A demure little jersey
cow came scuttling down the lane,and five seconds later mister Harrison arrived.
If arrived be not too mild aterm to describe the manner of his eruption
into the yard. He bounced overthe fence without waiting to open the gate,
and angrily confronted astonished Anne, whohad risen to her feet and stood

(02:35):
looking at him in some bewilderment.Mister Harrison was their new right hand neighbor,
and she had never met him before, although she had seen him once
or twice in early April, beforeAnne had come home from Queen's, mister
Robert Bell, whose farm had joinedthe Cuthbert Place on the west, had
sold out and moved to Charlottetown.His farm had been bought by a certain
mister J. A. Harrison,whose name and the fact that he was

(02:58):
a new brunswick Man for all thatwas known about him. But before he
had been a month in Avonlea,he had won the reputation of being an
odd person, a crank Missus RachelLynde said, Missus Rachel was an outspoken
lady. As those of you whomay have already made her acquaintance will remember,
mister Harrison was certainly different from otherpeople, and that is the essential

(03:19):
characteristic of a crank, as everybodyknows. In the first place, he
kept house for himself and had publiclystated that he wanted no fools of women
around his diggings. Feminine Avonlea tookits revenge by the gruesome tales it related
about his housekeeping and cooking. Hehad hired Little John Henry Carter of White
Sands, and John Henry started thestories. For one thing, there was

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never any stated time for meals inthe Harrison establishment. Mister Harrison got a
bite when he felt hungry, andif John Henry were around at the time,
he came in for a share,but if he were not, he
had to wait until mister Harrison's nexthungry spell. John Henry mournfully averred that
he would have starved to death ifit were that he got home on Sundays
and got a good filling up,and that his mother always gave him a

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basket of grub to take back withhim on Monday mornings. As for washing
dishes, mister Harrison never made anypretense of doing it unless a rainy Sunday
came. Then he went to workand washed them all at once in the
rainwater hogshead and left them to draindry again. Mister Harrison was close.
When he was asked to subscribe tothe Reverend mister Allen's salary, he said

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he'd wait and see how many dollarsworth of good he got out of his
preaching. First, he didn't believein buying a pig and a poke.
And when Missus Lynde went to askfor a contribution to missions, and incidentally
to see the inside of the house, he told her there were more heathens
among the old women gossips in Avonleathan anywhere else he knew of, and
he'd cheerfully contribute to a mission forchristianizing them if she'd undertake it. Missus

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Rachel got herself away and said itwas a mercy. Poor Missus Robert Bell
was safe in her grave, forit would have broken her heart to see
the state of her house, inwhich she used to take so much pride.
Why she scrubbed the kitchen floor everysecond day, Missus Lynde told Marilla
Cuthbert indignantly, and if you couldsee it now, I had to hold
up my skirts as I walked acrossit. Finally, mister Harrison kept a

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parrot called Ginger. Nobody in Avonleahad ever kept a parrot before. Consequently,
that proceeding was considered barely respectable,and such a parrot, if you
took John Henry Carter's word for it, never was such an unholy bird,
it swore terribly. Missus Carter wouldhave taken John Henry away at once if
she had been sure she could getanother place for him. Besides, Ginger

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had bitten a piece right out ofthe back of John Henry's neck one day
when he had stooped down too nearthe cage. Missus Carter showed everybody the
mark when the luckless John Henry wenthome on Sundays. All these things flashed
through Anne's mind as mister Harrison stoodquite speechless, with Roth apparently before her
in his most amiable mood. MisterHarrison could not have been considered a handsome

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man. He was short and fatand bald, and now with his round
face purple with rage, and hisprominent blue eyes almost sticking out of his
head. Anne thought he was reallythe ugliest person she had ever seen.
All at once, mister Harrison foundhis voice. I'm not going to put
up with this, he spluttered.Not a day longer, do you hear,

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Miss, bless my soul? Thisis a third time, Miss,
the third time patience has ceased tobe a virtue. Miss. I warned
your aunt the last time not tolet it occur again, and she's let
it. She's done it. Whatdoes she mean by it? That's what
I want to know. That iswhat I'm here about. Miss. Will
you explain what the trouble is?Asked Anne in her most dignified manner.
She had been practicing it considerably oflate to have it in good working order

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when school began, but it hadno apparent effect on the irate J.
A. Harrison. Trouble is it, bless my soul? Trouble enough?
I should think. Trouble is Miss, that I've found that jersey cow of
your aunt's in my oats again,not half an hour ago, the third
time, mark you. I foundher in last Tuesday, and I found
her in yesterday. I came hereand told your aunt not to let it

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occur again. She has let itoccur again. Where's your aunt? Miss?
I just want to see her fora minute and give her a piece
of my mind, a piece ofJ. A. Harrison's mind. Miss
if you mean miss Marilla Cuthbert,She is not my aunt, and she
has gone down to East Grafton tosee a distant relative of hers who is
very ill. Said Anne, withdue increase of dignity at every word.

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I am very sorry that my cowshould have broken into your oats. She
is my cow and not miss Cuthbert's. Matthew gave her to me three years
ago when she was a little calf, and he bought her from mister Bell.
Sorry, Miss sorry isn't going tohelp matters. Ammy. You'd better
go and look at the havoc thatanimal has made in my oats, trampled
them from center to circumference. MissI am very sorry, repeated Anne firmly.

(07:40):
But perhaps if you kept your fencesin better repair, Dolly might not
have broken in. It is yourpart of the line fence that separates your
oat field from our pasture, andI noticed the other day that it was
not in very good condition. Myfence is all right, snapped mister Harrison,
angrier than ever at this carrying ofthe war into the enemy's country.
The jail fence couldn't keep a evenof a cow like that out. And

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I can tell you, you,red headed snippet, that if that cow
is yours, as you say,you'd be better employed in watching her out
of other people's grain than in sittinground reading yellow covered novels with a scathing
glance of the innocent tan colored Virgilby Anne's feet. Something at that moment
was red, besides Anne's hair,which had always been a very tender point

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with her. I'd rather have redhair than none at all, except a
little fringe round my ears, sheflashed the shot told for mister Harrison was
really very sensitive about his bald head. His anger choked him up again,
and he could only glare speechlessly atAnne, who recovered her temper and followed
up her advantage. I can makeallowance for you, mister Harrison, because

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I have an imagination. I caneasily imagine how very trying it must be
to find a cow in your oats. And I shall not cherish any hard
feelings against you for the things you'vesaid, I promise you that Dolly shall
never break into your oats again.I give you my word of honor on
that point. Well, mind you. She doesn't, muttered mister Harrison in
a somewhat subdued tone, but hestamped off angrily enough, and Anne heard

(09:05):
him growling to himself until he wasout of earshot. Grievously disturbed in mine,
Anne marched across the yard and shutthe naughty jersey up in the milking
pen. She can't possibly get outof that unless she tears the fence down,
she reflected. She looks pretty quietnow, I dare say she has
sickened herself on those oats. Iwish i'd sold her to mister Shearer when
he wanted her last week, butI thought it was just as well to

(09:26):
wait until we had the auction ofthe stock and let them all go together.
I believe it is true about misterHarrison being a crank. Certainly,
there's nothing of the kindred spirit abouthim. Anne had always a weather eye
open for kindred spirits. Marilla Cuthbertwas driving into the yard as Anne returned
from the house, and the latterflew to get Tea ready. They discussed

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the matter at the tea table.I'll be glad when the auction is over,
said Marilla. It is too muchresponsibility, having so much stock about
the place, and nobody but thatunreliable Martin to look after them. He
has never come back yet, andhe promised that he would certainly be back
last night if I'd give him theday off to go to his aunt's funeral.
I don't know how many aunts hehas got. I am sure that's
the fourth that's died since he hiredhere a year ago. I'll be more

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than thankful when the crop is inand mister Barry takes over the farm.
We'll have to keep Dolly shut upin the pen till Martin comes, for
she must be put back in thepasture, and the fences there have to
be fixed. I declare it isa world of trouble. As Rachel says,
here's poor Mary Keith dying, andwhat is to become of those two
children of hers is more than Iknow. She has a brother in British
Columbia, and she has written tohim about them, but she hasn't heard

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from him yet. What are thechildren like? How old are they six?
Past? They're twins? Oh,I've always been especially interested in twins,
ever since Missus Hammond had so many, said Anne eagerly. Are they
pretty goodness? You couldn't tell theywere too dirty. Davy had been out
making mud pies, and Dora wentout to call him in. Davy pushed
her head first into the biggest pie, and then because she cried, he

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got into it himself and wallowed init. To show her it was nothing
to cry about. Mary said,I was really a very good child,
but that Davy was full of mischief. He has never had any bringing up.
You might say his father died whenhe was a baby, and Mary
has been sick almost ever since.I'm always sorry for children that have no
bringing up, said Anne soberly.You know I hadn't any until you took

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me in hand. I hope theiruncle will look after them. Just what
relation is missus Keith to you,Mary, None in the world. It
was her husband. He was ourthird cousin. There's missus Lynde coming through
the yard. I thought she'd beup to hear about Mary. Don't tell
her about mister Harrison and the cow, implored Anne. Marilla promised, but
the promise was quite unnecessary. Formissus Lynde was no sooner fairly seated than

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she said. I saw mister Harrisonchasing your jersey out of his oats to
day when I was coming home fromCarmody. I thought you looked pretty mad.
Did he make much of a rumpus? Anne and Marilla furtively exchanged amused
smiles. Few things an Avonlea everescaped missus Lynde. It was only that
morning. Anne had said, ifyou went to your own room at midnight,
locked the door, pulled down theblind, and sneezed, missus Lynde

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would ask you the next day howyour cold was. I believe he did,
admitted Marilla. I was away,he gave Anne a piece of his
mind. I think he is avery disagreeable man, said Anne, with
a resentful toss of her ruddy head. You never said a truer word,
said missus Rachel solemnly. I knewthere'd be trouble when Robert Bell sold his
place to a new Brunswick man.That's what I don't know what Avonlea is

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coming to. With so many strangepeople rushing into it, it'll soon not
be safe to go to sleep inour beds. Why what other strangers are
coming in, asked Marilla. Haveyou heard, Well, there's a family
of Donnell's. For one thing,they've rented Peter Sloane's old house. Peter
has hired the man to run hismill. They belong down east and nobody
knows anything about them. Then thatshiftless Timothy Cotton family are going to move

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up from White Sands and they'll simplybe a burden on the public. He
is in consumption when he isn't stealing, and his wife is a slack twisted
creature that can't turn her hand toa thing. She watches her dishes sitting
down. Missus George Pye has takenher husband's orphan nephew, Anthony Pye.
He'll be going to school to you, Anne, so you may expect trouble,
that's what. And you'll have anotherstrange pupil too. Paul Irving is

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coming from the States to live withhis grandmother. You remember his father,
Marilla, Stephen Irving him that jiltedLavender Lewis over at Grafton. I don't
think he jilted her. There wasa quarrel. I suppose there was blame
on both sides. Well, anyway, he didn't marry her, and she's
been as queer as possible ever since, they say, living all by herself
in that little stone house she callsEcho Lodge. Stephen went off to the

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States and went into business with hisuncle and married a Yankee. He's never
been home since, though his motherhas been up to see him once or
twice. His wife died two yearsago, and he's sending the boy home
to his mother for a spell.He's ten years old, and I don't
know if he'll be a very desirablepupil. You can never tell about those
Yankees. Missus Lynde looked upon allpeople who had the misfortune to be born
or brought up elsewhere than in PrinceEdward Island with a decided can any good

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thing come out of Nazareth air?They might be good people, of course,
but you were on the safe sidein doubting it. She had a
special prejudice against Yankees. Her husbandhad been cheated out of ten dollars by
an employer for whom he had onceworked in Boston, and neither angels,
nor principalities, nor powers could haveconvinced Missus Rachel that the whole United States

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was not responsible for it. Avonleaschool won't be the worse for a little
new blood, said Marilla dryly.And if this boy is anything like his
father, he'll be all right.Steve Irving was the nicest boy that was
ever raised in these parts, thoughsome people did call him proud. I
should think Missus Irving would be veryglad to have the child. She has
been very lonesome since her husband died. Oh the boy may be well enough,

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but he'll be different from Avonlea children, said Missus Rachel, as if
that clinched the matter. Missus Rachel'sopinions concerning any person, place, or
thing were always warranted to wear.What's this I hear about your going to
start up a village improvement society?Anne, I was just talking it over
with some of the girls and boysat the last debating club, said Anne,
flushing. They thought it would berather nice, And so do mister

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and missus Allen. Lots of villageshave them. Now. Well, you'll
get into no end of hot waterif you do. Better leave it alone,
Anne, that's what people don't like, being improved. Oh, we're
not going to try and improve thepeople. It is Avonlea itself. There
are lots of things which might bedone to make it prettier. For instance,
if we could coax mister Levi Bolterto pull down that dreadful old house

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on his upper farm, wouldn't thatbe an improvement? It certainly would,
admitted Missus Rachel, that old ruinhas been an eyesore to the settlement for
years. But if you improvers cancoax Levi Bolter to do anything for the
public that he isn't to be paidfor doing, may I be there to
see and hear the process. That'swhat. I don't want to discourage you,
Anne, but there may be somethingin your idea, though I suppose

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you did get it out of somerubbishy Yankee magazine. But you'll have your
hands full with your school, andI advise you as a friend not to
bother with your improvements. That's what. But there I know you'll go ahead
with it if you've set your mindon it. You were always one to
carry a thing through. Somehow,Something about the firm outlines of Anne's lips
told that Missus Rachel was not farastray in this estimate. Anne's heart was

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bent on forming the Improvement Society.Gilbert Blythe who was to teach him White
Sands but would always be home fromFriday night to Monday morning, was enthusiastic
about it, and most of theother folks were willing to go in for
anything that meant occasional meetings and consequentlysome fun. As for what the improvements
were to be, nobody had anyvery clear idea except Anne and Gilbert.

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They had talked them over and plannedthem out until an ideal Avonlea, existed
in their minds. If nowhere else, Missus Rachel had still another item of
news. They've given the Carmody Schoolto a Priscilla Grant. Didn't you go
to Queen's with a girl of thatname? Anne? Yes, indeed Priscilla
to teach it Carmody. How perfectlylovely, exclaimed Anne, her gray eyes

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lighting up until they looked like eveningstars, causing missus Lynde to wonder renew
if she would ever get it settledto her satisfaction whether Anne Shirley were really
a pretty girl or not. Endof chapter one two. Selling in haste
and repenting at leisure, Anne droveover to Carmody on a shopping expedition the

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next afternoon, and took Diana Barrywith her. Diana was, of course
a pledged member of the Improvement Society, and the two girls talked about little
else all the way to Carmody andback. The very first thing we ought
to do when we get started isto have that hall painted, said Diana
as they drove past the Avonlea Hall, a rather shabby building set down in
a wooded hollow, with spruce treeshooding it about on all sides. It's

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a disgraceful looking place, and wemust attend to it, even before we
try to get mister Levi Bolter topull his house down. Father says,
we'll never succeed in doing that.Levi Bolter is too mean to spend the
time it would take. Perhaps you'lllet the boys take it down if they
promised to haul the boards and splitthem up for him for kindlingwood, said
Anne. Hopefully, we must doour best and be content to go slowly

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at first. We can't expect toimprove everything all at once. We'll have
to educate public sentiments first. Ofcourse, Diana wasn't exactly sure what educating
public sentiment meant, but it soundedfine, and she felt rather proud that
she was going to belong to asociety with such an aim in view.
I thought of something last night thatwe could do. Anne. You know

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that three cornered piece of ground wherethe roads from Carmody and Newbridge and White
Sands meet. It's all grown overwith young spruce. But wouldn't it be
nice to have them all cleared outand just leave the two or three birch
trees that are on it splendid,agreed Anne gaily, and have a rustic
seat put under the birches, andwhen spring comes we'll have a flower bed
made in the middle of it andplant geraniums. Yes, only we'll have

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to devise some way of getting oldmissus Hiram Sloane to keep her cow off
the road, or she'll eat ourgeraniums up, laughed Diana. I begin
to see what you mean by educatingpublic sentiment. Anne. There's the old
bolter house. Now. Did youever see such a rookery and perched right
close to the road too? Anold house with its windows gone always makes
me think of something dead with itseyes picked out. I think an old

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deserted house is such a sad sight, said Anne dreamily. It always seems
to me to be thinking about itspast and mourning for its old time joys.
Marilla says that a large family wasraised in that old house long ago,
and that it was a real prettyplace, with a lovely garden and
roses climbing all over it. Itwas full of little children and laughter and
songs. And now it is empty, and nothing ever wanders through it but

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the wind. How lonely and sorrowfulit must feel. Perhaps they all come
back on moonlit nights, the ghostsof the little children of long ago,
and the roses and the songs,and for a little while the old house
can dream it is young and joyousagain. Diana shook her head. I
never imagine things like that about placesnow, Anne, don't you remember how

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cross mother and Marilla were when weimagined ghosts into the haunted wood. To
this day, I can't go throughthat bush comfortably after dark. And if
I began imagining such things about theold Bolture House, I'd be frightened to
pass it too. Besides, thechildren aren't dead. They're all grown up
and doing well, and one ofthem is a butcher, and flowers and
songs couldn't have ghosts anyhow, Annesmothered a little sigh. She loved Diana

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dearly, and they had always beengood comrades. But she had long ago
learned that when she wandered into therealm of fancy, she must go alone.
The way to it was by anenchanted path, where not even her
dearest might follow her. A thundershower came up while the girls were at
Carmody. It did not last long, however, and the drive home through
lanes where the rain drops sparkled onthe boughs, and leafy little valleys where

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the drenched ferns gave out spicy odors, was delightful. But just as they
turned into the Cuthbert Lane, Annesaw something that spoiled the beauty of the
landscape for her. Before them,on the right extended mister Harrison's broad gray
green feel of late oats, wetand luxuriant, and there, standing squarely
in the middle of it, upto her sleek sides in the lush growth,

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and blinking at them calmly over theintervening tassels, was a jersey cow,
and dropped the reins and stood upwith a tightening of the lips that
boded no good to the predatory quadruped. Not a word, said she,
but she climbed nimbly down over thewheels and whisked across the fence. Before
Diana understood what had happened, Annecome back, shrieked the latter as soon

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as she found her voice. You'llruin your dress in that wet grain,
ruin it. She doesn't hear me. Well, she'll never get that cow
out by herself. I must goand help her. Of course, Anne
was charging through the grain like amad thing. Diana hopped briskly down,
tied the horse securely to a post, turned the skirt of her pretty gingham
dress over her shoulders, mounted thefence, and started in pursuit of her

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frantic friend. She could run fasterthan Anne, who was hampered by her
clinging and drenched skirt, and soonovertook her. Behind them, they left
a trail that would break mister Harrison'sheart when he should see it. And
for Mercy's sake, stop, pantedDiana. I'm right out of breath,
and you are wet to the skin. I must get that cow out before
mister Harrison seize her. Gasped Anne, I don't care if I'm drowned,

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if we can only do that.But the Jersey cow appeared to see no
good reason for being hustled out ofher luscious browsing ground. No sooner had
the two breathless girls got near herthan she turned and bolted squarely for the
opposite corner of the field. Hadher off, screamed Anne, run,
Diana run. Diana did run.Anne tried to, and the wicked Jersey

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went round the field as if shewere possessed privately. Diana thought she was.
It was fully ten minutes before theyheaded her off and drove her through
the corner gap into the Cuthbert Lane. There is no denying that Anne was
in anything but an angelic temper atthat precise moment, nor did it soothe
her in the least to behold abuggy halted just outside the lane, wherein
sat mister Shearer of Carmody and hisson, both of whom wore a broad

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smile. I guess you'd better havesold me that cow when I wanted to
buy her last week, Anne chuckled, mister Shearer. I'll sell her to
you now if you want her,said her, flushed and disheveled owner.
You may have her this very minutedone. I'll give you twenty for her
as I offered before, and Jimhere can drive her right over to Carmody.
She'll go to town with the restof the shipman this evening, mister
Reed of Brighton want the Jersey cow. Five minutes later, Jim Shearer and

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the Jersey Cow were marching up theroad, and impulsive Anne was driving along
the green Gables Lane with her twentydollars. What will Marilla say, asked
Diana. Oh, she won't care. Dolly was my own cow, and
it isn't likely she'd bring more thantwenty dollars to the auction. But oh
dear, if mister Harrison sees satgrain, he will know she has been
in again. And after my givinghim my word of honor that I'd never

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let it happen, Well, ithas taught me a lesson not to give
my word of honor about cows.A cow that could jump over or break
through our milk pen fence couldn't betrusted anywhere. Marilla had gone down to
missus Lynde's, and when she returnedknew all about Dolly's sale and transfer for
Missus Lynde had seen most of thetransaction from her window and guessed the rest.
I suppose it's just as well she'sgone, though you do do things

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in a dreadful, headlong fashion.Anne, I don't see how she got
out of a pet though she musthave broken some of the boards off.
I didn't think of looking, saidAnne, but I'll go and see now.
Martin has never come back yet.Perhaps some more of his aunts have
died. I think it's something likemister Peter Sloane and the octogenarians. The
other evening, Missus Sloane was readinga newspaper and she said to mister Sloane,

(24:18):
I see here that another octogenarian hasjust died. What is an octogenarian
Peter? And mister Sloane said hedidn't know, but they must be very
sickly creatures, for you never heardtell of them, but they were dying.
That's the way with Martin's aunts.Martin's just like the rest of those
French, said Marilla in disgust.You can't depend on them for a day.
Marilla was looking over Anne's carmody purchaseswhen she heard a shrill shriek in

(24:41):
the barnyard. A minute later,Anne dashed into the kitchen, wringing her
hands. Anne, Shirley, what'sthe matter now, oh Marilla? Whatever
shall I do? This is terribleand it's all my fault. Oh well,
I ever learn to stop and reflecta little before doing reckless things.
Missus Lynde always told me I woulddo something dreadful some day, and now
I've done it. Anne, youare the most exasperating girl. What is

(25:04):
it you've done? Sold mister Harrison'sjersey cow, the one he bought from
mister Bell to mister Shearer. Dolly'sout in the milking pen this very minute,
Anne Shirley, are you dreaming?I only wish I were. There's
no dream about it, though.It's very like a nightmare. And mister
Harrison's cow is in Charlottetown by thistime, Oh Marilla. I thought I'd

(25:26):
finished getting into scrapes, and hereI am, and the very worst one
I ever was in my life.What can I do do? There's nothing
to do, child, except goand see mister Harrison about it. We
can offer him our jersey in exchange. If he doesn't want to take the
money. She's just as good ashis I'm sure he'll be awfully cross and
disagreeable about it, though, moanedAnne. I dare say he will.

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He seems to be an irritable sortof a man. I'll go and explain
to him if you like. No, indeed, I'm not as mean as
that, exclaimed Anne. This isall my fault, and I'm certainly not
going to let you take my punishment. I'll go myself, and i'll go
at once. The sooner it's over, the better, for it will be
terribly humiliating. Poor Anne got herhat and her twenty dollars and was passing

(26:10):
out when she happened to glance throughthe open pantry door. On the table
reposed a nut cake which he hadbaked that morning, a particularly toothsome concoction,
iced with pink icing and adorned withwalnuts. Anne had intended it for
Friday evening, when the youth ofAvonlea were to meet at Green Gables to
organize the Improvement Society. But whatwere they compared to the justly offended mister
Harrison. Anne thought that cake oughtto soften the heart of any man,

(26:33):
especially one who had to do hisown cooking, and she promptly popped it
into a box. She would takeit to mister Harrison as a peace offering,
that is, if he gives mea chance to say anything at all,
she thought ruefully as she climbed thelane fence and started on a short
cut across the fields golden in thelight of the dreamy August evening. I
know now just how people feel whoare being led to execution. End of

(26:56):
chapter two, Chapter three, MisterHarrison at home. Mister Harrison's house was
an old fashioned, low eaved,whitewashed structure set against a thick spruce grove.
Mister Harrison himself was sitting on hisvine shaded veranda in his shirt sleeves,
enjoying his evening pipe when he realizedwho was coming up the path.

(27:17):
He sprang suddenly to his feet,bolted into the house, and shut the
door. This was merely the uncomfortableresult of his surprise. Mingled with a
good deal of shame over his outburstof temper the day before, but it
nearly swept the remnant of her couragefrom Anne's heart. If he's so crossed
now, what will he be whenhe hears what I've done? She reflected
miserably. As she rapped on thedoor, but mister Harrison opened it,

(27:40):
smiling sheepishly, and invited her toenter in a tone quite mild and friendly,
if somewhat nervous. He had laidaside his pipe and donned his coat.
He offered Anne a very dusty chair, very politely, and her reception
would have passed off pleasantly enough ifit had not been for the tell tale
of a parrot who was peering throughthe bars of his cage with wicked golden
eyes. No sooner had Anne seatedherself than Ginger exclaimed, bless my soul,

(28:03):
what's that red headed snippet coming here? For it would be hard to
say whose face was the redder,mister Harrison's or Anne's. Don't you mind
that parrot, said mister Harrison,casting a furious glance at Ginger. He's
he's always talking nonsense. I gothim from my brother, who was a
sailor. Sailors don't always use thechoicest language, and parrots are very imitative

(28:23):
birds, so I should think,said poor Anne, the remembrance of her
errand quelling her resentment. She couldn'tafford to snub mister Harrison under the circumstances.
That was certain. When you hadjust sold a man's jersey cow off
hand, without his knowledge or consent, you must not mind if his parrot
repeated uncomplimentary things. Nevertheless, thered headed snippet was not quite so meek

(28:45):
as she might otherwise have been.I've come to confess something to you,
mister Harrison, she said resolutely.It's it's about that jersey cow. Bless
my soul, exclaimed mister Harrison nervously. Has she gone and broken into my
oats again? Well, never mind, never mind if she has, it's
no difference, none at all.I I I was too hasty yesterday.

(29:06):
That's a fact. Never mind ifshe has. Oh if there were only
that, sighed Anne, But it'sten times worse. I don't bless my
soul. Do you mean to sayshe's gotten to my wheat? No?
No, no, not the wheat. But then it's the cabbages. She's
broken into my cabbages that I wasraising for exhibition. Eh, it's not
the cabbages, mister Harrison. I'lltell you everything. That is what I

(29:27):
came for. But please don't interruptme. It makes me so nervous.
Just let me tell my story,and don't say anything till I get through,
and then no doubt you'll say plenty, Anne concluded. But in thought
only, I won't say another word, said mister Harrison, and he didn't.
But Ginger was not bound by anycontract of silence and kept ejaculating Red
Headed Snippet at intervals until Anne feltquite wild. I shut my jersey cow

(29:52):
up in our pen yesterday. Thismorning, I went to Carmody, and
when I came back, I sawjersey cow in your oats, Diana,
and I chased her out. Andyou can't imagine what a hard time we
had. I was so dreadfully wetand tired and vexed. And mister Shearer
came by that very minute and offeredto buy the cow. I sold her
to him on the spot for twentydollars. It was wrong of me.
I should have waited and consulted Marilla, of course, but I'm dreadfully given

(30:15):
to doing things without thinking. Everybodywho knows me will tell you that mister
Shearer took the cow right away toship her on the afternoon train. Redheaded
Snippet quoted Ginger in a tone ofprofound contempt. At this point mister Harrison
arose, and, with an expressionthat would have struck terror into any bird
but a parrot, carried Ginger's cageinto an adjoining room and shut the door.

(30:36):
Ginger shrieked, swore, and otherwiseconducted himself in keeping with his reputation,
but finding himself left alone, relapsedinto sulky silence. Excuse me,
and go on, said mister Harrison, sitting down again. My brother,
the sailor, never taught that birdany manners. I went home, and
after tea, I went out tothe milking pen. Mister Harrison. Anne
leaned forward, clasping her hands withher old childish gesture. Her big gray

(31:00):
eyes gazed imploringly into mister Harrison's embarrassedface. I've found my cow still shut
up in the pen. It wasyour cow I had sold to mister Shearer.
Bless my soul, exclaimed mister Harrison, in blank amazement at this unlooked
for conclusion. What a very extraordinarything. Oh, it isn't in the
least extraordinary that I should be gettingmyself and other people into scrapes, said

(31:22):
Anne mournfully. I'm noted for that. You might suppose i'd have grown out
of it by this time. I'llbe seventeen next March, but it seems
that I haven't. Mister Harrison,isn't too much to hope that you'll forgive
me. I'm afraid it's too lateto get your cow back, but here's
the money for her, or youcan have mine in exchange if you'd rather.
She's a very good cow, andI can't express how sorry I am

(31:44):
for it all. Tut tut,said mister Harrison, briskly. Don't say
another word about it. Miss.It's no consequence, no consequence, whatever
accidents will happen. I'm too hastymyself sometimes, Miss, far too hasty,
but I can't help speaking out justwhat I think, and folks must
take me as they find me.If that cow had been in my cabbages
now, but never mind, shewasn't, so it's all right. I

(32:05):
think i'd rather have your cow inexchange, since you want to be rid
of her. Oh, thank you, mister Harrison. I'm so glad you
are not vexed. I was afraidyou would be. Aunt. I suppose
you were scared to death to comehere and tell me after the fuss I
made yesterday. Eh, But youmustn't mind me. I'm a terrible outspoken
old fellow. That's all awful appto tell the truth, no matter if
it's a bit plain. So isMissus Lynde, said Anne, before she

(32:27):
could prevent herself. Who, MissusLynde, don't you tell me I'm like
that old gossip, said mister Harrisonirritably. I'm not not a bit.
What have you got in that box? A cake? Said Anne archly.
In her relief at mister Harrison's unexpectedamiability, her spirits soared upward feather light.
I brought it over for you.I thought perhaps you didn't have cake

(32:47):
very often. I don't. That'sa fact, and I'm mighty fond of
it too. I'm much obliged toyou. It looks good on top.
I hope it's good all the waythrough it is, said Anne gaily,
confident. I have made cakes inmy time that were not as Missus Allan
could tell you. But this oneis all right. I made it for
the Improvement Society, but I canmake another for them. Well, I'll

(33:07):
tell you what, miss you musthelp me eat it. I'll put the
kettle on and we'll have a cupof tea. How will that do?
Will you let me make the tea, said Anne dubiously. Mister Harrison chuckled,
I see you haven't much confidence inmy ability to make tea. You're
wrong. I can brew up asgood a drm of tea as you ever
drank. But go ahead yourself.Fortunately it rained last Sunday, so there's
plenty of clean dishes. Anne hoppedbriskly up and went to work. She

(33:31):
washed the tea pot in several watersbefore she put the tea to steep.
Then she swept the stove and setthe table, bringing the dishes out of
the pantry. The state of thatpantry horrified Anne, but she wisely said
nothing. Mister Harrison told her whereto find the bread and butter and a
can of peaches. Anne adorned thetable with a bouquet from the garden and
shut her eyes to the stains onthe tablecloth. Soon the tea was ready,

(33:52):
and Anne found herself sitting opposite misterHarrison at his own table, pouring
his tea for him and chatting freelyto him about her school and friends and
plans. She could hardly believe theevidence of her senses. Mister Harrison had
brought ginger back, averring that thepoor bird would be lonesome, and Anne,
feeling that she could forgive everybody andeverything, offered him a walnut.

(34:13):
But Ginger's feelings had been grievously hurt, and he rejected all overtures of friendship.
He sat moodily on his perch andruffled his feathers up until he looked
like a mere ball of green andgold. Why do you call him?
Ginger, asked Anne, who likedappropriate names, and thought Ginger recorded not
at all with such gorgeous plumage.My brother, the sailor named him.
Maybe it had some reference to histemper. I think a lot of that

(34:35):
bird, though you'd be surprised ifyou knew how much he has his faults.
Of course, that bird has costme a good deal one way and
another. Some people object to hisswearing habits, but he can't be broken
of them. I've tried, Otherpeople have tried. Some folks have prejudices
against parrots, silly ated I likethem myself. Ginger's a lot of company
to me. Nothing would induce meto give that bird up. Nothing in

(34:57):
the world. Miss mister Harrison flungthe lasts sentence at Anne as explosively,
as if he suspected her of somelatent design of persuading him to give ginger
up. Anne, however, wasbeginning to like the queer, fussy,
fidgety little man, and before themeal was over they were quite good friends.
Mister Harrison found out about the ImprovementSociety and was disposed to approve of
it. That's right, go ahead. There's lots of room for improvement in

(35:20):
this settlement and in the people too. Oh, I don't know, flashed
Anne to herself or to her particularcrony. She might admit that there were
some small imperfections easily removable in Avonleaand its inhabitants. But to hear a
practical outsider like mister Harrison's saying itwas an entirely different thing. I think
Avonlea is a lovely place, andthe people in it are very nice too.

(35:40):
I guess you've got a spice oftemper, commented mister Harrison, surveying
the flushed cheeks and indignant eyes oppositehim. It goes with hair like yours.
I reckon Avonlea is a pretty decentplace, or I wouldn't have located
here. But I suppose even youwill admit it has some faults. I
like it all the better for them, said loyal Anne. I don't like
places or people either that haven't anyfaults. I think a truly perfect person

(36:04):
would be very uninteresting. Missus MiltonWhite says she never met a perfect person,
but she's heard enough about one herhusband's first wife. Don't you think
it must be very uncomfortable to bemarried to a man whose first wife was
perfect. It would be more uncomfortableto be married to the perfect wife,
declared mister Harrison, with a suddenand inexplicable warmth. When tea was over,
Anne insisted on washing the dishes,although mister Harrison assured her that there

(36:28):
were enough in the house to dofor weeks. Yet she would dearly have
loved to sweep the floor also,but no broom was visible, and she
did not like to ask where itwas, for fear there wasn't one at
all. You might run across andtalk to me once in a while,
suggested mister Harrison when she was leaving. Tisn't far and folks ought to be
neighborly. I'm kind of interested inthat society of yours seems to me,
there'll be some fun in it.Who are you going to tackle first?

(36:51):
We are not going to meddle withpeople. It is only places we mean
to improve, said Anne in adignified tone. She rather suspected that mister
Harrison was making fun of the prize. When she had gone, mister Harrison
watched her from the window, alife girlish shape tripping light heartedly across the
fields in the sunset afterglow. I'ma crusty, lonesome, crabbed old chap,

(37:12):
he said aloud. But there's somethingabout that little girl makes me feel
young again, and it's such apleasant sensation I'd like to have it repeated
once in a while. Red headedsnippet croaked ginger mockingly. Mister Harrison shook
his fist at the parrot. Youornery bird, he muttered, I almost
wish I'd wrung your neck when mybrother, the sailor, brought you home.
Will you never be done getting meinto trouble? Anne ran home blithely

(37:35):
and recounted her adventures to Marilla,who had not been a little alarmed by
her long absence and was on thepoint of starting out to look for her.
It's a pretty good world after all, isn't it, Marilla concluded Anne
Happily missus Lynde was complaining the otherday that it wasn't much of a world.
She said, whenever you looked forwardto anything pleasant, you were sure
to be more or less disappointed.Perhaps that is true, but there is
a good side to it too.The bad things don't always come up to

(37:59):
your expectation either. They nearly alwaysturn out ever so much better than you
think. I looked forward to adreadfully unpleasant experience when I went over to
mister Harrison's to night, and insteadhe was quite kind and I almost had
a nice time. I think we'regoing to be real good friends if we
make plenty of allowances for each other. And everything has turned out for the
best. But all the same,Marilla, I shall certainly never again sell

(38:21):
a cow before making sure to whomshe belongs. And I do not like
parrots. End of Chapter three,Chapter four, different opinions. One evening,
at sunset, Jane Andrews, GilbertBlyfe, and Anne Shirley were lingering
by a fence in the shadow ofgently swaying spruce boughs, where a wood
cut known as the Birch Path joinedthe main road. Jane had been up

(38:45):
to spend the afternoon with Anne,who walked part of the way home with
her. At the fence, theymet Gilbert and all three were now talking
about the fateful morrow, for thatmorrow was the first of September and the
schools would open. Jane would goto Newbridge and Gilbert to White. You
both have the advantage of me,sighed Anne. You're going to teach children

(39:05):
who don't know you. But Ihave to teach my own old schoolmates.
And missus Lynde says she's afraid theywon't respect me as they would a stranger
unless I'm very cross from the first. But I don't believe a teacher should
be cross. Oh, it seemsto me such a responsibility. I guess
we'll get on all right, saidJane comfortably. Jane was not troubled by
any aspirations to be an influence forgood. She meant to earn her salary

(39:28):
fairly, please the trustees, andget her name on the school inspector's roll
of honor. Further ambitions, Janehad none. The main thing will be
to keep order, and a teacherhas to be a little cross to do
that. If my pupils won't doas I tell them, I shall punish
them. How give them a goodwhipping? Of course, Oh, Jane,
you wouldn't, cried Anne shocked.Jane, you couldn't. Indeed I

(39:50):
could and would if they deserved it, said Jane, decidedly. I could
never whip a child, said Anne, with equal decision. I don't believe
in it at all, Miss Dan, he never whipped any of us,
since she had perfect order, andmister Phillips was always whipping, and he
had no order at all. No, if I can't get along without whipping,
I shall not try to teach school. There are better ways of managing.

(40:12):
I shall try to win my pupilsaffections, and then they will want
to do what I tell them.But suppose they don't, said practical Jane,
I wouldn't whip them anyhow. I'msure it wouldn't do any good.
Oh, don't whip your pupils,Jane, dear, no matter what they
do. What do you think aboutit? Gilbert demanded Jane. Don't you
think there are some children who reallyneed a whipping? Now? And then?
Don't you think it's a cruel,barbarous thing to whip a child,

(40:34):
any child, exclaimed Anne, herface flushing with earnestness. Well, said
Gilbert, slowly torn between his realconvictions and his wish to measure up to
Anne's ideal. There's something to besaid on both sides. I don't believe
in whipping children much. I think, as you say, Anne, that
there are better ways of managing asa rule, and that corporal punishment should

(40:57):
be a last resort. But onthe other hand, as Jane says,
I believe there is an occasional childwho can't be influenced in any other way,
and who in short needs a whippingand would be improved by it.
Corporal punishment is a last resort,is to be my rule. Gilbert,
having tried to please both sides,succeeded, as is usual and eminently right
in pleasing neither. Jane tossed herhead. I'll whip my pupils when they're

(41:21):
naughty. It's the shortest and easiestway of convincing them. Anne gave Gilbert
a disappointed glance. I shall neverwhip a child, she repeated firmly.
I feel sure it isn't either rightor necessary. Suppose a boy sauce you
back when you told him to dosomething, said Jane. I'd keep him
in after school and talk kindly andfirmly to him, said Anne. There
is some good in every person,if you can find it. It is

(41:44):
a teacher's duty to find and developit. That is what our school management
professor at Queen's told us. Youknow, do you suppose you could find
any good in a child by whippinghim. It's far more important to influence
the children, aright, than itis even to teach them, the three
R's professor, Rennie says. Butthe inspector examines them in the three hours,
mind you, and he won't giveyou a good report if they don't

(42:04):
come up to his standard, protestedJane. I'd rather have my pupils love
me and look back to me inafter years as a real helper than be
on the roll of honor, assertedAnne. Decidedly. Wouldn't you punish children
at all when they misbehaved? AskedGilbert. Oh, yes, I suppose
I shall have to, although Iknow I'll hate to do it. But
you can keep them in at recess, or stand them on the floor,

(42:25):
or give them lines to write.I suppose you won't punish the girls by
making them sit with the boys,said Jane slyly. Gilbert and Anne looked
at each other and smiled rather foolishly. Once upon a time Anne had been
made to sit with Gilbert for punishment, and sad and bitter had been the
consequences thereof Well, time will tellwhich way's the best, said Jane philosophically.

(42:45):
As they parted. Anne went backto Green Gables by way of birch
path, shadowy, rustling fern scentedthrough violet veil, and past Willowmere,
where a darkened light kissed each otherunder the furs, and down through loverane
spots she and Diana had so namedlong ago. She walked slowly, enjoying
the sweetness of wood and field andthe starry summer twilight, and thinking soberly

(43:09):
about the new duties she was totake up on the morrow. When she
reached the yard at Green Gables,Missus Lynde's loud, decided tones floated out
through the open kitchen window. MissusLynde has come up to give me good
advice about tomorrow, thought Anne,with a grimace. But I don't believe
I'll go in her advice is muchlike Pepper, I think excellent in small

(43:30):
quantities, but rather scorting in herdoses. I'll run over and have a
chat with mister Harrison instead. Thiswas not the first time Anne had run
over and chatted with mister Harrison sincethe notable affair of the Jersey Cow.
She had been there several evenings,and mister Harrison and she were very good
friends, although there were times andseasons when Anne found the outspokenness on which
he prided himself rather trying, Gingerstill continued to regard her with suspicion and

(43:54):
never failed to greet her sarcastically asred headed snippet. Mister Harrison had tried
vainly to break him of the habitby jumping excitedly up whenever he saw Anne
coming and exclaiming, bless my soul, here's that pretty little girl again,
or something equally flattering, But Gingersaw through the scheme and scorned it.
Anne was never to know how manycompliments mister Harrison paid her behind her back.

(44:15):
He certainly never paid her any toher face. Well, I suppose
you've been back in the woods layingin a supply of switches for tomorrow was
a greeting as Anne came up withVeranda's steps. No, indeed, said
Anne indignantly. She was an excellenttarget for teasing because she always took things
so seriously. I shall never havea switch in my school, mister Harrison.
Of course I shall have to havea pointer, but I shall use

(44:37):
it for pointing only. So youmean to strap them instead. Well,
I don't know, but you're right. A switch stings more the time,
but the strap smarts longer. That'sa fact. I shall not use anything
of the sort. I'm not goingto whip my pupils. Bless my soul,
exclaimed mister Harrison, in genuine astonishment. How do you lay out to
keep order? Then I shall governby affection, Miss Harrison. It won't

(45:00):
do, said mister Harrison. Won'tdo it all, Anne, Spare the
rod and spoil the child. WhenI went to school, the master with
me regular every day, because hesaid if I wasn't in mischief just then
I was plotting it. Methods havechanged since your school days, mister Harrison,
but human nature hasn't. Mark mywords, You'll never manage the young
fry unless you keep a rod andpickle for them the thing is impossible.

(45:23):
Well, I'm going to try myway first, said Anne, who had
a fairly strong will of her ownand was apt to cling very tenaciously to
her theories. You're a pretty stubbornI reckon, was mister Harrison's way of
putting it. Well, well,we'll see some day when you get riled
up, and people with hair likeyours are desperate apt to get riled,
you'll forget all your pretty little notionsand give some of them a wailing.

(45:45):
You're too young to be teaching anyhow, far too young and childish altogether.
Anne went to bed that night ina rather pessimistic mood. She slept poorly
and was so pale and tragic atbreakfast the next morning that Marilla was alarmed
and insisted on making her take acup of scorching ginger tea. Anne sipped
it patiently, although she could notimagine what good ginger tea would do.

(46:07):
Had it been some magic brew potentto confer age and experience, Anne would
have swallowed a quart of it withoutflinching. Marilla, What if I fail,
You'll hardly fail completely in one day, and there's plenty more days coming,
said Marilla, The trouble with you, Anne, is that you'll expect
to teach those children everything and performall their faults right off, and if
you can't, you'll think you've failed. End of Chapter four, Chapter five.

(46:30):
A full fledged school, ma'am.When Anne reached the school that morning
for the first time in her life, she had traversed the birch path,
deaf and blind to its beauties.All was quiet and still. The preceding
teacher had trained the children to bein their places at her arrival, and
when Anne entered the schoolroom, shewas confronted by prim rows of shining morning

(46:52):
faces and bright inquisitive eyes. Shehung up her hat and faced her pupils,
hoping that she did not look asfrightened and foolish as she felt,
and that they would not perceive howshe was trembling. She had sat up
until nearly twelve the preceding night composinga speech she meant to make to her
pupils upon opening the school. Shehad revised and improved it painstakingly, and

(47:13):
then she had learned it off byheart. It was a very good speech
and had some very fine ideas init, especially about mutual help and earnest,
striving after knowledge. The only troublewas that she could not now remember
a word of it after what seemeda year about ten seconds in reality,
she said, faintly, take yourtestaments, please, and sank breathlessly into

(47:35):
her chair under cover of the rustleand clatter of desk lids that followed.
While the children read their verses,Anne marshaled her shaky wits into order and
looked over the array of little pilgrimsto the grown up land. Most of
them were, of course, quitewell known to her. Her own classmates
had passed out in the preceding year, but the rest had all gone to
school with her, excepting the primerclass and ten newcomers to Avonlea. Anne

(47:58):
secretly felt more in these ten thanin those whose possibilities were already fairly well
mapped out to her. To besure, they might be just as commonplace
as the rest, But on theother hand, there might be a genius
among them. It was a thrillingidea. Sitting by himself at a corner
desk was Anthony Pye. He hada dark, sullen little face and was

(48:19):
staring at Anne with a hostile expressionin his black eyes. Anne instantly made
up her mind that she would winthat boy's affection and discomfit the pies utterly.
In the other corner, another strangeboy was sitting with Ardie Sloane,
a jolly looking little chap with asnub nose, freckled face, and big,
light blue eyes fringed with whitish lashes, probably the Dawnall boy, and
if resemblance went for anything, Hissister was sitting across the aisle with Mary

(48:44):
Bell. Anne wondered what sort ofmother the child had to send her to
school. Dressed as she was,she wore a faded pink silk dress trimmed
with a great deal of cotton lace, soiled white kid slippers and silk stockings.
Her sandy hair was tortured into innumerablekinky and unnot n actual curls,
surmounted by a flamboyant bow of pinkribbon bigger than her head. Judging from

(49:05):
her expression, she was very wellsatisfied with herself, a pale little thing
with smooth ripples of fine, silkyfawn colored hair flowing over her shoulders.
Must Anne thought Biennett, a bellewhose parents had formerly lived in the Newbridge
school district, but by reason ofhauling their house fifty yards north of its
old site, were now in Avonlea. Three pallior little girls crowded into one

(49:27):
seat were certainly Cottons, and therewas no doubt that the small beauty with
the long brown curls and hazel eyeswho was casting coquettish looks at Jack Gillis
over the edge of her testament wasPrilly Rogerson, whose father had recently married
a second wife and brought Prillie homefrom her grandmother's in Grafton. A tall,
awkward girl in a back seat whoseemed to have too many feet in
hands, Anne could not place atall, but later on discovered that her

(49:51):
name was Barbara Shaw, and thatshe had come to live with an Avonlea
aunt. She was also to findthat if Barbara ever managed to walk down
the aisle without falling over her ownor somebody else's feet, the Avonlea scholars
wrote the unusual fact up on theporch wall to commemorate it. But when
Anne's eyes met those of the boyat the front desk facing her own,
a queer little thrill went over her, as if she had found her genius

(50:14):
She knew this must be Paul Irving, and that Missus Rachel Lynde had been
right for once when she prophesied thathe would be unlike the Avonlea children.
More than that, Anne realized thathe was unlike other children anywhere, and
that there was a soul subtly akinto her own, gazing at her out
of the very dark blue eyes thatwere watching her so intently. She knew
Paul was ten, but he lookedno more than eight. He had the

(50:37):
most beautiful little face she had everseen in a child, features of exquisite
delicacy and refinement, framed in ahalo of chestnut curls. His mouth was
delicious, being full without pouting,the crimson lips just softly touching and curving
into finely finished little corners that narrowlyescaped being dimpled. He had a sober,
grave, meditative expression, as ifhis spirit was much older than his

(51:00):
body. But when Anne smiled softlyat him, it vanished in a sudden,
answering smile, which seemed an illuminationof his whole being, as if
some lamp had suddenly kindled into flameinside of him, irradiating him from top
to toe. Best of all,it was involuntary, born of no external
effort or motive, but simply theoutflashing of a hidden personality, rare and

(51:20):
fine and sweet, with a quickinterchange of smiles. Anne and Paul were
fast friends forever before a word hadpassed between them. The day went by
like a dream. Anne could neverclearly recall it afterwards. It almost seemed
as if it were not she whowas teaching, but somebody else. She
heard classes and worked sums and setcopies. Mechanically, The children behaved quite

(51:42):
well. Only two cases of disciplineoccurred. Morley Andrews was caught driving a
pair of trained crickets in the aisle. Anne stood morally on the platform for
an hour, and which Morley feltmuch more keenly, confiscated his crickets.
She put them in a box,and on the way from school, set
them free in violet veil. ButMorley believed then and ever afterwards that she
took them home and kept them forher own amusement. The other culprit was

(52:05):
Anthony Pye, who poured the lastdrops of water from his slate bottle down
the back of Aurelia Clay's neck.Anne kept Anthony in at recess and talked
to him about what was expected ofgentlemen, admonishing him that they never poured
water down lady's necks. She wantedall her boys to be gentlemen, she
said. Her little lecture was quitekind and touching, but unfortunately Anthony remained
absolutely untouched. He listened to herin silence with the same sullen expression,

(52:30):
and whistled scornfully as he went out. Anne sighed and then cheered herself up
by remembering that winning a pie's affections, like the building of Rome, wasn't
the work of a day. Infact, it was doubtful whether some of
the pies had any affections to win. But Anne hoped better things of Anthony,
who looked as if he might bea rather nice boy if one ever
got behind his sullenness. When schoolwas dismissed and the children had gone,

(52:53):
Anne dropped wearily into her chair,Her head ached, and she felt woefully
discouraged. There was no real reasonfor discouragement, since nothing very dreadful had
occurred, but Anne was very tiredand inclined to believe that she would never
learn to like teaching, and howterrible it would be to be doing something
you didn't like every day for well, say, forty years. Anne was

(53:15):
of two minds whether to have hercry out then and there, or wait
till she was safely in her ownwhite room at home. Before she could
decide, there was a click ofheels and a silken swish on the porch
floor, and Anne found herself confrontedby a lady whose appearance made her recall
a recent criticism of mister Harrison's onan over dressed female he had seen in
a Charlottetown store. She looked likea head on collision between a fashion plate

(53:37):
and a nightmare. The newcomer wasgorgeously arrayed in a pale blue summer silk,
puffed, frilled, and shurred whereverpuff, frill or shirring could possibly
be placed. Her head was surmountedby a huge white chiffon hat bedecked with
three long, but rather stringy,ostrich feathers. A veil of pink chiffon,
lavishly sprinkled with huge black dots,hung like a flounce from the hat

(54:00):
brim to her shoulders, and floatedoff in two airy streamers behind her.
She wore all the jewelry that couldbe crowded on one small woman, and
a very strong odor of perfume attendedher. I am Missus Dnnell, Missus
H. B. Dannell, announcedthis vision, and I have come in
to see you about something Clarice Almiratold me when she came home to dinner
to day. It annoyed me excessively. I'm sorry, faltered Anne, vainly

(54:24):
trying to recollect any incident of themorning connected with the Donnell children. Clarice
Almira told me that you pronounced ourname donell. Now, Miss Shirley,
the correct pronunciation of our name isdonell, accent on the last syllable.
I hope you'll remember this in future, I'll try, to gasped Anne,
choking back a wild desire to laugh. I know by experience that it's very

(54:46):
unpleasant to have one's name spelled wrong, and I suppose it must be even
worse to have it pronounced wrong.Certainly it is. And Clarisse Almira also
informed me that you called my sonJacob. He told me his name was
Jacob, protested Anne. I mightwell have expected that, said Missus H.
B. Dennell, in a tonewhich implied that gratitude in children was

(55:06):
not to be looked for in thisdegenerate age. That boy has such plebeian
taste, Miss Shirley. When hewas born, I wanted to call him
Saint Clair. It sounds so aristocratic, doesn't it. But his father insisted
that he should be called Jacob,after his uncle. I yielded, because
Uncle Jacob was a rich old bachelor. And what do you think, Miss
Shirley, when our innocent boy wasfive years old, uncle Jacob actually went

(55:29):
and got married, and now hehas three boys of his own. Did
you ever hear of such ingratitude?The moment the invitation to the wedding,
for he had the impertinence to sendus an invitation, Miss Shirley came to
the house, I said, nomore Jacobs for me, thank you.
From that day I called my sonSaint Clair, and Saint Clair I am
determined he shall be called. Hisfather obstinately continues to call him Jacob,

(55:50):
and the boy himself has a perfectlyunaccountable preference for the vulgar name. But
Saint Clair he is, and SaintClair he shall remain. You will kindly
remember this, Miss Shirley, Willyou not thank you? I told Clarice
Almira that I was sure it wasonly a misunderstanding, and that her word
would set it right. Dunnell accenton the last syllable, and Saint Clair
on no account, Jacob, you'llremember, thank you. When missus H.

(56:15):
B. Dannell had skimmed away,Anne locked the school door and went
home. At the foot of thehill, she found Paul irving by the
birch path. He held out toher a cluster of the dainty little wild
orchids, which Avonlea children called ricelilies. Please, teacher, I found
these in mister Wright's field, hesaid, shyly, and I came back
to give them to you because Ithought you were the kind of lady that

(56:37):
would like them, and because helifted his big, beautiful eyes. I
like you, teacher, you darling, said Anne, taking the fragrant spikes,
as if Paul's words had been aspell of magic. Discouragement and weariness
passed from her spirit, and hopeupwelled in her heart like a dancing fountain.
She went through the birch path lightfootedly, attended by the sweetness of

(56:57):
her orchids as by a benediction.Well, how did you get along.
Marilla wanted to know. Ask methat a month later, and I may
be able to tell you. Ican't now. I don't know myself.
I'm too near it. My thoughtsfeel as if they had been all stirred
up until they were thick and muddy. The only thing I feel really sure
of having accomplished to day is thatI taught Cliffy Wright that a is a

(57:20):
He never knew it before. Isn'tit something to have started a soul along
a path that may end? InShakespeare in Paradise Lost? Missus Lynde came
up later on with more encouragement.That good lady had waylaid the school children
at her gate and demanded of themhow they liked their new teacher. And
every one of them said they likedyou splendid Anne, except Anthony Pye.
I must admit he didn't. Hesaid you weren't any good, just like

(57:44):
all girl teachers. There's the Pyelevin for you. But never mind.
I'm not going to mind, saidAnne quietly, And I'm going to make
Anthony Pye like me yet patience andkindness will surely win him. Well.
You never can't tell about a Pyesaid missus Rachel cautiously. They go by
contraries like dreams as often as not. As for that Dunnell woman, she'll

(58:04):
get no dunnelling from me. Ican assure you the name is Doneal and
always has been. The woman iscrazy, That's what she has. A
pug dog she calls Queenie, andit has its meals at the table along
with the family, eating off achina plate. I'd be afraid of a
judgment if I was her, Thomassays. Donnell himself is a sensible,
hard working man, but he hadn'tmuch gumption when he picked out a wife.
That's what. End of Chapter five, Chapter six, All Sorts and

(58:30):
Conditions of Men and Women. ASeptember day on Prince Edward Island Hills.
A crisp wind blowing up over thesand dunes from the sea. A long
red road winding through fields and woods, now looping itself about a corner of
thick set spruces, now threading aplantation of young maples, with great feathery

(58:51):
sheets of ferns beneath them, nowdipping down into a hollow where a brook
flashed out of the woods and intothem again, now basking an open sunshine,
between the ribbons of golden rod andsmoke blue asters. Air, a
thrill with the pipings of myriads ofcrickets, those glad little pensioners of the
summer hills. A plump brown ponyambling along the road, two girls behind

(59:13):
him, fold to the lips withthe simple, priceless joy of youth and
life. Oh, this is aday left over from Eden, isn't it?
Diana, and Anne's sighed for sheerhappiness. The air has magic in
it. Look at the purple inthe cup of the harvest valley, Diana,
And oh, do smell the dyingfur. It's coming up from that
little sunny hollow where mister eben Wrighthas been cutting fence poles. Bliss is

(59:37):
it on such a day to bealive? But to smell dying fur is
very Heaven. That's two thirds Wordsworthand one third Anne Shirley. It doesn't
seem possible that there should be dyingfur and Heaven, does it? And
yet it doesn't seem to me thatHeaven would be quite perfect if you couldn't
get a whiff of dead fur asyou went through its woods. Perhaps we'll
have the odor there without the death. Yes, I think that will be

(01:00:00):
the way. That delicious aroma mustbe the souls of the furs, and
of course it will be just soulsin heaven. Trees haven't souls, said
practical Diana. But the smell ofdead fur is certainly lovely. I'm going
to make a cushion and fill itwith fur needles. You'd better make one
too, Anne, I think Ishall and use it for my naps.

(01:00:20):
I'd be certain to dream I wasa dryad or a wood nymph then,
But just this minute, I'm wellcontent to be Anne Shirley Avonlea school.
Ma'am driving over a road like thison such a sweet, friendly day.
It's a lovely day. But wehave anything but a lovely task before us,
sighed Diana, why on earth didyou offer to canvass this road?
Anne? Almost all the Cranks andAvonlea live along it and will probably be

(01:00:44):
treated as if we were begging forourselves. It's the very worst road of
all, that is why I choseit. Of course, Gilbert and Fred
would have taken this road if wehad asked them. But you see,
Diana, I feel myself responsible forthe a V I s since I was
the first to suggest it, andit seems to me that I ought to
do the most disagreeable things. I'msorry on your account, but you needn't

(01:01:05):
say a word at the cranky places. I'll do all the talking. Missus
Lynde would say, I was wellable to. Missus Lynde doesn't know whether
to approve of our enterprise or not. She inclines to when she remembers that
mister and Missus Allan are in favorof it, but the fact that village
improvement societies first originated in the Statesas account against it. So she is
halting between two opinions, and onlysuccess will justify us in Missus Lynde's eyes.

(01:01:28):
Priscilla is going to write a paperfor our next improvement meeting, and
I expect it will be good forher aunt is such a clever writer,
and no doubt it runs in thefamily. I shall never forget the thrill
it gave me when I found outthat Missus Charlotte E. Morgan was Priscilla's
aunt. It seemed so wonderful thatI was a friend of the girl whose
aunt wrote Edward Days and the rosebudGarden. Where does missus Morgan live in

(01:01:49):
Toronto, and Priscilla says she iscoming to the island for a visit next
summer, and if it is possible, Priscilla is going to arrange to have
us meet her. That seems almosttoo good to be true, but it's
something pleasant to imagine after you goto bed. The Avonlea Village Improvement Society
was an organized fact. Gilbert Blythewas president, Fred Wright vice president,
Anne Shirley's secretary, and Diana Barrytreasurer. The Improvers, as they were

(01:02:14):
promptly christened, were to meet oncea fortnight at the homes of the members.
It was admitted that they could notexpect to effect many improvements so late
in the season, but they meantto plan next summer's campaign, collect and
discuss ideas, read and write papers, and, as Anne said, educate
the public sentiment. Generally, therewas some disapproval, of course, and

(01:02:34):
which the Improvers felt much more keenlya good deal of ridicule. Mister Elisha
Wright was reported to have said thata more appropriate name for the organization would
be Courting Club. Missus Hiram Sloanedeclared she had heard the Improvers meant to
plow up all the road sides andset them out with geraniums. Mister Levi
Bolter warned his neighbors that the Improverswould insist that everybody pulled down his house

(01:02:55):
and rebuild it after plans approved bythe Society. Mister James Spencer sent them
word that he wished they would kindlyshovel down the church hill. Even Wright
told Anne that he wished the Improverscould induce Old Josiah Sloane to keep his
whiskers trimmed. Mister Laurence Bell saidhe would whitewash his barns if nothing else
would please them, but he wouldnot hang lace curtains in the cow stable

(01:03:16):
windows. Mister Major Spencer asked CliftonSloane, an improver who drove the milk
to the Carmody Cheese factory, ifit was true that everybody would have to
have his milk stand hand painted nextsummer and keep an embroidered centipiece on it
in spite of or perhaps human naturebeing what it is. Because of this,
the Society went gayly to work atthe only improvement they could hope to

(01:03:37):
bring about. That fall. Atthe second meeting in the Barry parlor.
Oliver Sloane moved that they start asubscription to re shingle and paint the hall.
Julia Bell seconded it, with anuneasy feeling that she was doing something
not exactly ladylike. Gilbert put themotion. It was carried unanimously, and
Anne gravely recorded it in her minutes. The next thing was to appoint a

(01:03:58):
committee, and Gerdie Pie, determinednot to let Julia Bell carry off all
the Laurels, boldly moved that MissJane Andrews be chairman of said committee,
this motion being also duly seconded andcarried. Jane returned the compliment by appointing
Gerdy on the committee, along withGilbert, Anne, Diana, and Fred
Wright. The committee chose their routesin private conclave. Anne and Diana were

(01:04:18):
told off for the Newbridge Road,Gilbert and Fred for the White Sands Road,
and Jane and Gerdy for the CarmedyRoad. Because, explained Gilbert to
Anne as they walked home together throughthe Haunted Wood, the Pies all live
along that road, and they won'tgive a cent unless one of themselves canvasses
them. The next Saturday, Anneand Diana started out. They drove to
the end of the road and canvassedhomeward, calling first on the Andrews girls.

(01:04:43):
If Catherine is alone, we mayget something, said Diana, but
if Eliza is there, we won't. Eliza was there very much so,
and looked even grimmer than usual.Miss Eliza was one of those people who
give you the impression that life isindeed a veil of tears, and that
a smile, never to speak oflaugh, is a waste of nervous energy,
truly reprehensible. The Andrews girls hadbeen girls for fifty odd years and

(01:05:06):
seemed likely to remain girls to theend of their earthly pilgrimage. Catherine,
it was said, had not entirelygiven up hope, but Eliza, who
was born a pessimist, had neverhad any. They lived in a little
brown house built in a sunny cornerscooped out of Mark Andrew's beech woods.
Eliza complained that it was terrible hotin summer, but Catherine was wont to

(01:05:26):
say it was lovely and warm inwinter. Eliza was sewing patchwork, not
because it was needed, but simplyas a protest against the frivolous lace Catherine
was crocheting. Eliza listened with afrown and Catherine with a smile as the
girls explained their errand to be sure, whenever Catherine caught Eliza's eye, she
discarded the smile in guilty confusion,but it crept back the next moment.

(01:05:48):
If I had money to waste,said Eliza grimly, I'd burn it up
and have the fun of seeing ablaze. Maybe, but I wouldn't give
it to that hall. Not acent. It's no benefit to the settlement,
just a place for young folks tomeet and carry on when they's better
be home in their beds. Oh, Eliza, young folks must have some
amusement, protested Catherine. I don'tsee the necessity. We didn't get about

(01:06:10):
to halls and places when we wereyoung, Catherine Andrews, This world is
getting worse every day. I thinkit's getting better, said Catherine firmly.
You think miss Eliza's voice expressed theutmost contempt. It doesn't signify what you
think, Catherine Andrews, fats isfacts. Well. I always like to
look on the bright side, Eliza. There isn't any bright side. Oh

(01:06:31):
indeed, there is, cried Anne, who couldn't endure such heresy in silence?
Why there are ever so many brightsides? Miss Andrews, it's really
a beautiful world. You won't havesuch a high opinion of it when you've
lived as long and it as Ihave, retorted Miss Eliza sourly, and
you won't be so enthusiastic about improvingit either. How is your mother,
Diana? Dear me? But shehas failed of late? She looks terrible

(01:06:54):
run down? And how long isit before Marilla expects to be stone blind?
Anne? The doctor dur thinks hereyes will not get any worse if
she is very careful? Faltered Anne, Eliza shook her head. Doctors always
talk like that, just to keeppeople cheered up. I wouldn't have much
hope if I was her. It'sbest to be prepared for the worst.
But oughtn't we be prepared for thebest? Too, pleaded Anne, It's

(01:07:16):
just as likely to happen as theworst, not in my experience, And
I've fifty seven years to set againstyour sixteen, retorted Eliza, going are
you well? I hope this newsociety of yours will be able to keep
Avonlea from running any further downhill.But I haven't much hope of it.
Anne and Diana got themselves thankfully outand drove away as fast as the fat

(01:07:38):
pony could go. As they roundedthe curve below the beech wood, a
plump figure came speeding over mister Andrews'spasture, waving to them excitedly. It
was Catherine Andrews, and she wasso out of breath that she could hardly
speak, but she thrust a coupleof quarters into Anne's hand. That's my
contribution to painting the hall, shegasped. I'd like to give you a
dollar, but I don't dare takemore for my egg. Money from Elza

(01:08:00):
would find out if I did.I'm real interested in your society, and
I believe you're going to do alot of good. I'm an optimist.
I have to be living with Eliza. I must hurry back before she misses
me. She thinks I'm feeding thehens. I hope you'll have good luck
canvassing, and don't be cast downover what Eliza said. The world is
getting better. It certainly is.The next house was Daniel Blair's. Now

(01:08:21):
it all depends on whether his wifeis home or not, said Diana,
as they jolted along a deep ruttedlane. If she is, we won't
get a sent everybody, says DanBlair doesn't dare have his hair cut without
asking her permission, and it's certainshe's very close to state it moderately.
She says she has to be justbefore she's generous, but missus Lynde says
she's so much before that generosity nevercatches up with her at all. Anne

(01:08:45):
related their experience at the Blair placeto Marilla. That evening, we tied
the horse and then rapped at thekitchen door. Nobody came, but the
door was open, and we couldhear somebody in the pantry going on dreadfully.
We couldn't make out the words,but Diana says she knows they were
swearing by the sound of them.I can't believe that of mister Blair,
for he is always so quiet andmeek. But at least he had great

(01:09:06):
provocation for Marilla. When that poorman came to the door, red as
a beat, with perspirations streaming downhis face. He had on one of
his wife's big gingham aprons. Ican't get this durned thing off, he
said, for the strings are tiedand a hard knut, and I can't
bust him, so he'll have toexcuse me. Ladies. Be begged him
not to mention it, and wentin and sat down. Mister Blair sat

(01:09:28):
down too. He twisted the apronround to his back and rolled it up,
but he did look so ashamed andworried that I felt sorry for him.
And Diana said she feared we hadcalled it an inconvenient time. Oh
not at all, said mister Blair, trying to smile. You know,
he is always very polite. I'ma little busy getting ready to bake a
cake, as it were. Mywife got a telegram to day that her
sister from Montreal is coming to night, and she's gone to the train to

(01:09:49):
meet her and left orders for meto make a cake for tea. She
read out the recipe and told mewhat to do. But I've clean forgot
half the directions already, and itsays flavor according to taste. What does
that mean? How can you tell? And what if my taste doesn't happen
to be other people's taste? Woulda tablespoon of vanilla be enough for a
small layer cake? I felt sorrierthan ever for the poor man. He

(01:10:12):
didn't seem to be in his propersphere at all. I had heard of
hen pecked husbands, and now Ifelt that I saw one. It was
on my lips to say, misterBlair, if you'll give us a subscription
for the hall, i'll mix upyour cake for you. But I suddenly
thought it wouldn't be neighborly to drivetoo sharp a bargain with a fellow creature
in distress, so I offered tomix the cake for him, without any
conditions at all. He just jumpedat my offer. He said he'd been

(01:10:33):
used to making his own bread beforehe was married, but he feared cake
was beyond him, and yet hehated to disappoint his wife. He got
me another apron, and Diana beatthe eggs, and I mixed the cake.
Mister Blair ran about and got usthe materials. He had forgotten all
about his apron, and when heran it streamed out behind him, and
Diana said she thought she would dieto see it. He said he could

(01:10:54):
bake the cake all right, hewas used to that. And then he
asked for our list, and heput down four dollars. So you see
we were rewarded. But even ifhe hadn't given assent, I'd always feel
that we had done a truly Christianact in helping him. Theodore White's was
the next stopping place. Neither Annenor Diana had ever been there before,
and they had only a very slightacquaintance with Missus Theodore, who was not

(01:11:15):
given to hospitality. Should they goto the back or front door? While
they held a whispered consultation, MissusTheodore appeared at the front door with an
armful of newspapers. Deliberately, shelaid them down one by one on the
porch floor and the porch steps,and then down the path to the very
feet of her mystified callers. Willyou please wipe your feet carefully on the
grass and then walk on these papers? She said anxiously. I've just swept

(01:11:38):
the house all over, and Ican't have any more dust tracked in the
Path's been real muddy since the rainyesterday. Don't you dare laugh, mourned
Anne in a whisper, as theymarched along the newspapers. And I implore
you, Diana, not to lookat me no matter what she says,
or I shall not be able tokeep a sober face. The papers extended
across the hall and into a primflecklace parlor. Anne and Diana sat down

(01:12:01):
gingerly on the nearest chairs and explainedtheir errand Missus White heard them politely,
interrupting only twice, once to chaseout an adventurous fly, and once to
pick up a tiny wisp of grassthat had fallen on the carpet from Anne's
dress. Anne felt wretchedly guilty,but Missus White subscribed two dollars and paid
the money down to prevent us fromhaving to go back for it. Diana

(01:12:21):
said, when they got away,Missus White had the newspapers gathered up before
they had their horse untied, andas they drove out of the yard they
saw her busily wielding a broom inthe hall. I've always heard that Missus
Theoda White was the neatest woman alive, and I'll believe it after this,
said Diana, giving way to hersuppressed laughter as soon as it was safe.
I am glad she has no children, said Anne, solemnly. It

(01:12:44):
would be dreadful beyond words for themif she had. At the Spencer's missus
Isabella Spencer made them miserable by sayingsomething ill natured about everyone in Avonlea.
Mister Thomas Bolter refused to give anythingbecause the hall, when it had been
built twenty years before, hadn't beenbuilt on the site. He recommended missus
ester Bell, who was the pictureof health, took half an hour to

(01:13:05):
detail all her aches and pains,and sadly put down fifty cents because she
wouldn't be there that time next yearto do it. No, she would
be in her grave. Their worstreception, however, was at Simon Fletcher's.
When they drove into the yard,they saw two faces peering at them
through the porch window. But althoughthey rapped and waited patiently and persistently,

(01:13:26):
nobody came to the door. Twodecidedly ruffled and indignant girls drove away from
Simon Fletcher's. Even Anne admitted thatshe was beginning to feel discouraged. But
the tide turned after that. Severalslown homesteads came next, where they got
liberal subscriptions, and from that tothe end they fared well, with only
an occasional snub. Their last placeof call was at Robert Dixon's by the

(01:13:46):
Pond Bridge. They stayed to teahere although they were nearly home. Rather
than risk offending Missus Dixon, whohad the reputation of being a very touchy
woman. While they were there,old Missus James White called in. I've
just been down to Lorenzo's. Sheannounced, he's the proudest man in Avonlea
this minute. What do you think. There's a brand new boy there,
and after seven girls, that's quitean event, I can tell you.

(01:14:09):
Anne pricked up her ears, andwhen they drove away, she said,
I'm going straight to Lorenzo White's.But he lives on the White Sands Road
and it's quite a distance out ofour way, protested Diana. Gilbert and
Fred will canvass him. They arenot going around until next Saturday, and
it will be too late by then, said Anne firmly. The novelty will
be worn off. Lorenzo White isdreadfully mean, but he will subscribe to

(01:14:30):
anything just now. We mustn't letsuch a golden opportunity slip, Diana.
The result justified Anne's foresight. MisterWhite met them in the yard, beaming
like the sun upon an Easter day. When Anne asked for a subscription,
he agreed enthusiastically. Certain certain justput me down for a dollar more than
the highest subscription you've got. Thatwill be five dollars. Mister Daniel Blair

(01:14:51):
put down four, said Anne,half afraid, but Lorenzo did not flinch.
Five it is, and here's themoney on the spot. Now,
w to come into the house.There's something in there worth seeing, something
very few people have seen as yet. Just come in and pass your opinion.
What will we say if the babyisn't pretty? Whispered Diana in trepidation
as they followed the excited Lorenzo intothe house. Oh, there will certainly

(01:15:15):
be something else nice to say aboutit, said Anne easily. There always
is about a baby. The babywas pretty, however, and mister White
felt that he got his five dollarsworth of the girl's honest delight over the
plump little newcomer. But that wasthe first last and only time that Lorenzo
White ever subscribed to anything. Anne, tired as she was, made one
more effort for the public wheel thatnight, slipping over the fields to interview

(01:15:39):
mister Harrison, who was, asusual smoking his pipe on the veranda with
Ginger beside him. Strictly speaking,he was on the carmody road, but
Jane and Gerdy, who were notacquainted with him save by doubtful report,
had nervously begged Anne to canvass him. Mister Harrison, however, flatly refused
to subscribe a cent, and allAnne's wiles were in vain. But I
thought what you were approved of oursociety, mister Harrison, she mourned.

(01:16:02):
So I do, so I do, but my approval doesn't go as deep
as my pocket. Anne, Afew more experiences such as I have had
today would make me as much ofa pessimist as miss Eliza Andrews. Anne
told her reflection in the east gablemirror at bedtime, end of chapter six,
Chapter seven, The Pointing of Duty, Anne leaned back in her chair

(01:16:25):
one mild October evening and sighed.She was sitting at a table covered with
text books and exercises, but theclosely written sheets of paper before her had
no apparent connection with studies or schoolwork. What is the matter, asked Gilbert,
who had arrived at the open kitchendoor just in time to hear the
sigh. Anne colored and thrust herwriting out of sight under some school compositions.

(01:16:45):
Nothing very dreadful. I was justtrying to write out some of my
thoughts, as Professor Hamilton advised me, But I couldn't get them to please
me. They seem so still andfoolish. Directly they're written down on white
paper with black ink. Fancies arelike shadows. You can't cage them.
They're such wayward dancing things. Butperhaps I'll learn the secret some day if

(01:17:06):
I keep on trying. I haven'ta great many spare moments. You know,
by the time I finish correcting schoolexercises and compositions, I don't always
feel like writing any of my own. You're getting on splendidly in school.
Lanbe all the children like you,said Gilbert, sitting down on the stone
step. No, not all.Anthony Pye doesn't and won't like me.

(01:17:27):
What is worse, he doesn't respectme, No, he doesn't. He
simply holds me in contempt. AndI don't mind confessing to you that it
worries me miserably. It isn't thathe's so very bad. He's only rather
mischievous, but no worse than someof the others. He seldom disobeys me,
but he obeys with a scornful airof toleration, as if it wasn't
worth while disputing the point, orhe would and it has a bad effect

(01:17:49):
on the others. I've tried everyway to win him, but I'm beginning
to fear I never shall. Iwant to, for he's rather a cute
little lad if he is a pie, and I could like him if he'd
let me. Probably it's merely theeffect of what he hears at home,
not altogether. Anthony is an independentlittle chap and makes up his own mind
about things. He's always gone tomen before, and he says girl teachers

(01:18:12):
are no good. Well, we'llsee what patience and kindness will do.
I like overcoming difficulties, and teachingis really very interesting work. Paul Irving
makes up for all that is lackingin the others. That child is a
perfect darling, Gilbert, and agenius into the bargain. I'm persuaded the
world will hear of him some day, concluded Anne, in a tone of
conviction. I like teaching, too, said Gilbert. It's good training for

(01:18:33):
one thing. Why, Anne,I've learned more in the weeks i've been
teaching the young ideas of white Sandsthan I learned in all the years I
went to school myself. We allseem to be getting along pretty well,
the Newbridge people like Jane I hear, and I think White Sands is tolerably
satisfied with your humble servant, allexcept mister Andrew Spencer. I met Missus
Peter Blewett on my way home lastnight, and she told me she thought

(01:18:55):
it her duty to inform me thatmister Spencer didn't approve of my methods.
If you ever noticed, asked Annereflectively, that when people say it is
their duty to tell you a certainthing, you may prepare for something disagreeable.
Why is it that they never seemto think it's a duty to tell
you the pleasant things they hear aboutyou. Missus h B. Dnnell called
at the school again yesterday and toldme she thought it heard duty to inform

(01:19:17):
me that missus Harmon Andrews didn't approveof my reading fairy tales to the children,
and that mister Rogerson thought Prilly wasn'tcoming on fast enough and arithmetic.
If Prilly would spend less time makingeyes at the boys over her slate,
she might do better. But Ifeel sure that old Jack Gillis works her
class sums for her, though I'venever been able to catch him red handed.
Have you succeeded in reconciling Missus Darnell'shopeful son to his saintly name?

(01:19:41):
Yes, laughed Anne. But itwas really a difficult task at first.
When I called him Saint Clair,he would not take the least notice until
I'd spoken two or three times.And then when the other boys nudged him,
he would look up with such anaggrieved air as if I'd called him
John or Charlie, and he couldn'tbe expected to know I meant him.
So I kept him in after schoolone night and talked kindly to him.

(01:20:02):
I told him his mother wished meto call him Saint Clair, and I
couldn't go against her wishes. Hesaw it when it was all explained out.
He's really a very reasonable little fellow, and he said I could call
him Saint Clair, but that he'dlick the stuffing out of any of the
boys that tried it. Of course, I had to rebuke him again for
using such shocking language. Since then, I call him Saint Clair and the
boys call him Jake, and allgo smoothly. He informs me that he

(01:20:25):
means to be a carpenter, Butmissus Darnell says, I am to make
a college professor out of him.The mention of college gave a new direction
to Gilbert's thoughts, and they talkedfor a time of their plans and wishes,
gravely, earnestly, hopefully, asyouth loves to talk, while the
future is yet an untrodden path fullof wonderful possibilities. Gilbert had finally made
up his mind that he was goingto be a doctor. It's a splendid

(01:20:47):
profession, he said enthusiastically. Afellow has to fight something all through life.
Didn't somebody once define a man asa fighting animal. And I want
to fight disease and pain and ignorance, which are all members of one another.
I want to do my share ofhonest, real work in the world,
Anne add a little to the sumof human knowledge that all the good
men have been accumulating since it began. The folks who lived before me have

(01:21:11):
done so much for me that Iwant to show my gratitude by doing something
for the folks who will live afterme. It seems to me that it
is the only way a fellow canget square with his obligations to the race.
I'd like to add some beauty tolife, said Anne dreamily. I
don't exactly want to make people nomore, though I know that is the
noblest ambition. But I love tomake them have a pleasanter time because of

(01:21:32):
me, to have some little joyor happy thought that would never have existed
if I hadn't been born. Ithink you're fulfilling that ambition every day,
said Gilbert admiringly, and he wasright. Anne was one of the children
of light by birthright after she hadpassed through a life with a smile or
a word thrown across it like agleam of sunshine, the owner of that

(01:21:53):
life saw it, for the timebeing at least as hopeful and lovely and
of good report. Finally, Gilbertrose regretfully, well, I must run
up to mc pherson's. Moody Spurgeoncame home from Queen's to day for Sunday,
and he was to bring me outa book Professor Boyd is lending me,
and I must get Marilla's tea.She went to see missus Keith this
evening, and she will soon beback. Anne had tea ready when Marilla

(01:22:15):
came home. The fire was cracklingcheerily. A vase of frost bleached ferns
and ruby red maple leaves adorned thetable, and delectable odors of ham and
toast pervaded the air. But Marillasank into her chair with a deep sigh.
Are your eyes troubling you? Doesyour head ache? Queried Anne anxiously.
No, I'm only tired and worried. It's about Mary and those children.

(01:22:38):
Mary is worse. She can't lastmuch longer. And as for the
twins, I don't know what isto become of them. Hasn't their uncle
been heard from? Yes, Maryhad a letter from him. He's working
in a lumber camp and shacking it, whatever that means anyway. He says
he can't possibly take the children tillthe spring. He expects to be married
then and will have a home totake them too. But he's says she

(01:23:00):
must get some of the neighbors tokeep them for the winter. She says
she can't bear to ask any ofthem. Mary never got on any too
well with the East Grafton people,and that's a fact. And the long
and the short of it is,Anne that I'm sure Mary wants me to
take those children. She didn't sayso, but she looked it. Oh.
Anne clasped her hands, all athrill with excitement. And of course
you will, Marilla, won't you. I haven't made up my mind,

(01:23:21):
said Marilla, rather tartly. Idon't rush into things in your headlong way,
Anne. Third cousinship is a prettyslim claim, and it will be
a fearful responsibility to have two childrenof six years to look after twins.
At that, Marilla had an ideathat twins were just twice as bad as
single children. Twins are very interesting, at least one pair of them,

(01:23:42):
said Anne. It's only when thereare two or three pairs that it gets
monotonous. And I think it wouldbe real nice for you to have something
to amuse you when I'm away inschool. I don't reckon there'd be much
amusement in it, more worry andbother than anything else. I should say.
It wouldn't be so risky if theywere even as old as you were
when I took you. I wouldn'tmind Dora so much. She seems good
and quiet, but that Davy isa limb. Anne was fond of children,

(01:24:08):
and her heart yearned over the Keithtwins. The remembrance of her own
neglected childhood was very vivid with her. Still, she knew that Marilla's only
vulnerable point was her stern devotion towhat she believed to be her duty,
and Anne skillfully marshaled her arguments alongthis line. If Davy is naughty,
it's all the more reason why heshould have good training, isn't it,
Marilla. If we don't take them, we don't know who will, nor

(01:24:30):
what kind of influences may surround them. Suppose Missus Keith's next door neighbors,
the Spots, were to take them. Missus Lynde says, Henry Sprott is
the most profane man that ever lived, and you can't believe a word as
children say. Wouldn't it be dreadfulto have the twins learn anything like that?
Or suppose they went to the Wigginses. Missus Lynde says that mister Wiggins
sells everything off the place that canbe sold, and brings his family up

(01:24:53):
on skim milk. You wouldn't likeyour relations to be starved, even if
they were only third cousins, wouldyou. It seems to me, Marilla,
that it is our duty to takethem I suppose it is assented,
Marilla gloomily. I dare say,I'll tell Mary I'll take them. You
needn't look so delighted, Anne,It will mean a good deal of extra
work for you. I can't sewa stitch on account of my eyes,

(01:25:15):
so you'll have to see to themaking and mending of their clothes. And
you don't like sewing, I hateit, said Anne calmly. But if
you are willing to take those childrenfrom a sense of duty, surely I
can do their sewing. From asense of duty. It does people good
to have to do things they don'tlike. In moderation. End of chapter
seven. Chapter eight, Marilla adoptstwins. Missus Rachel Lynde was sitting at

(01:25:40):
her kitchen window knitting a quilt,just as she had been sitting one evening
several years previously when Matthew Cuthbert haddriven down over the hill with what Missus
Rachel called his imported orphan. Butthat had been in springtime, and this
was late autumn, and all thewoods reliefless, in the fields sere and
brown. The sun was just settingwith a great deal of purple and golden
pone behind the dark woods west ofAvonlea. When a buggy drawn by a

(01:26:02):
comfortable brown nag came down the hill, Missus Rachel peered at it eagerly.
There's Marilla getting home from the funeral, she said to her husband, who
was lying on the kitchen lounge.Thomas Lynde lay more on the lounge nowadays
than he had been used to do. But Missus Rachel, who was so
sharp at noticing anything beyond her ownhousehold, had not as yet noticed this.

(01:26:23):
And she's got the twins with her. Yes, there's Davy leaning over
the dashboard, grabbing at the pony'stail, and Marilla jerking him back.
Dora sitting up on the seat asprim as you please. She always looks
as if she'd just been starched andironed. Well, poor Marilla is going
to have her hands full this winter, and no mistake. Still, I
don't see that she could do anythingless than take them under the circumstances.

(01:26:44):
And she'll have Anne to help her. Anne stiggled to death over the whole
business. And she has a realnacky way with children, I must say,
dear me. It doesn't seem aday since poor Matthew brought Anne herself
home, and everybody laughed at theidea of Marilla bringing up a child,
And now she has adopted twins.You're never say from being surprised till you're
dead. The fat pony jogged overthe bridge in Lyne's Hollow and along the

(01:27:04):
green Gables Lane. Marilla's face wasrather grim. It was ten miles from
East Grafton, and Davy Keith seemedto be possessed with a passion for perpetual
motion. It was beyond Marilla's powerto make him sit still, and she
had been in an agony the wholeway lest he fall over the back of
the wagon and break his neck ortumble over the dashboard under the pony's heels.

(01:27:25):
In despair, she finally threatened towhip him soundly when she got home,
whereupon Davy climbed into her lap regardlessof the reins, flung his chubby
arms about her neck, and gaveher a bear like hug. I don't
believe you mean it, he said, smacking her wrinkled cheek affectionately. You
don't look like a lady who'd whipa little boy just because he couldn't keep
still. Didn't you find it awfulhard to keep still when you was only

(01:27:45):
as old as me. No,I always kept still when I was told,
said Marilla, trying to speak sternly, albeit she felt her heart waxing
soft within her under Davy's impulsive caresses. Well, I s'pose that was because
you was a girl, said Davy, squirming back to his place after another
hug. You was a girl once, I suppose, though it's awful funny
to think of it. Dora cansit still, but there ain't much fun

(01:28:09):
in it, I don't think.Seems to me it must be slow to
be a girl. Here, Dora, let me liven you up a bit.
Davy's method of livening up was tograsp Dora's curls and his fingers and
give him a tug. Dora shriekedand then cried, how can you be
such a naughty boy, and yourpoor mother just laid in her grave this
very day, demanded Marilla despairingly.But she was glad to die, said

(01:28:30):
Davy confidentially. I know cause shetold me so. She was awful tired
of being sick. We'd a longtalk the night before she died. She
told me you was goin to takeme and Dora for the winter. And
I was to be a good boy. I'm going to be good, But
can't you be good running around justas well as sitting still? And she
said I was always to be kindto Dora and stand up for her.
And I'm going to do you callpulling her hair being kind to her.

(01:28:54):
Well, I ain't gonna let anybodyelse pull it, said Davy, doubling
up his fists and frowning. Theyjust U better try it. I didn't
hurt her much. She just criedcause she's a girl. I'm glad I'm
a boy, but I'm sorry I'ma twin. When Jimmy's Sprought's sister Connor
Dixon, he just says, I'molder'n' you, so course I know better,
and that settles her. But Ican't tell Dora that, and she

(01:29:15):
just goes on thinkin different from me. You might let me drive the Gigi
for a spell, since I'm aman altogether. Marilla was a thankful woman
when she drove into her own yard, where the wind of the autumn night
was dancing with the brown leaves.Anne was at the gate to meet them
and lift the twins out. Dorasubmitted calmly to be kissed, but Davy
responded to Anne's welcome with one ofhis hearty hugs and the cheerful announcement,

(01:29:39):
I'm mister Davy Keith. At thesupper table, Dora behaved like a little
lady, but Davy's manners left muchto be desired. I'm so hungry,
I ain't got time to deep politely, he said, when Marilla reproved him,
Dora ain't half as hungry as Iam. Look at all the exercise
I took on the road here.That cake's awful, nice and plummy.
We haven't had any cake at homeforever, never so long, cause mother

(01:30:00):
too sick to make it, andMissus Sprott said it was as much as
she could do to bake our breadfor us, and Missus Wiggins never puts
any plums in her cakes. Catchher? Can I have another piece?
Marilla would have refused, but Annecut a generous second slice. However,
she reminded Davy that he ought tosay thank you for it. Davy merely
grinned at her and took a hugebite. When he had finished the slice,
he said, if you'll give meanother piece, I'll say thank ye

(01:30:23):
for it. No, you havehad plenty of cake, said Marilla,
in a tone which Anne knew andDavy was to learn to be final.
Davy winked at Anne, and then, leaning over the table, snatched Dora's
first piece of cake, from whichhe had just taken one dainty little bite
out of her very fingers, andopening his mouth to the fullest extent,
crammed the whole slice in. Dora'slip trembled, and Marilla was speechless with

(01:30:45):
horror. Anne promptly exclaimed with herbest school ma'am air, Oh, Davy,
gentlemen don't do things like that.I know they don't, said Davy
as soon as he could speak.But I ain't a gentleman. But don't
you want to be, said shockedAnne, course I do. But you
can't be a gentleman till you growup. Oh indeed you can, Anne
hastened to say, thinking she sawa chance to sew good seed. Betimes,

(01:31:09):
you can begin to be a gentlemanwhen you are a little boy.
And gentlemen never snatch things from ladies, or forget to say thank you,
or pull anybody's hair. They don'thave much fun. That's a fact,
said Davy frankly, I guess I'llwait till I'm grown up to be one.
Marilla, with a resigned air,had cut another piece of cake for
Dora. She did not feel ableto cope with Davy just then. It

(01:31:30):
had been a hard day for her, what with the funeral and the long
drive. At that moment, shelooked forward to the future with a pessimism
that would have done credit to ElizaAndrews herself. The twins were not noticeably
alike, although both were fair.Dora had long, sleek curls that never
got out of order. Davy hada crop of fuzzy, little yellow ringlets
all over his round head. Dora'shazel eyes were gentle and mild, Davy's

(01:31:53):
were as roguish and dancing as anELF's. Dora's nose was straight, Davy's
a positive snub. Dora had aprunes and PRISM's mouth. Davy's was all
smiles, and besides, he hada dimple in one cheek and none in
the other, which gave him adear, comical, lopsided look when he
laughed. Mirth and mischief lurked inevery corner of his little face. They'd
better go to bed, said Marilla, who thought it was the easiest way

(01:32:15):
to dispose of them. Dora willsleep with me, and you can put
Davy in the West Gable. You'renot afraid to sleep alone, are you,
Davy? No, but I ain'tgoing to bed for ever so long
yet, said Davy comfortably. Ohyes you are. That was all the
much tried Marilla said, but somethingin her tone squelched even Davy. He
trotted obediently upstairs with Anne. WhenI'm grown up, the very first thing

(01:32:38):
I'm going to do is stay upall night, just to see what it
would be like, he told herconfidentially. In after years, Marilla never
thought of that first week of thetwin sojourn at Green Gables without a shiver.
Not that it was really so muchworse than the weeks that followed it,
but it seemed so by reason ofits novelty. There was seldom a
waking minute of any day when Davywas not in mischief or devising it.

(01:33:00):
But his first notable exploit occurred twodays after his arrival, on Sunday morning,
a fine, warm day as hazyand mild as September. Anne dressed
him for church while Marilla attended toDora. Davy at first objected strongly to
having his face washed. Marilla washedit yesterday, and missus Wiggans scoured me
with hard soap the day of thefuneral. That's enough for one week.
I don't see the good of beingso awful clean. It's lots more comfortable

(01:33:24):
being dirty. Paul Irving washes hisface every day of his own, accord,
said Anne astutely. Davy had beenan inmate of green Gables for a
little over forty eight hours, buthe already worshiped Anne and hated Paul Irving,
whom he had heard Anne praising enthusiasticallythe day after his arrival. If
Paul Irving washed his face every day, that's settled it, he Davy.

(01:33:45):
Keith would do it too if itkilled him. The same consideration induced him
to submit meekly to the other detailsof his toilet, and he was really
a handsome little lad when all wasdone. Anne felt an almost maternal pride
in him as she led him intothe old Cuthbert Pew. Davy behaved quite
well at first, being occupied andcasting covert glances at all the small boys
within view, and wondering which wasPaul irving the first two hymns, and

(01:34:09):
the scripture reading passed off uneventfully.Mister Allan was praying when the sensation came.
Loretta White was sitting in front ofDavy, her head slightly bent and
her fair hair hanging in two longbraids, between which a tempting expanse of
white neck showed, encased in aloose lace frill. Loretta was a fat,
placid looking child of eight, whohad conducted herself irreproachably in church from

(01:34:30):
the very first day her mother carriedher there, an infant of six months.
Davy thrust his hand into his pocketand produced a caterpillar, a furry,
squirming caterpillar. Marilla saw and clutchedat him, but she was too
late. Davy dropped the caterpillar downLoretta's neck, right into the middle of
mister Allan's prayer, burst a seriesof piercing shrieks. The minister stopped,

(01:34:53):
appalled and opened his eyes. Everyhead and the congregation flew up. Loretta
White was dancing up and down inher pew, clutching frantically at the back
of her dress. Oh, mamma, mamma, Oh take it off.
Oh, get it out all thatbad boy put it down my neck.
Oh, mamma, it's gone furtherdown o O. Missus White rose,

(01:35:15):
and with a set face, carriedthe hysterical writhing Loretta out of church.
Her shrieks died away in the distance, and mister Allen proceeded with the service,
but everybody felt that it was afailure that day. For the first
time in her life, Marilla tookno notice of the text, and Anne
sat with scarlet cheeks of mortification.When they got home, Marilla put Davy
to bed and made him stay therefor the rest of the day. She

(01:35:38):
would not give him any dinner,but allowed him a plain tea of bread
and milk. Anne carried it tohim and sat sorrowfully by him while he
ate it with an unrepentant relish.But Anne's mournful eyes troubled him. I
s'pose, he said reflectively that PaulIrving wouldn't have dropped a caterpillar down a
girl's neck in church, would he. Indeed he wouldn't, said Anne sadly.

(01:36:00):
Well, I'm kinda sorry I didit, then conceded Davy. But
it was such a jolly big caterpillar. I picked him up on the church
steps just as we went in.It seemed a pity to waste him and
say, wasn't it fun to hearthat girl yell? Tuesday afternoon, the
AID Society met at Green Gables.Anne hurried home from school, for she
knew that Marilla would need all theassistance she could give. Dora, neat

(01:36:24):
and proper in her nicely starched whitedress and black sash, was sitting with
the members of the aid in theparlor, speaking demurely when spoken to,
keeping silence when not, and inevery way comporting herself as if moudal child.
Davy blissfully dirty, was making mudpies in the barn yard. I
told him he might, said Marillawearily. I thought it would keep him
out of worse mischief. He canonly get dirty at that. We'll have

(01:36:46):
our teas over before we call himto his Dora can have hers with us,
But I would never dare to letDavy sit down at the table with
all the Aids here. When Annewent to call the Aids to tea,
she found that Dora was not inthe parlor. Missus Jasper Bell said Davy
had come to the front door andcalled her out. A hasty consultation with
Marilla and the pantry resulted in adecision to let both children have their teas

(01:37:08):
together. Later on, tea washalf over when the dining room was invaded
by a forlorn figure. Marilla andAnne stared in dismay the aids in amazement.
Could that be Dora? That sobbing, nondescript and a drenched, dripping
dress and hair from which the waterwas streaming on Marilla's new coin spot rug.
Dora, what has happened to you? Cried Anne, with a guilty

(01:37:29):
glance at missus Jasper Bell, whosefamily was said to be the only one
in the world in which accidents neveroccurred. Davy made me walk the pig
pen fence, well, Dora,I didn't want to, but he called
me a fraidy cat, and Ifell off into the pigpen and my dress
got all dirty and the pig runright over me. My dress was just
awful, But Davy said if i'dstand under the pump, he'd wash it

(01:37:51):
clean. And I did, andhe pumped water all over me. But
my dress ain't a bit cleaner,and my pretty sash and chooses all well
spoiled. Anne did the honors ofthe table alone for the rest of the
meal, while Marilla went upstairs andredressed Dora in her old clothes. Davy
was caught and sent to bed withoutany supper. Anne went to his room

(01:38:12):
at twilight and talked to him seriously, a method in which she had great
faith, not altogether unjustified by results. She told him she felt very badly
over his conduct. I feel sorrynow myself, admitted Davy. But the
trouble is I never feel sorry fordoing things till after I've did them.
Dora wouldn't help me make pies causeshe was afraid of messing her clothes,

(01:38:32):
and that made me hopin mad.I suppose Paul Irving wouldn't have made his
sister walk a pig pen fence ifhe knew she'd fall in. No,
he would never dream of such athing. Paul is a perfect little gentleman.
Davy screwed his eyes tight shut andseemed to meditate on this for a
time. Then he crawled up andput his arms about Anne's neck, snuggling

(01:38:53):
his flushed little face down on hershoulder. Anne, don't you like me
a little bit? Even if Iain't a good boy? Like indeed,
I do, said Anne sincerely.Somehow it was impossible to help liking Davy.
But i'd like you better still ifyou weren't so naughty. I did
something else to day, went onDavy in a muffled voice. I'm sorry

(01:39:14):
now, but I'm awful scared totell you. You won't be very cross,
will you? And you won't tellMarilla, will you? I don't
know, Davy. Perhaps I oughtto tell her, but I think I
can promise you I won't if youpromise me that you will never do it
again. Whatever it is, No, I never will. Anyhow, It's
not likely i'd find any more ofthem this year. I found this one
on the cellar's steps. Davy,What is it you've done? I put

(01:39:38):
a toad in Marilla's bed. Youcan go and take it out if you
like, But say Anne, wouldn'tit be fun to leave it there?
Davy Keith. Anne sprang from Davy'sclinging arms and flew across the hall to
Marilla's room. The bed was slightlyrumpled. She threw back the blankets in
nervous haste, and there, invery truth was the toad blinking at her
from under a pillow. How canI I carry that awful thing out,

(01:40:00):
moaned Anne with a shudder. Thefire shovel suggested itself to her, and
she crept down to get it.While Marilla was busy in the pantry,
Anne had her own troubles carrying thattoe downstairs, for it hopped off the
shovel three times, and once shethought she had lost it in the hall.
When she finally deposited it in thecherry orchard, she drew a long
breath of relief. If Marilla knewshe'd never feel safe getting into bed again

(01:40:23):
in her life. I'm so gladthat little sinner repented in time. There's
Diana signaling to me from her window. I'm glad I really feel the need
of some diversion, for what withAnthony Pye and school and Davy Keith at
home, my nerves have had aboutall they can endure for one day.
End of chapter eight, Chapter nine, a question of color. That old

(01:40:45):
nuisance of Rachel Lynde was here againto day, pestering me for a subscription
towards buying a carpet for the vestryroom. Said mister Harrison wrathfully. I
detest that woman more than anybody Iknow. She can put a whole sermon,
text, comment, and application intosix words and throw it at you
like a brick. Anne, whowas perched on the edge of the Verandah
enjoying the charm of a mild westwind blowing across a newly plowed field on

(01:41:08):
a gray November twilight and piping aquaint little melody among the twisted furs below
the garden, turned her dreamy faceover her shoulder. The trouble is you
and missus Lynde don't understand one another, she explained. That is always what
is wrong when people don't like eachother. I didn't like missus Lynde at
first either, but as soon asI came to understand her, I learned
to missus Lynde may be an acquiredtaste with some folks, but I didn't

(01:41:30):
keep on eating bananas because I wastold i'd learned to like them if I
did, growled mister Harrison. Andas for understanding her, I understand that
she is a confirmed busy buddy,and I told her so. Oh that
must have hurt her feelings very much, said Anne, reproachfully. How could
you say such a thing, Isaid, Some dreadful things to missus Lynde
long ago, but it was whenI had lost my temper. I couldn't
say them deliberately. It was thetruth, and I believe in telling the

(01:41:55):
truth to everybody. But you don'ttell the whole truth, objected, Anne,
You only tell the disagreeable part ofthe truth. Now you've told me
a dozen times that my hair wasred, but you've never once told me
that I had a nice nose.I dare say you know it without any
telling, chuckled, mister Harrison.I know I have red hair too,
although it's much darker than it usedto be, so there's no need of
telling me that either. Well,well, I'll try and not mention it

(01:42:19):
again. Since you're so sensitive,you must excuse me, Anne, I've
got a habit of being outspoken andfolks mustn't mind it, but they can't
help minding it. And I don'tthink it's any help that it's your habit.
What would you think of a personwho went about sticking pins and needles
into people and saying, excuse me, you mustn't mind it. It's just
a habit I've got. You'd thinkhe was crazy, wouldn't you? And

(01:42:39):
As for Missus Lynde being a busybody, perhaps she is, But did you
tell her she had a very kindheart and always helped the poor and never
said a word. When Timothy Cottonstole a crock of butter out of her
dairy and told his wife he'd boughtit from her, Missus Cotton cast it
up to her the next time theymet that it tasted of turnips, and
Missus Lynde just said she was sorryit had turned out so poorly. I
suppose she has some good qualities,conceded mister Harrison grudgingly. Most folks have.

(01:43:03):
I have some myself, though youmight never suspect it. But anyhow,
I ain't going to give anything tothat carpet. Folks are everlasting begging
for money here. It seems tome, how's your project of painting the
hall coming on? Splendidly? Wehad a meeting of the avs last Friday
night and found that we had plentyof money subscribed to paint the hall and
shingle the roof too. Most peoplegave very liberally, mister Harrison. Anne

(01:43:28):
was a sweet souled lass, butshe could instill some venom into innocent italics
when occasion required. What color areyou going to have it? We have
decided on a very pretty green.The roof will be dark red, of
course. Mister Roger Pye is goingto get the paint in town to day.
Who's got the job? Mister JoshuaPie of Carmody. He's nearly finished
the shingling. We had to givehim the contract for every one of the

(01:43:48):
Pies. And there are four familiesyou know, said they wouldn't give a
cent unless Joshua got it. Theyhad subscribed twelve dollars between them, and
we thought that was too much tolose. Although some people think we shouldn't
have given it to the Pies,Missus Lynde says they try to run everything.
The main question is will this Joshuado his work? Well? If
he does, I don't see thatit matters whether his name is Pie or

(01:44:10):
Pudding. He has the reputation ofbeing a good workman. Though they say
he's a very peculiar man. Hehardly ever talks. He's peculiar enough,
all right, then, said misterHarrison dryly. Or at least folks here
will call him so. I neverwas much of a talker. Till I
came to Avonlea, and then Ihad to begin in self defense, or
missus Lynde would have said I wasdumb and started a subscription to have me

(01:44:31):
taught sign language. You're not goingyet, Anne, I must I have
some sewing to do for Dora thisevening. Besides, Davy is probably breaking
Marilla's heart with some new mischief bythis time this morning. The first thing
he said was where does the darkgo? Anne, I want to know.
I told him it went round tothe other side of the world,
but after breakfast he declared it didn'tthat it went down the well. Marilla

(01:44:54):
says she caught him hanging over thewell box four times to day, trying
to reach down to the dark.He's a limb, declared Harrison. He
came over here yesterday and pulled sixfeathers out of Ginger's tail before I could
get in from the barn. Thepoor bird has been moping ever since.
Those children must be a sight oftrouble to you folks. Everything that's worth
having is some trouble, said Anne, secretly, resolving to forgive Davy's next

(01:45:15):
offense, whatever it might be,since he had avenged her on ginger.
Mister Roger Pye brought the hall painthome that night, and mister Joshua Pye,
a surly taciturn man, began paintingthe next day. He was not
disturbed in his task. The hallwas situated on what was called the Lower
Road in late autumn. This roadwas always muddy and wet, and people
going to Carmody traveled by the longerUpper Road. The hall was so closely

(01:45:40):
surrounded by fir woods that it wasinvisible unless you were near it. Mister
Joshua Pye painted away in the solitudeand independence that were so dear to his
unsociable heart. Friday afternoon, hefinished his job and went home to Carmody.
Soon after his departure, Missus RachelLynde drove by, having braved the
mud of the Lower Road out ofcuriosity, to see what the hall looked
like in its new coat of paint. When she rounded the spruce curve,

(01:46:01):
she saw the sight affected Missus Lyndeoddly. She dropped the reins, held
up her hands and said, graciousProvidence. She stared as if she could
not believe her eyes. Then shelaughed, almost hysterically. There must be
some mistake there must I knew thosepies would make a mess of things.
Missus Lynde drove home, meeting severalpeople on the road and stopping to tell

(01:46:24):
them about the hall. The newsflew like wildfire. Gilbert blythe poring over
a text book at home, heardit from his father's hired boy at sunset,
and rushed breathlessly to green Gables.Joined on the way by Fred Wright,
they found Diana Barry, Jane Andrews, and Anne Shirley, despair personified
at the yard gate of green Gablesunder the big leafless willows. It isn't

(01:46:45):
true, surely, Anne, exclaimedGilbert. It is true, answered Anne,
looking like the muse of tragedy.Missus Lynde called on her way from
Carmody to tell me, oh,it is simply dreadful. What is the
use of trying to improve anything isdreadful? Asked Oliver Sloane, arriving at
this moment with a band box hehad brought from town for Marilla. Haven't
you heard, said Jane wrathfully,While it's simply this, Joshua Pye has

(01:47:10):
gone and painted the hall blue insteadof green, a deep, brilliant blue.
The shade they used for painting cartsand wheelbarrows, and missus Lynde says
it is the most hideous color fora building, especially when combined with a
red roof that she ever saw orimagined. You could simply have knocked me
down with a feather when I heardit. It's heart breaking. After all

(01:47:30):
the trouble we've had, How onearth could such a mistake have happened?
Wailed Diana. The blame of thisunmerciful disaster was eventually narrowed down to the
pies. The Improvers had decided touse Morton Harris paints, and the Morton
Harris paint cans were numbered according toa color card. A purchaser chose his
shade on the card and ordered bythe accompanying number. Number. One forty

(01:47:51):
seven was the shade of green desired. And when mister Roger Pye sent word
to the Improvers by his son JohnAndrew, that he was going to town
and would get paint for them,the Improvers told John Andrew to tell his
father to get one forty seven.John Andrew always averred that he did so,
but mister Roger Pye as staunchly declaredthat John Andrew told him one fifty

(01:48:11):
seven, and there the matter standsto this day. That night there was
blank dismay in every Avonlea house wherean improver lived. The gloom at green
Gables was so intense that it quenched. Even davy Anne wept and would not
be comforted. I must cry,even if I am almost seventeen. Marilla,
she sobbed. It is so mortifying, and it sounds the death knell

(01:48:32):
of our society will simply be laughedout of existence. In life, as
in dreams, however, things oftengo by contraries. The Avonlea people did
not laugh. They were too angry. Their money had gone to paint the
hall, and consequently they felt themselvesbitterly aggrieved by the mistake. Public indignations
centered on the pies. Roger Pyeand John Andrew had bungled the matter between

(01:48:56):
them, And as for Joshua Pye, he must be a born fool not
to suspect there was something wrong whenhe opened the cans and saw the color
of the paint. Joshua Pye,when thus Annam adverted upon, retorted that
the Avonlea tasting colors was no businessof his whatever his private opinion might be,
he had been hired to paint thehall, not to talk about it,
and he meant to have his moneyfor it. The Improvers paid him
his money in bitterness of spirit,after consulting mister Peter Sloane, who was

(01:49:19):
a magistrate. You'll have to payit. Peter told them you can't hold
him responsible for the mistake, sincehe claims he was never told what the
color was supposed to be, butjust given the cans untild to go ahead.
But it's a burning shame, andthat hall certainly does look awful.
The luckless Improvers expected that Avonlea wouldbe more prejudiced than ever against them,
but instead public sympathy veered around intheir favor. People thought the eager,

(01:49:44):
enthusiastic little band who had worked sohard for their object, had been badly
used. Missus Lynde told them tokeep on and show the pies that there
really were people in the world whocould do things without making a muddle of
them. Mister Major Spencer sent themword that he would clean out all the
stumps along the road front of hisfarm and seed it down with the grass
at his own expense, and MissusHiram Sloane called at the school one day
and beckoned Anne mysteriously out into theporch to tell her that if the society

(01:50:08):
wanted to make a geranium bed atthe cross roads in the spring, they
needn't be afraid of her cow,for she would see that the marauding animal
was kept within safe bounds. Evenmister Harrison chuckled, if he chuckled at
all in private, and was allsympathy outwardly. Never mind, Anne,
most paints fade uglier every year,but that blue is as ugly as it
can be to begin with, soit's bound to frad prettier, and the

(01:50:30):
ruf is shingled and painted. Allright, folks will be able to sit
in the hall after this without beingleaked on. You've accomplished so much anyhow,
But Avonlea's blue hall will be abyward in all the neighboring settlements from
this time out, said Anne bitterly. And it must be confessed that it
was end of chapter nine, Chapterten Davy in search of a sensation.

(01:50:54):
Anne, walking home from school throughthe birch path one November afternoon, felt
convinced afresh that Lie was a verywonderful thing. The day had been a
good day, All had gone wellin her little kingdom. Saint Claire Dunnell
had not fought any of the otherboys over the question of his name.
Prillie Rogerson's face had been so puffedup from the effects of toothache that she
did not once try to get keptwith the boys in her vicinity. Barbara

(01:51:16):
Shaw had met with only one accident, spilling a dipper of water over the
floor, and Anthony Pye had notbeen in school at all. What a
nice month this November has been,said Anne, who had never quite got
over her childish habit of talking toherself. November is usually such a disagreeable
month, as if the year hadsuddenly found out that she was growing old

(01:51:36):
and could do nothing but weep andfret over it. This year is growing
old gracefully, just like a statelyold lady who knows she can be charming
even with gray hair and wrinkles.We've had lovely days and delicious twilights.
This last fortnight has been so peaceful, and even Davy has been almost well
behaved. I really think he isimproving a great deal. How quiet the

(01:51:59):
woods are to day, not amurmur, except that soft wind purring in
the tree tops. It sounds likesurf on a far away shore. How
dear the woods, are you,beautiful trees? I love every one of
you as a friend. Anne pausedto throw her arm about a slim,
young birch and kiss its cream whitetrunk. Diana, rounding a curve in
the path, saw her and laughed, Anne, surely you're only pretending to

(01:52:21):
be grown up. I believe whenyou're alone, you're as much a little
girl as you ever were. Well, one can't get over the habit of
being a little girl all at once, said Anne gaily. You see,
I was a little girl for fourteenyears, and I've only been grown upish
for scarcely three. I'm sure Ishall always feel like a child in the
woods. These walks home from schoolare almost the only time I have for

(01:52:42):
dreaming, except for the half houror so before I go to sleep.
I'm so busy with teaching and studyingand helping Marilla with the twins that I
haven't another moment for imagining things.You don't know what splendid adventures I have
for a little while after I goto bed. In the east Gable every
night, I always imagine I'm somethingvery brilliant and triumphant and splendid, a
great prima donna, or a RedCross nurse, or a queen. Last

(01:53:05):
night I was a queen. It'sreally splendid to imagine you're a queen.
You have all the fun of itwithout any of the inconveniences, and you
can stop being a queen whenever youwant to, which you couldn't in real
life. But here in the woodsI like best to imagine quite different things.
I'm a dryad living in an oldpine, or a little brown wood
elf hiding under a crinkled leaf.That white birch you caught me kissing is

(01:53:28):
a sister of mine. The onlydifference is she's a tree and I'm a
girl. But that's no real difference. Where are you going, Diana?
Down to the Dixons I promise tohelp Alberta cut out her new dress.
Can't you walk down in the evening, Anne and come home with me?
I might, since Fred Wright isaway in town, said Anne with a
rather too innocent face. Diana blushed, tossed her head, and walked on.

(01:53:49):
She did not look offended, However, Anne fully intended to go down
to the Dixons that evening, butshe did not. When she arrived at
Green Gables, she found a stateof affairs which banished every other thought from
her mind. Marilla met her inthe yard a wild eyed Marilla Anne,
Dora is lost. Dora lost.Anne looked at Davy, who was swinging

(01:54:11):
on the yard gate, and detectedmerriment in his eyes. Davy, do
you know where she is? No, I don't, said Davy, stoutly.
I haven't seen her since dinner time. Cross my heart. I've been
away ever since one o'clock, saidMarilla. Thomas Lynde took sick all of
a sudden, and Rachel sent upfor me to go at once. When
I left here, Dora was playingwith her doll in the kitchen, and
Davy was making mud pies behind thebarn. I only got home half an

(01:54:32):
hour ago, and no Dora tobe seen. Davy declares he never saw
her since I left. Neither Idid, avowed Davy. Solemnly. She
must be somewhere around, said Anne. She would never wander far away alone.
You know how timid she is.Perhaps she has fallen asleep in one
of the rooms. Marilla shook herhead. I've hunted the whole house through,

(01:54:53):
but she may be in some ofthe buildings. A thorough search followed.
Every corner of house, yard andout build moldings was ransacked by those
two distracted people. Anne roved theorchards and the haunted wood, calling Dora's
name. Marilla took a candle andexplored the cellar. Davy accompanied each of
them in turn, and was fertilein thinking of places where Dora could possibly

(01:55:13):
be. Finally they met again inthe yard. It's a most mysterious thing,
groaned Marilla. Where can she be? Said Anne miserably. Maybe she's
tumbled into the well, suggested Davycheerfully. Anne and Marilla looked fearfully into
each other's eyes. The thought hadbeen with them both through their entire search,
that neither had dared to put itinto words. She she might have,

(01:55:35):
whispered Marilla. Anne, feeling faintand sick, went to the well
box and peered over the buckets saton the shelf and side. Far down
below was a tiny glimmer of stillwater. The Cuthbert Well was the deepest
in Avonlea. If Dora, butAnne could not face the idea. She
shuddered and turned away, run acrossfrom mister Harrison, said Marilla, wringing

(01:55:57):
her hands. Mister Harrison and JohnHenry are both away. They went to
town to day. I'll go formister Barry. Mister Barry came back with
Anne, carrying a coil of rope, to which was attached to claw like
instrument that had been the business endof a grubbing fork. Marilla and Anne
stood by, cold and shaken withhorror and dread, while mister Barry dragged
the well and Davy astride the gatewatched the group with a face indicative of

(01:56:19):
huge enjoyment. Finally, mister Barryshook his head with a relieved air.
She can't be down there. It'sa mighty curious thing where she could have
got to, though, Look here, young man, are you sure you've
no idea where your sister is?I've told you a dozen times that I
haven't, said Davy, with aninjured air. Maybe a tramp come and
stole her, nonsense, said Marilla, sharply, relieved from our horrible fear

(01:56:42):
of the well, Anne, doyou suppose she could have strayed over to
mister Harrison's She has always been talkingabout his parrot ever since that time you
took her over. I can't believeDora would venture so far alone, but
I'll go over and see, saidAnne. Nobody was looking at Davy just
then, or it would have beenseen that a very decided came over his
face. He quietly slipped off thegate and ran as fast as his fat

(01:57:04):
legs could carry him to the barn. Anne hastened across the fields to the
Harrison establishment in no very hopeful frameof mind. The house was locked,
the window shades were down, andthere was no sign of anything living about
the place. She stood on theveranda and called Dora loudly ginger, and
the kitchen behind her shrieked and sworewith sudden fierceness. But between his outbursts,

(01:57:26):
Anne heard a plaintive cry from thelittle building in the yard, which
served mister Harrison as a tool house. Anne flew to the door unhasped,
and caught up a small mortal witha tear stained face, who was sitting
forlornly on an upturned nail. KegOh, Dora, Dora, what a
fright you've given us? How cameyou to be here? Davy, and
I came over to see Ginger,sobbed Dora. But we couldn't see him

(01:57:47):
after all. Only Davy made himswear by kicking the door. And then
Davy brought me here and run outand shut the door, and I couldn't
get out. I cried and cried, I was frightened, and oh,
I'm so hungry and cold, andI thought you'd never come, Anne,
Davy. But Anne could say nomore. She carried Dora home with a
heavy heart. Her joy at findingthe child safe and sound was drowned out

(01:58:10):
in the pain caused by Davy's behavior. The freak of shutting Dora up might
easily have been pardoned, but Davyhad told falsehoods, down right, cold
blooded falsehoods about it. That wasthe ugly fact, and Anne could not
shut her eyes to it. Shecould have sat down and cried with sheer
disappointment. She had grown to loveDavy dearly, how dearly she had not
known until this minute, and ithurt her unbearably to discover that he was

(01:58:34):
guilty of deliberate falsehood. Marilla listenedto Anne's tail in a silence that boded
no good Davy word, mister Barrylaughed and advised that Davy be summarily dealt
with. When he had gone home, Anne soothed and warmed the sobbing,
shivering. Dora, got her hersupper and put her to bed. Then
she returned to the kitchen just asMarilla came grimly in, leading, or

(01:58:56):
rather pulling the reluctant cobwebby Davy,whom she had just fo hidden away in
the darkest corner of the stable.She jerked him to the mat on the
middle of the floor, and thenwent and sat down by the east window.
Anne was sitting limply by the westwindow. Between them stood the culprit.
His back was toward Marilla, andit was a meek, subdued,
frightened back, But his face wastoward Anne, and although it was a

(01:59:18):
little shame faced, there was agleam of comradeship in Davy's eyes, as
if he knew he had done wrongand was going to be punished for it,
but could count on a laugh overit all with Anne later on.
But no half hidden smile answered himin Anne's gray eyes, as there might
have done had it been only aquestion of mischief. There was something else,
something ugly and repulsive. How couldyou behave so, Davy, she

(01:59:41):
asked sorrowfully. Davy squirmed uncomfortably.I just did it for fun. Things
have been so awful quiet here forso long that I thought it would be
fun to give you folks a bigscare. It was too in spite of
fear and a little remorse. Davygrinned over the recollection. But you told
a fun elsehood about it, Davysaid Anne, more sorrowfully than ever.

(02:00:02):
Davy looked puzzled. What's a falsehood? Do you mean a whopper? I
mean a story that was not true? Course I did, said Davy frankly.
If I hadn't, you wouldn't havebeen scared. I had to tell
it. Anne was feeling the reactionfrom her fright and exertions. Davy's impenitent
attitude gave the finishing touch. Twobig tears brimmed up in her eyes.

(02:00:26):
Oh Davy, how could you,she said, with a quiver in her
voice. Don't you know how wrong? It was? Davy was aghast Anne
crying he had made Anne cry.A flood of real remorse rolled like a
wave over his warm little heart andengulfed it. He rushed to Anne hurled
himself into her lap, flung hisarms around her neck, and burst into

(02:00:46):
tears. I didn't know I waswrong to tell whoppers, he sobbed.
How'd ye expect me to know itwas wrong? All Mistress Sprat's children told
him regular every day and crossed theirhearts too. I suppose Paul Irving never
tells, and you've been trying awfulhard to be as good as him.
But now I suppose you'll never loveme again. But I think you might
have told me it was wrong.I'm awful sorry I've made you cry,

(02:01:09):
Anne, and I'll never tell awopper again. Davy buried his face in
Anne's shoulder and cried stormily. Anne, in a sudden glad flash of understanding,
held him tight and looked over hiscurly thatch at Marilla. He didn't
know it was wrong to tell Falsehood'sMarilla. I think we must forgive him
for that part of it this time. If he will promise never to say

(02:01:29):
what isn't true again, I neverwill, now that I know it's bad,
A separated Davy between sobs. Ifyou ever catch me tellin' a wopper
again, you can Davy groped mentallyfor a suitable penance. You can skin
me alive. Anne, don't saywhopper, Davy say falsehood, said the
schoolmam. Why, queried Davy,settling comfortably down and looking up with the
tears stained investigating face. Why ain'twopper as good as falsehood? I wanna

(02:01:55):
know it's just as big a word. It's slang, and it's wrong for
little boys to use lang. There'san awful lot of things it's wrong to
do, said Davy with a sigh. I never s'pose there was so many.
I'm sorry it's wrong to tell whatfalsehoods cause it's awful handy. But
since it is, I'm never goingto tell any more. What are you

(02:02:15):
going to do to me for tellhim this time? I wanna know?
Anne looked beseechingly at Marilla. Idon't want to be too hard on the
child, said Marilla. I daresay nobody ever did tell him it was
wrong to tell lies, and thosesprot children were no frit companions for him.
Poor Mary was too sick to trainhim properly. And I presume you
couldn't expect a six year old childto know things like that by instinct.

(02:02:38):
I suppose we'll just have to assumehe doesn't know anything right and begin at
the beginning. But he'll have tobe punished for shutting Dora up. And
I can't think of any way exceptto send him to bed without his supper,
and we've done that so often.Can't you suggest something else? Anne?
I should think you ought to beable to with that imagination you're always
talking of. But punishments are sohorrid, and I like to imagine only

(02:03:00):
pleasant things, said Anne, cuddlingDavy. There are so many unpleasant things
in the world already that there's nouse imagining any more. In the end,
Davy was sent to bed as usual, there to remain until noon next
day. He evidently did some thinking, for when Anne went up to her
room a little later, she heardhim calling her name softly. Going in,
she found him sitting up in bed, with his elbows on his knees

(02:03:21):
and his chin propped on his hands. Anne, he said, solemnly,
is it wrong for everybody to tellwhat falsehoods? I wanna know? Yes?
Indeed, is it wrong for agrown up person? Yes? Then,
said Davy decidedly. Marilla is bad, for she tells them, and
she's worse than me. For Ididn't know it was wrong, but she

(02:03:44):
does, Davy Keith. Marilla nevertold a story in her life, said
Anne, indignantly. She did so. She told me last Tuesday that something
dreadful would happen to me if Ididn't say my prayers every night, and
I haven't said him for over aweek, just to see what would happen,
and nothing has, concluded Davy,in a grieved tone, Anne choked
back a mad desire to laugh,with a conviction that it would be fatal,

(02:04:06):
and then earnestly set about saving Marilla'sreputation. Why, Davy Keith,
she said, solemnly, something dreadfulhas happened to you this very day.
Davy looked skeptical. I suppose youmean being sent to bed without any supper,
he said scornfully. But that isn'tdreadful. Course I don't like it,
but I've been sent to bed somuch since I come here that I'm

(02:04:27):
getting used to it. And youdon't save anything by making me go without
supper either, for I always eattwice as much for breakfast. I don't
mean your being sent to bed.I mean the fact that you told a
falsehood to day and Davy. Anneleaned over the footboard of the bed and
shook her finger impressively at the culpritfor a boy to tell what isn't true
is almost the worst thing that couldhappen to him, almost the very worst.

(02:04:49):
So you see, Marilla told youthe truth. But I thought that
something bad would be exciting, protestedDavy in an injured tone. Marilla isn't
to blame for what you think.Bad things aren't always exciting. They're very
often just nasty and stupid. Itwas awful funny to see Marilla and you
lookin down the well, though,said Davy, hugging his knees. Anne

(02:05:11):
kept a sober face until she gotdownstairs, and then she collapsed on the
sitting room lounge and laughed until hersides ached. I wish you'd tell me
the joke, said Marilla, alittle grimly. I haven't seen much to
laugh at to day. You'll laughwhen you hear this, assured Anne.
And Marilla did laugh, which showedhow much her education had advanced since the
adoption of Anne. But she sighedimmediately afterwards. I suppose I shouldn't have

(02:05:34):
told him that, although I hearda minister say it to a child once,
but he did aggravate me. Soit was that night you were at
the Carmody concert and I was puttinghim to bed. He said he didn't
see the good of praying until hegot big enough to be of some importance
to God. Anne, I donot know what we are going to do
with that child. I never sawhis beat. I'm feeling clean discouraged.

(02:05:54):
Oh don't say that, Marilla.Remember how bad I was when I came
here, Anne, you were neverbad. Never. I see that now,
when I've learned what real badness is. You were always getting into terrible
scrapes, I'll admit, but yourmotive was always good. Davy is just
bad from sheer love of it.Oh No, I don't think it is
real badness with him, either,pleaded Anne. It's just mischief, and

(02:06:15):
it is rather quiet for him here. You know, he has no other
boys to play with, and hismind has to have something to occupy it.
Dora is so prim and proper,she is no good for a boy's
playmate. I really think it wouldbe better to let them go to school,
Marilla. No, said Marilla resolutely. My father always said that no
child should be cooped up in thefour walls of a school until it was
seven years old, and mister Allansays the same thing. The twins can

(02:06:39):
have a few lessons at home,but go to school they shan't untill they're
seven. Well, we must tryto perform Davy at home, then,
said Anne, cheerfully. With allhis faults, he's really a dear little
chap. I can't help loving him. Marilla. It may be a dreadful
thing to say, but honestly Ilike Davy better than Dora. For all,
she's so good. I don't know, but that I do myself,
confessed Marilla. And it isn't fairfor Dora. Isn't a bit of trouble.

(02:07:02):
There couldn't be a better child man, you'd hardly know she was in
the house. Dora is too good, said Anne. She'd behave just as
well if there wasn't a soul totell her what to do. She was
born, already brought up, soshe doesn't need us, and I think,
concluded Anne, hitting on a veryvital truth that we always love best
the people who need us. Davyneeds us badly. He certainly needs something,

(02:07:25):
agreed Marilla. Rachel Lynde would sayit was a good spanking. End
of chapter ten, Chapter eleven,Facts and Fancies. Teaching is really very
interesting work, wrote Anne to aQueen's Academy chum. Jane says she thinks
it is monotonous, but I don'tfind it so something funny is almost sure

(02:07:45):
to happen every day, and thechildren say such amusing things. Jane says
she punishes her pupils when they makefunny speeches, which is probably why she
finds teaching monotonous. This afternoon,little Jimmy Andrews was trying to spell speckled
and couldn't manage well. He said, finally, I can't spell it,
but I know what it means.What I asked Saint Clair Dennelle's face,

(02:08:07):
Miss Saint Clair is certainly very muchfreckled, although I try to prevent the
others from commenting on it, forI was freckled once, and well do
I remember it. But I don'tthink Saint Clair minds. It was because
Jimmy called him Saint Clair that SaintClair pounded him on the way home from
school. I heard of the pounding, but not officially, so I don't
think I'll take any notice of it. Yesterday I was trying to teach Lotty

(02:08:30):
right to do. Addition, Isaid, if you had three candies in
one hand and two in the other, how many would you have altogether?
A mouthful, said Lotty. Andin the nature study class, when I
asked them to give me a goodreason why toads shouldn't be killed, Benji
Sloane gravely answered, because it wouldrain the next day. It's so hard
not to laugh, Stella. Ihave to save up all my amusement until

(02:08:52):
I get home. And Marilla saysit makes her nervous to hear wild shrieks
of mirth proceeding from the East Gablewithout any apparent She says, a man
in Grafton went insane once, andthat was how it began. Did you
know that Thomas A. Beckett wascanonized as a snake? Rose Bell says
he was. Also that William Tyndalewrote the New Testament Claude White's as a

(02:09:15):
glacier is a man that puts inwindow frames. I think the most difficult
thing in teaching, as well asthe most interesting, is to get the
children to tell you their real thoughtsabout things. One stormy day last week
I gathered them around me at dinnerhour and tried to get them to talk
to me just as if I wereone of themselves. I asked them to
tell me the things they most wanted. Some of the answers were commonplace enough

(02:09:37):
dolls, ponies, and skates.Others were decidedly original. Hester Bolter wanted
to wear her Sunday dress every dayand eat in the sitting room. Hannah
Bell wanted to be good without havingto take any trouble about it. Marjorie
White, aged ten, wanted tobe a widow. Questioned why, she
gravely said that if you weren't married, people called you an old maid,

(02:09:58):
and if you were your bossed you, But if you were a widow there'd
be no danger of either. Themost remarkable wish was Sally Bell's. She
wanted a honeymoon. I asked herif she knew what it was, and
she said she thought it was anextra nice kind of bicycle, because her
cousin in Montreal went on a honeymoonwhen he was married, and he had
always had the very latest in bicycles. Another day, I asked them all

(02:10:20):
to tell me the naughtiest thing theyhad ever done. I couldn't get the
older ones to do so, butthe third class answered quite freely. Eliza
Bell had set fire to her aunt'scarted rolls. Asked if she meant to
do it, she said not altogether. She just tried a little end to
see how it would burn, andthe whole bundle blazed up in a jiffy.
Emerson Gillis had spent ten cents forcandy when he should have put it

(02:10:41):
in his missionary box. Annetta Bell'sworst crime was eating some blueberries that grew
in the graveyard. Willie White hadslid down the sheep house roof a lot
of times with his Sunday trousers on. But I was punished for it cause
I had to wear patched pants toSunday school all summer. And when you're
punished for a thing, you don'thave to repent of it, declared Willie.

(02:11:01):
I wish you could see some oftheir compositions. So much do I
wish it that I'll send you copiesof some written recently. Last week I
told the fourth class I wanted themto write me letters about anything they pleased,
adding by way of suggestion that theymight tell me of some place they
had visited, or some interesting thingor person they had seen. They were
to write the letters on real notepaper, seal them in an envelope,
and address them to me, allwithout any assistance from other people. Last

(02:11:24):
Friday morning I found a pile ofletters on my desk, and that evening
I realized afresh that teaching has itspleasures as well as its pains. These
compositions would atone for much. Hereis ned Clay's address, spelling and grammar
as originally penned Miss Teacher Shirley greenGables, p e Island can Birds.

(02:11:46):
Dear Teacher, I think I willwrite you a composition about birds. Birds
is very useful animals. My catcatches birds. His name is William,
but Pa calls him Tom. Heis all striped, and he got one
of his ears from off last winter. Only for that he would be a
good looking cat. My uncle hasadopted a cat. It come to his
house one day and wouldn't go away, and Uncle says it has forgot more

(02:12:09):
than most people ever knowed. Helets it sleep on his rocking chair,
and my aunt says he thinks moreof it than he does of his children.
That is not right. We oughtto be kind to cats and give
them new milk, but we oughtnot be better to them than to our
children. This is all I canthink of, so no more at present
from Edward Blake Clay. Saint ClairDennell's is as usual short and to the

(02:12:31):
point. Saint Clair never wastes words. I do not think he chose his
subject or added the post squapt outof malice a forethought. It is just
that he has not a great dealof tact or imagination. Dear Miss Shirley,
you told us to describe something strangewe have seen. I will describe
the Avonlea Hall. It has twodoors, an inside one and an outside
one. It has six windows anda chimney. It has two ends and

(02:12:54):
two sides. It is painted blue. That is what makes it strange.
It is built on the lower carmody. It is the third most important building
in Avonlea, the others at achurch and the blacksmith's shop. They hold
debating clubs and lectures in it,and concerts. Yours truly, Jacob Dennell
p s. The hall is avery bright blue. Annetta Bell's letter was

(02:13:16):
quite long, which surprised me,for writing essays. Is not Annetta's Forte
and hers are generally as brief asand Clare's. Annetta is a quiet little
puss and a model of good behavior, but there isn't a shadow of originality
in her. Here is her letter, Dearest teacher, I think I will
write you a letter to tell youhow much I love you. I love
you with my whole heart and souland mind, with all there is of

(02:13:37):
me to love, and I wantto serve you forever. It would be
my highest privilege. That is whyI try so hard to be good in
school and learn my lessons. Youare so beautiful, my teacher. Your
voice is like music, and youreyes are like pansies when the dew is
on them. You are like atall, stately queen. Your hair is
like rippling gold. Anthony Pye saysit is red, but you needn't pay

(02:13:58):
any attention to Anthony. I haveonly known you for a few months,
but I cannot realize that there wasever a time when I did not know
you, when you had not comeinto my life to bless and hallow it.
I will always look back to thisyear as the most wonderful in my
life because it brought you to me. Besides it the year we moved to
Avonlea from Newbridge. My love foryou has made my life very rich,

(02:14:18):
and it has kept me from muchof harm and evil. I owe this
all to you, my sweetest teacher. I shall never forget how sweet you
looked the last time I saw youin that black dress with flowers in your
hair. I shall see you likethat forever, even when we are both
old and gray. You will alwaysbe young and fair to me, dearest
teacher. I am thinking of youall the time, in the morning,
and at the noontide and at thetwilight. I love you when you laugh

(02:14:41):
and when you sigh, even whenyou look disdainful. I never saw you
look cross, though Anthony Pye saysyou always look so. But I don't
wonder you look cross at him,for he deserves it. I love you
in every dress. You seem moreadorable in each new dress than the last.
Dearest teacher. Good night. Thesun has set and the stars are
shining, stars that are as brightand beautiful as your eyes. I kiss

(02:15:03):
your hands and face, my sweetMay God watch over you and protect you
from all harm. Your affectionate pupil, Annetta Bell. This extraordinary letter puzzled
me not a little. I knewAnnetta couldn't have composed it any more than
she could fly. When I wentto school the next day, I took
her for a walk down to thebrooke at Recess and asked her to tell
me the truth about the letter.Annetta cried and fessed up freely. She

(02:15:24):
said she had never written a letter, and she didn't know how to or
what to say. But there wasa bundle of love letters in her mother's
top bureau door, which had beenwritten to her by an old bone.
It wasn't father, sobbed Annetta.It was some one who was studying for
a minister, and so he couldwrite lovely letters. But MA didn't marry
him after all. She said shecouldn't make out what he was driving at

(02:15:45):
half the time. But I thoughtthe letters were sweet, and that i'd
just copy things out of them hereand there to write you. I put
teacher where he put lady, andI put in something of my own when
I could think of it, andI changed some words. I put dress
in place of mood. I didn'tknow just what a mood was, but
I supposed it was something to wear. I didn't s'pose you'd know the difference.
I don't see how you found outit wasn't all mine. You must

(02:16:07):
be awful clever teacher. I toldAnnetta it was very wrong to copy another
person's letter and pass it off asher own. But I'm afraid that all
Annetta repented of was being found out. And I do love you, teacher.
She sobbed. It was all true, even if the minister wrote it
first. I do love you withall my heart. It's very difficult to
scold anybody properly under such circumstances.Here is Barbara Shaw's letter. I can't

(02:16:31):
reproduce the blots of the original.Dear teacher, you said we might write
about a visit. I never visited, but once. It was at my
aunt Mary's last winter. My AuntMary is a very particular woman and a
great housekeeper. The first night Iwas there, we were at tea.
I knocked over a jug and brokeit. Aunt Mary said she had had
that jug ever since she was married, and nobody had ever broken it before.

(02:16:54):
When we got up, I steppedon her dress and all the gathers
tore out of the skirt. Thenext morning, when I got up,
I hit the pitcher against the basinand cracked them both, and I upset
a cup of tea on the tablecloth. At breakfast, when I was helping
Aunt Mary with the dinner dishes,I dropped a china plate and it smashed.
That evening, I fell downstairs andsprained my uncle and had to stay
in bed for a week. Iheard Aunt Mary tell Uncle Joseph it was

(02:17:16):
a mercy, or I'd have brokeneverything in the house. When I got
better, it was time to gohome. I don't like visiting very much.
I like going to school better,especially since I came to Avonlea.
Yours, respectfully, Barbara Shaw.Willie White's began, respected Miss, I
want to tell you about my verybrave aunt. She lives in Ontario,

(02:17:37):
and one day she went out tothe barn and saw a dog in the
yard. The dog had no businessthere, so she got a stick and
whacked him hard and drove him intothe barn and shut him up. Pretty
soon a man came looking for animaginary lion. Query did Willie mean a
menagerie lion that had run away froma circus? And it turned out that
the dog was a lion, andmy very brave aunt had druve him into

(02:17:58):
the barn with a stick. Itwas a wonder. She was not ed
up, but she was very brave. Emerson Gillis says, if she thought
it was a dog, she wasn'tany braver than if it was really a
dog. But Emerson is jealous becausehe hasn't got a brave found himself nothing
but uncles. I have kept thebest for last. You laugh at me
because I think Paul is a genius, but I am sure his letter will

(02:18:20):
convince you that he is a veryuncommon child. Paul lives away down near
the shore with his grandmother, andhe has no playmates, no real playmates.
You remember our school management professor toldus that we must not have favorites
among our pupils. But I can'thelp loving Paul, irving the best of
all mine. I don't think itdoes any harm, though, for everybody
loves Paul, even missus Lynde,who says she could never have believed she'd

(02:18:43):
get so fond of a Yankee.The other boys in school like him too.
There's nothing weak or girlish about him. In spite of his dreams and
fancies, he is very manly andcan hold his own in all games.
He fought Saint Claire Dannell recently becauseSaint Clair said the Union Jack was away
ahead of the stars and stripes asa flag. There was ult was a
drawn battle and a mutual agreement torespect each other's patriotism. Henceforth. Saint

(02:19:03):
Clair says he can hit the hardest, but Paul can hit the oftenest.
Paul's letter, My dear teacher,you told us we might write you about
some interesting people we knew. Ithink the most interesting people I know are
my rock people, and I meanto tell you about them. I have
never told anybody about them except Grandmaand father, but I would like to

(02:19:24):
have you know about them, becauseyou understand things. There are great many
people who do not understand things,so there is no use in telling them.
My rock people live at the shore. I used to visit them almost
every evening before the winter came.Now I can't go till spring, but
they will be there. For peoplelike that never change. That is the
splendid thing about them. Nora wasthe first one of them I got acquainted

(02:19:46):
with, and so I think Ilove her the best. She lives in
Andrew's cove, and she has blackhair and black eyes, and she knows
all about the mermaids and the waterkelpies. You ought to hear the stories
she can tell. Then there arethe twin Sailors. They don't live anywhere.
They sail all the time, butthey often come ashore to talk to
me. They are a pair ofjolly tars, and they have seen everything

(02:20:07):
in the world, and more thanwhat is in the world. Do you
know what happened to the youngest twinsailor? Once he was sailing and he
sailed right into a moonglade. Amoonglade is the track the full moon makes
on the water when it is risingfrom the tree, you know, teacher.
While the youngest twin sailor sailed alongthe moonglade until he came right up
to the moon, and there wasa little golden door in the moon,
and he opened it and sailed rightthrough. He had some wonderful adventures in

(02:20:30):
the moon, but it would makethis letter too long to tell them.
Then there is the Golden Lady ofthe Cave. One day I found a
big cave down on the shore,and I went away in, and after
a while I found the golden Lady. She has golden hair right down to
her feet, and her dress isall glittering and glistening like gold that is
alive. And she has a goldenharp and plays on it all day long.

(02:20:52):
You can hear the music any timealong shore if you'll listen carefully.
But most people would think it wasonly the wind among the rocks. I've
never told me about the Golden Lady. I was afraid it might hurt her
feelings. It even hurt her feelingsif I talked too long with the twin
sailors. I always met the twinsailors of the striped rocks. The youngest
twin sailor is very good tempered,but the oldest twin sailor can look dreadfully

(02:21:15):
fierce at times. I have mysuspicions about that oldest twin. I believe
he'd be a pirate if he dared. There's really something very mysterious about him.
He swore once, and I toldhim if he ever did it again,
he needn't come ashore to talk tome, because I'd promised Grandmother I'd
never associate with anybody that swore.He was pretty well scared, I can
tell you, and he said ifI would forgive him, he would take

(02:21:35):
me to the sunset. Till thenext evening, when I was sitting on
the striped rocks, the oldest twincame sailing over the sea in an enchanted
boat, and I got in her. The boat was all pearly and rainbowy,
like the inside of mussel shells,and her sail was like moonshine.
Well, we sailed right across tothe sunset. Think of that, teacher,
I've been in the sunset, andwhat do you suppose it is?
The sunset is a land all flowers. We sailed into a great garden,

(02:22:00):
and the clouds are beds of flowers. We sailed into a great harbor,
all the color of gold, andI stepped right out of the boat on
a big meadow, all covered withbuttercups as big as roses. I stayed
there for ever so long. Itseemed nearly a year, But the oldest
twin says it was only a fewminutes. You see in the sunset land,
the time is ever so much longerthan it is here, your loving

(02:22:20):
pupil, Paul Irving p s.Of course this letter isn't really true,
teacher, p I. End ofchapter eleven. Chapter twelve a Jonah Day.
It really began the night before witha restless, wakeful vigil of grumbling
toothache. When Anne arose in thedull, bitter winter morning, she felt

(02:22:41):
that life was flat, stale,and unprofitable. She went to school in
no angelic mood. Her cheek wasswollen and her face ached. The school
room was cold and smoky, forthe fire refused to burn, and the
children were huddled about it in shiveringgroups. Anne sent them to their seats
with a sharper tone than she hadever used before. Anthony Pye strutted to
his with his usual impertinent swagger,and she saw him whisper something to his

(02:23:05):
seat mate and then glance at herwith a grin. Never so, it
seemed to Anne, had there beenso many squeaky pencils as there were that
morning. And when Barbara Shaw cameup to the desk with a sum she
tripped over the coal scuttle with disastrousresults. The coal rode to every part
of the room, her slate wasbroken into fragments, and when she picked
herself up, her face stained withcoal dust, sent the boys into roars

(02:23:28):
of laughter. Anne turned from thesecond reader class, which she was hearing,
Really, Barbara, she said icily, if you cannot move without falling
over something, you'd better remain inyour seat. It is positively disgraceful for
a girl of your age to beso awkward. Poor Barbara stumbled back to
her desk, Her tears combining withthe coal dust produce an effect truly grotesque.

(02:23:48):
Never before had her beloved, sympatheticteacher spoken to her in such a
tone or fashion, and Barbara washeart broken. Anne herself felt a prick
of conscience, but it only servedto increase her mental irritation and the second
reader class remember that lesson yet,as well as the unmerciful infliction of arithmetic
that followed. Just as Anne wassnapping the sums out, Saint Clair Dnnell

(02:24:09):
arrived breathlessly. You are half anhour late, Saint Clair, Anne reminded
him, frigidly. Why is this? Please? Miss I had to help
Ma make a pudding for dinner becausewe're expecting company and Clarissa Mayer's sick was
Saint Clair's answer, given in aperfectly respectful voice, but nevertheless provocative of
great mirth among his mates. Takeyour seat and work out the six problems
on page eighty four of your arithmeticfor punishment, said Anne. Saint Clair

(02:24:33):
looked rather amazed at her tone,but went meekly to his desk and took
out his slate. Then he stealthilypassed a small parcel to Joe's Sloane across
the aisle. Anne caught him inthe act and jumped to a fatal conclusion
about that parcel. Old missus HiramSloane had lately taken to making and selling
nutcakes by way of adding to herscanty income. The cakes were specially tempting
to small boys, and for severalweeks Anne had had not a little trouble

(02:24:56):
in regard to them. On theirway to school, the boys would invest
their spare cash at missus Hiram's,bring the cakes along with them to school,
and if possible, eat them andtreat their mates during school hours.
Anne had warned them that if theybrought any more cakes to school, they
would be confiscated. And yet herewas saintclairre Dnnell coolly passing a parcel of
them, wrapped up in the blueand white striped paper missus Hiram used under

(02:25:18):
her very eyes, Joseph said,Anne quietly, bring that parcel here.
Joe startled and abashed obeyed. Hewas a fat urchin who always blushed and
stuttered when he was frightened. Neverdid anybody look more guilty than poor Joe
at that moment. Throw it intothe fire, said Anne. Joe looked
very blank. Please m miss hebegan, do as I tell you,

(02:25:43):
Joseph, without any words about it. B B but but me n miss
that the the there, gasped Joein desperation. Joe, are you going
to obey me? Or are younot? Said Anne, A bolder and
more self possessed lad than Joe.Sloane would have been over awed by her
tone and the dangerous flash of hereyes. This was a new Anne,
whom none of her pupils had everseen before. Joe, with an agonized

(02:26:07):
glance at Saint Clair, went tothe stove, opened the big square front
door, and threw the blue andwhite parcel in before Saint Clair, who
had sprung to his feet, couldutter a word. Then he dodged back,
just in time. For a fewmoments, the terrified occupants of Avonlea
School did not know whether it wasan earthquake or a volcanic explosion. That
it occurred. The innocent looking parcelwhich Anne had rashly supposed to contain missus

(02:26:31):
Hiram's nutcakes, really held an assortmentof firecrackers and pinwheels for which Warren Sloane
had sent to town by Saint Clair, Denelle's father the day before, intending
to have a birthday celebration that evening. The crackers went off in a thunder
clap of noise, and the pinwheels, bursting out of the door, spun
madly around the room, hissing andspluttering. Anne dropped into her chair,
white with dismay, and all thegirls climbed shrieking upon their desks. Joe

(02:26:56):
Sloane stood as one transfixed in themidst of the commotion, and Saint Clair,
helpless with laughter, rocked to andfro in the aisle. Prilly Rogerson
fainted, and Annetta Bell went tohysterics. It seemed a long time,
although it was really only a fewminutes before the last pinwheel subsided. Anne,
recovering herself, sprang to open doorsand windows and let out the gas
and smoke which filled the room.Then she helped the girls carry the unconscious

(02:27:20):
Prille into the porch where Barbara Shaw, in an agony of desire to be
useful, poured a pailful of halfrozen water over Prilly's face and shoulders before
any one could stop her. Itwas a full hour before quiet was restored,
but it was a quiet that mightbe felt. Everybody realized that even
the explosion had not cleared the teacher'smental atmosphere. Nobody except Anthony Pye dared

(02:27:41):
whisper a word. Ned Clay accidentallysqueaked his pencil while working a sum,
caught Anne's eye and wished the floorwould open and swallow him up. The
geography class were whisked through a continentwith a speed that made them dizzy.
The grammar class were parsed and analyzedwithin an inch of their lives. Chester
Sloane, spelling odoriferous with two f's, was made to feel that he could

(02:28:03):
never live down the disgrace of it, either in this world or that which
is to come. Anne knew thatshe had made herself ridiculous, and that
the incident would be laughed over thatnight at a score of tea tables,
but the knowledge only angered her further. In a calmer mood, she could
have carried off the situation with alaugh, but now that was impossible,
so she ignored it in icy disdain. When Anne returned to the school after

(02:28:24):
dinner, all the children were asusual in their seats, and every face
was bent studiously over a desk exceptAnthony Pye's. He peered across his book
at Anne, his black eyes sparklingwith curiosity and mockery. Anne twitched open
the drawer of her desk in searchof chalk, and under her very hand,
a lively mouse sprang out of thedrawer, scampered over the desk and

(02:28:45):
leapt to the floor. Anne screamedand sprang back as if it had been
a snake, and Anthony Pye laughedaloud. Then a silence fell, a
very creepy, uncomfortable silence. AnnettaBell was of two minds whether to go
into hysterics again or not, especiallyas she didn't know just where the mouse
had gone, But she decided notto. Who could take any comfort out
of hysterics with a teacher so whitefaced and so blazing eyed standing before one?

(02:29:11):
Who put that mouse in my desk? Said Anne? Her voice was
quite low, but it made ashiver go up and down. Paul Irving's
spine. Joe Sloane caught her eye, felt responsible from the crown of his
head to the sole of his feet, but started out wildly. N not
meet teacher, n not me.Anne paid no attention to the wretched Joseph.

(02:29:33):
She looked at Anthony Pye, andAnthony Pye looked back, unabashed and
unashamed. Anthony, was it you? Yes, it was, said Anthony
insolently. Anne took her pointer fromher desk. It was a long,
heavy, hardwood pointer. Come here, Anthony. It was far from being
the most severe punishment Anthony Pye hadever undergone. Anne. Even the stormy

(02:29:54):
sould Anne she was at the moment, could not have punished any child cruelly.
But the pointer nipped keenly, andfinally Anthony's bravado failed him. He
winced, and the tears came tohis eyes. Anne, conscience stricken,
dropped the pointer and told Anthony togo to his seat. She sat down
at her desk, feeling ashamed,repentant, and bitterly mortified. Her quick

(02:30:16):
anger was gone, and she wouldhave given much to have been able to
seek relief in tears. So allher boasts had come to this she had
actually whipped one of her pupils.How Jane would triumph, and how mister
Harrison would chuckle. But worse thanthis bitterest thought of all, she had
lost her last chance of winning AnthonyPye. Never would he like her now.

(02:30:37):
Anne, by what somebody has calleda herculaneum effort, kept back her
tears until she got home that night. Then she shut herself in the east
gable room and wept all her shameand remorse and disappointment into her pillows.
Wept so long that Marilla grew alarmed, invaded the room and insisted on knowing
what the trouble was. The troubleis I've got things the matter with my
conscience, sobbed Anne. Oh thishas been set jonah day, Marilla.

(02:31:01):
I'm so ashamed of myself. Ilost my temper and whipped Anthony Pye.
I am glad to hear it,said Marilla with decision. It's what you
should have done long ago. Ohno, no, Marilla. And I
don't see how I can ever lookthose children in the face again. I
feel that I have humiliated myself tothe very dust. You don't know how
cross and hateful and horrid I was. I can't forget the expression in Paul

(02:31:22):
Irving's eyes. He looked so surprisedand disappointed. Oh, Marilla, I
have tried so hard to be patientand to win Anthony's liking, and now
it has all gone for nothing.Marilla passed her hard work worn hand over
the girl's glossy, tumbled hair witha wonderful tenderness. When Anne's sobs grew
quieter, she said very gently forher, you take things too much to

(02:31:43):
heart. Anne. We all makemistakes, but people forget them, and
Jonah days come to everybody. Asfor Anthony Pye, why need you care
if he does dislike you? Heis the only one. I can't help
it. I want everybody to loveme, and it hurts me so when
anybody doesn't, and Anthony never will. Now, Oh, I just made
an idiot of myself to day,Marilla, I'll tell you the whole story.

(02:32:07):
Marilla listened to the whole story,and if she smiled at certain points
of it, Anne never knew.When the tale was ended, she said
briskly, well, never mind,this day's done, and there's a new
one coming tomorrow with no mistakes init. Yet, as you used to
say yourself. Just come downstairs andhave your supper. You'll see if a
good cup of tea and those plumpuffs I made to day won't hearten you
up. Plumpuffs won't minister to amind diseased, said Anne disconsolately. But

(02:32:30):
Marilla thought it a good sign thatshe had recovered sufficiently to adapt a quotation
the cheerful supper table with the twinsbright faces and Marilla's matchless plumpuffs, of
which davy ate four did hearten herup considerably. After all, she had
a good sleep that night, andawakened in the morning to find herself and
the world transformed. It had snowedsoftly and thickly all through the hours of

(02:32:50):
darkness, and the beautiful whiteness glitteringin the frosty sunshine looked like a mantle
of charity cast over all the mistakesand humiliations of the past. Every morn
is a fresh beginning, every mornas the world made new, sang Anne
as she dressed, Owing to thesnow. She had to go around by
the road to school, and shethought it was certainly an impish coincidence that

(02:33:11):
Anthony Pye should come plowing along justas she left the Green Gables Lane.
She felt as guilty as if theirpositions were reversed. But to her unspeakable
astonishment, Anthony not only lifted hiscap, which she had never done before,
but said easily. Kind of badwalking, ain't it. Can I
take those books for you, teacher? Anne surrendered her books and wondered if
she could possibly be awake. Anthonywalked on in silence to the school,

(02:33:33):
but when Anne took her book,she smiled down at him, not the
stereotyped kind smile she had so persistentlyassumed for his benefit, but a sudden
out flashing of good comradeship. Anthonysmiled No, if the truth be told,
Anthony grinned back. A grin isnot generally supposed to be a respectful
thing. Yet Anne suddenly felt thatif she had not yet won Anthony's liking,

(02:33:54):
she had somehow or other won hisrespect. Missus Rachel Lynde came up
the next Saturday and confirmed this.Well, Anne, I guess you've won
over Anthony Pye. That's what hesays. He believes you are some good
after all, even if you area girl, says that whipping you gave
him was just as good as aman's I never expected to win him by
whipping him, though, said Anne, a little mournfully, feeling that her

(02:34:16):
ideals had played her false somewhere.It doesn't seem right. I'm sure my
theory of kindness can't be wrong.No, but the pies are an exception
to every known rule. That's whatdeclared Missus Rachel with conviction. Mister Harrison
said, thought you'd come to itwhen he heard it, and Jane rubbed
it in rather unmercifully. End ofChapter twelve. Chapter thirteen, a golden

(02:34:39):
picnic, Anne, on her wayto Orchard Slope, met Diana, bound
for Green Gables, just where themossy old log bridge spanned the brook below
the Haunted Wood, and they satdown by the margin of the dryad's bubble,
where tiny ferns were unrolling like curlyheaded green pixie folk wakening up from
a nap. I was just onmy way over to invite you to help
me celebrate my birthday on Saturday,said Anne, your birthday, but your

(02:35:03):
birthday was in March. That wasn'tmy fault, laughed Anne. If my
parents had consulted me, it wouldnever have happened, then I should have
chosen to be born in spring.Of course, it must be delightful to
come into the world with the mayflowersand violets. You would always feel that
you were their foster sister. Butsince I didn't, the next best thing
is to celebrate my birthday in thespring. Priscilla is coming over Saturday,

(02:35:24):
and Jane will be home. We'llall four start off to the woods and
spend a golden day making the acquaintanceof the Spring. We none of us
really know her yet, but we'llmeet her back there, as we never
can anywhere else. I want toexplore all those fields and lonely places.
Anyhow, I have a conviction thatthere were scores of beautiful nooks there that
have never really been seen, althoughthey may have been looked at. We'll

(02:35:48):
make friends with wind and sky andsun and bring home the spring in our
hearts. It sounds awfully nice,said Diana, with some inward distrust of
Anne's magic words. But won't bevery damp in some places yet. Oh
we'll wear rubbers, was Anne's concessionto practicalities. And I want you to
come over early Saturday morning and helpme prepare lunch. I'm going to have

(02:36:09):
the daintiest things possible, things thatwill match the spring. You understand,
little jelly tarts and lady fingers anddrop cookies frosted with pink and yellow icing,
and buttercupcake. And we must havesandwiches too, though they are not
very poetical. Saturday proved an idealday for a picnic, a day of
breeze and blue, warm sunny,with a little rollicking wind blowing across meadow

(02:36:31):
and orchard. Over every sunlit uplandand field was a delicate flower starred green.
Mister Harrison, harrowing at the backof his farm and feeling some of
the spring witchwork even in his sobermiddle aged blood, saw four girls,
basket laden, tripping across the endof his field, where it joined a
fringing woodland of birch and fur.Their blithe voices and laughter echoed down to

(02:36:52):
him. It's so easy to behappy on a day like this, isn't
it, Anne was saying, withtrue Anish philosophy. Let's try to make
this a really golden day, girls, a day to which we can always
look back with delight. We're toseek for beauty and refuse to see anything
else begone. Dull care, Jane, you are thinking of something that went
wrong in school yesterday. How doyou know, gasped Jane, amazed.

(02:37:16):
Oh, I know the expression.I felt it often enough on my own
face. But put it out ofyour mind. There's a dear it will
keep till Monday, or if itdoesn't, so much the better. Oh
girls, girls, see that patchof violets. There's something for memory's picture
gallery when I'm eighty years old.If I ever am, I shall shut
my eyes and see those violets justas I see them now. That's the

(02:37:37):
first good gift our day has givenus. If a kiss could be seen,
I think it would look like aviolet, said Priscilla. Anne glowed.
I'm so glad you spoke that thought, Priscilla, instead of just thinking
it and keeping it to yourself.This world would be a much more interesting
place, although it is very interestinganyhow, If people spoke out their real
thoughts, it would be too hotto hold, some folks, quoted Jane

(02:38:01):
sagely. I suppose it might be, but that would be their own faults
for thinking nasty things. Anyhow,we can tell all our thoughts to day
because we are going to have nothingbut beautiful thoughts. Everybody can say just
what comes into her head. Thatis conversation. Here's a little path I
never saw before. Let's explore it. The path was a winding one,
so narrow that the girls walked insingle file, and even then the fir

(02:38:24):
boughs brushed their faces. Under thefirs were velvety cushions of moss, and
further on, where the trees weresmaller and fewer, the ground was rich
in a variety of green growing things. What a lot of elephant's ears,
exclaimed Diana. I'm going to picka big bunch. They're so pretty.
How did the graceful, feathery thingsever come to have such a dreadful name,

(02:38:46):
asked Priscilla, because the person whofirst named them either had no imagination
at all, or else far toomuch, said Anne. Oh, girls,
look at that. That was ashallow woodland pool in the center of
a little open glade where the pathended. Later on in the season it
would be dried up and its placefilled with a rank growth of ferns.
But now it was a glimmering placidsheet, round as a saucer and clear

(02:39:09):
as crystal. A ring of slenderyoung birches encircled it, and little ferns
fringed its margin. How sweet,said Jane. Let us dance around it
like wood nymphs, cried Anne,dropping her basket and extending her hands.
But the dance was not a success, for the ground was boggy and Jane's
rubbers came off. You can't bea wood nymph if you have to wear
rubbers, was her decision. Wellwe must name this place before we leave

(02:39:33):
it, said Anne, yielding tothe indisputable logic of facts. Everybody suggested
nameable draw lots Diana, birch pool, suggested Diana promptly. Cristel Lake,
said Jane. Anne, standing behindthem, implored Priscilla with her eyes not
to perpetrate another such name, andPriscilla rose to the occasion with glimmer glass.
Anne's selection was the fairy's mirror.The names were written on strips of

(02:39:56):
birch bark or a pencil school ma'amJane produce from her pocket and placed in
Anne's hat. Then Priscilla shut hereyes and drew one. Crystal Lake,
read Jane, triumphantly. Crystel Lakeit was, And if Anne thought the
chance had played the pool a shabbytrick, She did not say so.
Pushing through the undergrowth beyond, thegirls came out to the young green seclusion

(02:40:18):
of mister Silas Sloane's back pasture.Across it, they found the entrance to
a lane striking up through the woods, and voted to explore it. Also
it rewarded their quest with a successionof pretty surprises. First, skirting mister
Sloane's pasture came an archway of wildcherry trees all in bloom. The girls
swung their hats on their arms andwreathed their hair with the creamy, fluffy
blossoms. Then the lane turned atright angles and plunged into a spruce wood

(02:40:41):
so thick and dark that they walkedin a gloom as of twilight, with
not a glimpse of sky or sunlightto be seen. This is where the
bad wood elves dwell, whispered Anne. They are impish and malicious that they
can't harm us because they are notallowed to do evil. In the spring.
There was one peeping at us aroundthat old twists did fur and didn't
you see a group of them onthat big freckly told Stool we just passed.

(02:41:05):
The good Fairies always dwell in thesunshiny places. I wish there really
were fairies, said Jane. Wouldn'tit be nice to have three wishes granted
you, or even only one?What would you wish for, girls,
if you could have a wish granted. I'd wish to be rich and beautiful
and clever. I'd wish to betall and slender, said Diana. I
would wish to be famous, saidPriscilla. Anne thought of her hair and

(02:41:26):
then dismissed the thought as unworthy.I'd wish it might be spring all the
time, and in everybody's heart andall our lives, she said. But
that, said Priscilla, would bejust wishing this world were like Heaven,
only like a part of Heaven.In the other parts. There would be
summer in autumn, yes, anda bit of winter too. I think
I want glittering snowy fields and whitefrosts in heaven sometimes, don't you,

(02:41:48):
Jane? I I don't know,said Jane, uncomfortably. Jane was a
good girl, a member of thechurch who tried conscientiously to live up to
her profession and believed everything she hadbeen taught. But she never thought about
heaven any more than she could helpfor all that. Minnie may ask me
the other day if we would wearour best dresses every day in heaven,
laughed Diana. And didn't you tellher we would, asked Anne Mercy.

(02:42:11):
No, I told her we wouldn'tbe thinking of dresses at all there.
Oh, I think we will alittle, said Anne earnestly. There will
be plenty of time and all eternityfor it, without neglecting more important things.
I believe we'll all wear beautiful dresses. Or I suppose Raymond would be
a more suitable way of speaking.I shall want to wear pink for a
few centuries at first. It wouldtake me that long to get tired of

(02:42:33):
it. I feel sure I dolove pink so and I could never wear
it in this world. Past thespruces, the lane dipped down into a
sunny little open where a log bridgespanned a brook. And then came the
glory of a sunlit beech wood,where the air was like transparent golden wine,
and the leaves fresh and green,and the wood floor a mosaic of
tremulous sunshine. Then more wild cherriesand a little valley of lissome fairs,

(02:42:58):
and then a hill's so steep thatthe girls lost their breath climbing it.
But when they reached the top andcame out into the open, the prettiest
surprise of all awaited them. Beyondwere the back fields of the farms that
ran out onto the Upper Carmody Road. Just before them, hemmed in by
beeches and firs, but opened tothe south, was a little corner,
and in it a garden, orwhat had once been a garden. A

(02:43:20):
tumble down stone dike overgrown with mossesand grass surrounded it. Along the eastern
side ran a row of garden cherrytrees white as snowdrift. There were traces
of old paths still, and adouble line of rose bushes through the middle.
But all the rest of the spacewas a sheet of yellow and white
narcissi in their aeriest, most lavishwind swayed bloom above the lush green grasses.

(02:43:43):
Oh, how perfectly lovely, threeof the girls cried, Anne only
gazed in eloquent silence. How inthe world does it happen that there ever
was a garden back here, saidPriscilla in amazement. It must be hester
Gray's garden, said Diana. I'veheard mother speak of it, but I
never saw it before, and Iwouldn't have supposed that it could be in
existence. Still, you've heard thestory, Anne, No, but the

(02:44:07):
name seems familiar to me. Oh, you've seen it in the graveyard.
She is buried down there in thepoplar corner, you know, the little
brown stone with the opening gates carvedon it and sacred to the memory of
Hester Gray, aged twenty two.Jordan Gray is buried right beside her,
but there's no stone to him.It's a wonder Marilla never told you about
it, Anne, to be sure. It happened thirty years ago, and
everybody has forgotten. Well, ifthere's a story, we must have it,

(02:44:30):
said Anne. Let's sit right downhere among the narcissi and Diana will
tell it. Why, girls,there are hundreds of them. They've spread
over everything. It looks as ifthe garden were carpeted with moonshine and sunshine
combined. This is a discovery worthmaking, to think that I've lived within
a mile of this place for sixyears and have never seen it before.
Now, Diana long ago began Diana. This farm belonged to old mister David

(02:44:56):
Gray. He didn't live on it. He lived where Silas Sloane lives now.
He had one son, Jordan,and he went up to Boston one
winter to work, and while hewas there he fell in love with a
girl named Hester Murray. She wasworking in a store and she hated it.
She'd been brought up in the countryand she always wanted to get back.
When Jordan asked her to marry him, she said she would if he'd

(02:45:16):
take her away to some quiet spotwhere she'd see nothing but fields and trees.
So he brought her to Avonlea.Missus Lynde said he was taking a
fearful risk in marrying a Yankee.And it's certain that Hester was very delicate
and a very poor housekeeper. Butmother says she was very pretty and sweet,
and Jordan just worshiped the ground shewalked on. Well, mister Gray
gave Jordan this farm and he builta little house back here, and Jordan

(02:45:39):
and Hester lived in it for fouryears. She never went out much,
and hardly anybody went to see herexcept mother and missus Lynde. Jordan made
her this garden and she was justcrazy about it and spent most of her
time in it. She wasn't muchof a housekeeper, but she had a
knack with flowers, and then shegot sick. Mother says she thinks she
was in consumption before she ever camehere. She never really laid up,

(02:46:01):
but just grew weaker and weaker allthe time. Jordan wouldn't have anybody to
wait on her. He did itall himself, and mother says he was
as tender and gentle as a woman. Every day he'd wrap her in her
shawl and carry her out to thegarden, and she'd lie there on a
bench quite happy. They say.She used to make Jordan kneel down by
her every night and morning and praywith her that she might die out in
the garden when the time came andher prayer was answered. One day,

(02:46:24):
Jordan carried her out to the bench, and then he picked all the roses
that were out and heaped them overher, and she just smiled up at
him and closed her eyes. Andthat concluded, Diana softly, was the
end. Oh, what a dearstory, sighed Anne, wiping away her
tears. What became of Jordan,asked Priscilla. He sold the farm after

(02:46:45):
Hester died and went back to Boston. Mister Jabez Sloane bought the farm and
hauled the little house out to theroad. Jordan died about ten years after,
and he was brought home and buriedbeside Hester. I can't understand how
she could have wanted to live backhere, away from everything, said Jane.
Oh. I can easily understand that, said Anne, thoughtfully. I
wouldn't want it myself for a steadything, because although I love the fields

(02:47:09):
and woods, I love people too. But I can understand it. In
Hester. She was tired to deathof the noise of the big city and
the crowds of people always coming andgoing and caring nothing for her. She
just wanted to escape from it allto some still green, friendly place where
she could rest. And she gotjust what she wanted, which is something
very few people do. I believeshe had four beautiful years before she died,

(02:47:31):
four years of perfect happiness. SoI think she was to be envied
more than pitied, and then toshut your eyes and fall asleep among roses,
with the one you loved best onearth, smiling down at you.
Oh, I think it was beautiful. She set out those cherry trees over
there, said Diana. She toldmother she'd never live to eat their fruit,
but she wanted to think that somethingshe had planted would go on living

(02:47:52):
and helping to make the world beautifulafter she was dead. I'm so glad
we came this way, said Annethe shining eyed. This is my adopted
birthday, you know, and thisgarden and its story is the birthday gift
it has given me. Did yourmother ever tell you what Hester Gray looked
like, Diana, No, onlyjust that she was pretty. I'm rather
glad of that, because I canimagine what she looked like without being hampered

(02:48:15):
by facts. I think she wasvery slight and small, with softly curling
dark hair, and big, sweet, timid brown eyes and a little wistful,
pale face. The girls left theirbaskets in Hester's garden and spent the
rest of the afternoon rambling in thewoods and fields surrounding it, discovering many
pretty nooks and lanes. When theygot hungry, they had lunch in the

(02:48:35):
prettiest spot of all, on thesteep bank of a gurgling brook, where
white birches shot up out of long, feathery grasses. The girls sat down
by the roots and did full justiceto Anne's dainties, even the unpoetical sandwiches,
being greatly appreciated by hearty, unspoiledappetites sharpened by all the fresh air
and exercise they had enjoyed. Annehad brought glasses and lemonade for her guests,

(02:48:56):
but for her own part drank coldbrook water from a cup fashioned out
of birch bark. The cup leakedand the water tasted of earth, as
brook water is apt to do inspring, but Anne thought it more appropriate
to the occasion than lemonade. Lookdo you see that poem, she said,
suddenly, pointing where Jane and Dianastared, as if expecting to see

(02:49:16):
runic rhymes on the birch trees theredown in the brook, that old green
mossy log, with the water flowingover it, in those smooth ripples that
look as if they'd been combed,and that single shaft of sunshine falling right
athwart it, far down into thepool. Oh, it's the most beautiful
poem I ever saw. I shouldrather call it a picture, said Jane.
A poem is lines and verses,Oh, dear me, No.

(02:49:39):
Anne shook her head with its fluffy, wild Cherry Coronel positively. The lines
and verses are only the outward garmentsof the poem, and are no more
really it than your ruffles and flounces, are you, Jane. The real
poem is the soul within them,and that beautiful bit is the soul of
an unwritten poem. It is notevery day one sees a soul, even
of a poem. I wonder whata soul, a person's soul would look

(02:50:03):
like, said Priscilla, dreamily.Like that, I should think, answered
Anne, pointing to a radiance ofsifted sunlight streaming through a birch tree,
only with shape and features. Ofcourse, I like to fancy souls as
being made of light, And someare all shot through with rosy stains and
quivers, and some have a softglitter like moonlight on the sea, and

(02:50:24):
some are pale and transparent, likemist at dawn. I read somewhere that
souls were like flowers, said Priscilla. Then your soul is a golden narcissus,
said Anne. And Diana's is likea red red rose. Jane's is
an apple blossom, pink and wholesomeand sweet, and your own is a
white violet with purple streaks in itsheart, finished Priscilla. Jane whispered to

(02:50:45):
Diana that she really could not understandwhat they were talking about, could she.
The girls went home by the lightof a calm, golden sunset,
their baskets filled with narcissus blossoms fromHester's garden, some of which Anne carried
to the cemetery next day and laidupon Hester's grave. Minstrel robins were whistling
in the firs, and the frogswere singing in the marshes. All the
basins among the hills were brimmed withtopaz and emerald light. Well we have

(02:51:09):
had a lovely time, after all, said Diana, as if she had
hardly expected to have it when sheset out. It has been a truly
golden day, said Priscilla. I'mreally awfully fond of the woods myself,
said Jane. Anne said nothing.She was looking afar into the western sky
and thinking of little Hester Gray endof Chapter thirteen, Chapter fourteen, A

(02:51:33):
danger averted Anne. Walking home fromthe post office one Friday evening, was
joined by missus Lynde, who was, as usual, cumbered with all the
cares of church and state. I'vejust been down to Timothy Cotton's to see
if I could get Alice Louise tohelp me for a few days. She
said, I had her last weekfor though she's too slow to stop quick.
She's better than nobody, but she'ssick and can't come. Timothy's sitting

(02:51:56):
there too, coughing and complaining.He's been dying for ten years, and
he'll go on dying for ten yearsmore. That kind can't even die and
have done with it. They can'tstick to anything, even to being sick
long enough to finish it. They'rea terrible shiftless family. And what is
to become of them? I don'tknow, but perhaps Providence does, missus
Lynde sighed, as if she ratherdoubted the extent of providential knowledge on the

(02:52:18):
subject. Marilla was in about hereyes again Tuesday, wasn't she? What
did the specialists think of them?She continued. He was much pleased,
said Anne brightly. He says thereis a great improvement in them, and
he thinks the danger of her losingher sight completely is past. But he
says she'll never be able to readmuch or do any fine hand work again.
How are your preparations for your bazaarcoming? On? The Lady's Aid

(02:52:39):
Society was preparing for a fare insupper, and Missus Lynde was the head
in front of the enterprise. Prettywell, Anne, that reminds me.
Missus Allan thinks it would be niceto fix up a booth like an old
time kitchen and serve a supper ofbaked beans, doughnuts, pie, and
so on. We're collecting old fashionedfixings everywhere. Missus Simon Fletcher is going
to lend us her mother's braided rugs, and Missus Levi Bolt some old chairs,

(02:53:00):
and Aunt Mary Shaw will lend usher cupboard with the glass doors.
I suppose Marilla will let us haveher brass candlesticks. And we want all
the old dishes we can get.Missus Allen especially set on having a real
blue willow ware platter if we canfind one, but nobody seems to have
one. Do you know where wecould get one? Miss Josephine Barry has
one. I'll write and ask herif she'll lend it for the occasion,
said Anne, Well, I wishyou would. I guess we'll have the

(02:53:22):
supper in about a fortnight's time.Uncle ab Andrews is prophesying rain and storms.
For about that time, and that'sa pretty sure sign we'll have fine
weather. The said Uncle Abe,it may be mentioned, was at least
like other prophets in that he hadsmall honor in his own country. He
was in fact considered in the lightof a standing joke, for few of
his weather predictions were ever fulfilled.Mister Elisha Wright, who labored under the

(02:53:45):
impression that he was a local wit, used to say that nobody in Avonlea
ever thought of looking in the Charlottetowndailies for weather probabilities. No, they
just asked Uncle Abe what it wasgoing to be tomorrow and expected the opposite.
Nothing daunted, Uncle Aid kept onprophesying. We want to have the
fare over before the election comes off, continued missus Lynde, for the candidates
will be sure to come and spendlots of money. The Tories are bribing

(02:54:07):
right and left, so they mightas well be given a chance to spend
their money honestly. For ones Annewas a red hot Conservative out of loyalty
to Matthew's memory, but she saidnothing. She knew better than to get
Missus Lynde started on politics. Shehad a letter from Marilla postmarked from a
town in British Columbia. It's probablyfrom the children's uncle, she said excitedly
when she got home. Oh,Marilla, I wonder what he says about

(02:54:28):
them. The best plan might beto open it and see, said Marilla
curtly. A close observer might havethought that she was excited also, but
she would have rather died than showit. Anne tore open the letter and
glanced over the somewhat untidy and poorlywritten contents. He says he can't take
the children this spring. He's beensick most of the winter, and his
wedding is put off. He wantsto know if we can keep them till
the fall, and he'll try andtake them. Then we will, of

(02:54:50):
course, won't we, Marilla.I don't see that there is anything else
for us to do, said Marillarather grimly, although she felt a secret
relief. Anyhow, they're not somuch trouble they were, or else we've
got used to them. Davy hasimproved a great deal. His manners are
certainly better, said Anne cautiously,as if you were not prepared to say
as much for his morals. Annehad come home from school the previous evening

(02:55:13):
to find Marilla wait an aid meeting, Dora asleep on the kitchen sofa,
and Davy in the sitting room closet, blissfully absorbing the contents of a jar
of Marilla's famous yellow plum preserves companyjam. Davy called it, which he
had been forbidden to touch. Helooked very guilty when Anne pounced on him
and whisked him out of the closet. Davy, Keith, don't you know
that it is very wrong of youto be eating that jam when you were

(02:55:35):
told never to meddle with anything inthat closet. Yes, I knew it
was wrong, admitted Davy uncomfortably.But plum jam is awful, nice Anne.
I just peeped in and it lookedso good I thought I'd just take
a weeny taste. I stuck myfinger in. Anne groaned and licked it
clean, and it was so muchgooder than I'd ever thought that I got
a spoon and just sailed in.Anne gave him such a serious lecture on

(02:55:58):
the sin of stealing place um jambthat Davy became conscience stricken and promised,
with repentant kisses never to do itagain. Annyhow there'll be plenty of dam
in heaven. That's one comfort,he said complacently. Anne nipped a smile
in the bud. Perhaps there willif we wanted, she said. But
what makes you think so? Whyit's in the Catechism, said Davy.

(02:56:18):
Oh no, there's nothing like thatin the Catechism, Davy. But I
tell you there is, persisted Davy. It was in that question, Marilla
taught me last Sunday. Why shouldwe love God? It says, because
he makes preserves and redeems us.Preserve is just a holy way of saying
jam. I must get a drinkof water, said Anne hastily. When

(02:56:39):
she came back. It cost hersome time in trouble to explain to Davy
that a certain comma in the saidCatechism question made a great deal of difference
in the meaning. Well, Ithought it was too good to be true,
he said at last, with asigh of disappointed conviction. An Besides,
I didn't see when you'd find timeto make jam. If it's one
endless Sabbath day, as the hymnsays, I don't believe I want to
go. Won't there ever be anySaturdays in heaven? Anne? Yes,

(02:57:03):
Saturdays and every other kind of beautifuldays, and every day in heaven will
be more beautiful than the one beforeit, Davy assured Anne, who was
rather glad that Marilla was not byto be shocked. Marilla, it is
needless to say, was bringing upthe twins in the good old ways of
theology, and discouraged all fanciful speculations. Thereupon, Davy and Dora were taught
a hymn, a catechism question,and two Bible verses every Sunday. Dora

(02:57:28):
learned meekly and recited like a littlemachine, with perhaps as much understanding or
interests as if she were one.Davy, on the contrary, had a
lively curiosity and frequently asked questions,which made Marilla tremble for his fate.
Chester Sloane says, we'll do nothingall the time in heaven but walk around
in white dresses and play on harps. And he says he hopes he won't

(02:57:48):
have to go till he's an oldman, cause maybe he'll like it better
then. And he thinks it willbe horrid to wear dresses, And I
think so too. Why can't menangels wear trousers? Anne, Chester Sloane
is interested in those, cause they'regoing to make a minister of him.
He's got to be a minister becausehis grandmother left the money to send him
to college, and he can't haveit unless he's a minister. She thought
a minister was such a spectable thingto have in a family. Chester says

(02:58:11):
he doesn't mind much, though he'drather be a blacksmith, but he's bound
to have all the fun he canbefore he begins to be a minister,
because he doesn't expect to have muchafterwards. I ain't going to be a
minister. I'm going to be astore keeper like mister Blair and keep heaps
of candy and bananas. But I'drather like going to your kind of a
heaven if they'd let me play amouth organ instead of a harp. Do
you s'pose they would? Yes,I think they would if you wanted.

(02:58:35):
It was all Anne could trust herselfto say. The Avus met at mister
Harmon Andrews that evening, and afull attendance had been requested since important business
was to be discussed. The Avaswas in a flourishing condition and had already
accomplished wonders early in the spring.Mister Major Spencer had redeemed his promise and
had stumped, grated, and seateddown all the road front of his farm.

(02:58:56):
A dozen other men, some promptedby a determined not to let a
spencer get ahead of them, othersgoaded into action by improvers in their own
households, had followed his example.The result was that there were long strips
of smooth velvet turf where ones hadbeen unsightly undergrowth or brush. The farm
fronts that had not been done lookedso badly, by contrast, that their
owners were secretly shamed into resolving tosee what they could do another spring.

(02:59:20):
The triangle of ground at the crossroads had also been cleared and seated down,
and Anne's bed of geraniums, unharmedby any marauding cow, was already
set out in the center. Altogether, the improvers thought that they were getting
on beautifully, even if mister LeviBolter, tactfully approached by a carefully selected
committee in regard to the old houseon his upper farm, did bluntly tell

(02:59:41):
them that he wasn't going to haveit meddled with. At this special meeting,
they intended to draw up a petitionto the school trustees humbly praying that
a fence be put around the schoolgrounds, and the plan was also to
be discussed for planting a few ornamentaltrees by the church, if the funds
of the society would permit of it, For as Anne said, there was
no use in starting another subscription aslong as the hall remained blue. The

(03:00:03):
members were assembled in the Andrews parlorand Jane was already on her feet to
move the appointment of a committee whichshould find out and report on the price
of said trees, when Gerty Pyeswept in, pomp adored and filled within
an inch of her life. Gertyhad a habit of being late to make
her entrance more effective. Spiteful peoplesaid Gerty's entrance in this instance was certainly

(03:00:24):
effective, for she paused dramatically onthe middle of the floor, threw up
her hands, rolled her eyes,and exclaimed, I've just heard something perfectly
awful. What do you think,mister Judson Parker is going to rent all
the road fence of his farm toa patent medicine company to paint advertisements on.
For once in her life, GertyPye made all the sensation she desired

(03:00:45):
If she had thrown a bomb amongthe complaisant Improvers, she could hardly have
made more. It can't be true, said Anne blankly. That's just what
I said when I heard it first, don't you know, said Gerty,
who was enjoying herself hugely. Isaid it couldn't be true, that Judson
Parker wouldn't have the heart to doit, don't you know. But father
met him this afternoon and asked himabout it, and he said it was
true. Just fancy his farm issied on to the Newbridge Road, and

(03:01:09):
how perfectly awful it will look tosee advertisements of pills and plasters all along
it, don't you know? Theimprovers did know all too well. Even
the least imaginative among them could picturethe grotesque effect of half a mile of
board fence adorned with such advertisements.All thought of church and school grounds vanished
before this new danger. Parliamentary rulesand regulations were forgotten, and Anne,

(03:01:31):
in despair, gave up trying tokeep minutes at all. Everybody talked at
once, and fearful was the hubbub. Oh let us keep calm, implored
Anne, who was the most excitedof them all, and try to think
of some way of preventing him.I don't know how you're going to prevent
him, exclaimed Jane bitterly. Everybodyknows what Judson Parker is. He'd do
anything for money. He hasn't aspark of public spirit or any sense of

(03:01:54):
the beautiful. The prospect looked ratherunpromising. Judson Parker and his sister were
the only Parkers in Avonlea, sothat no leverage could be exerted by family
connections. Martha Parker was a ladyof all too certain age who disapproved of
young people in general and the improversin particular. Judson was a jovial,
smooth spoken man, so uniformly goodnatured and bland that it was surprising how

(03:02:16):
few friends he had. Perhaps hehad got the better in too many business
transactions, which seldom makes for popularity. He was reputed to be very sharp,
and it was the general opinion thathe hadn't much principle. If Judson
Parker has a chance to turn anhonest penny, as he says himself,
he'll never lose it, declared FredWright. Is there nobody who has any

(03:02:37):
influence over him? Asked Anne despairingly. He goes to see Louisa Spencer at
White Sands, suggested Carrie Sloane.Perhaps she could coax him not to rent
his fences. Not, she saidGilbert emphatically. I know Louisa Spencer well.
She doesn't believe in village improvement societies, but she does believe in dollars
and cents. She'd be more likelyto urge Judson on than to dissuade him.

(03:02:58):
The only thing to do is toappoint a committee to wait on him
and protest, said Julia Bell.And you must send girls, for he'd
hardly be civil to boys. ButI won't go, so nobody need nominate
me. Better send Anne alone,said Oliver Sloane. She can talk Judson
over if anybody can. Anne protested. She was willing to go and do
the talking, but she must haveothers with her for moral support. Diana

(03:03:20):
and Jane were therefore appointed to supporther morally, and the Improvers broke up
buzzing like angry bees. With indignation. Anne was so worried that she didn't
sleep until nearly morning, and thenshe dreamed that the trustees had put a
fence around the school and painted trypurple pills all over it. The committee
waited on Judson Parker the next afternoon. Anne pleaded eloquently against his nefarious design,

(03:03:43):
and Jane and Diana supported her morallyand valiantly. Judson was sleek,
suave, flattering, paid them severalcompliments of the delicacy of sun flowers.
Felt real bad to refuse such charmingyoung ladies, but business was business.
Couldn't afford to let sentiments stand inthe way these hard times. But I'll
tell you what I will do,he said, with a twinkle in his
light full eyes. I'll tell theagent that he must use only handsome,

(03:04:05):
tasty colors, red and yellow andso on. I'll tell him he mustn't
paint the ads blue on any account. The vanquished committee retired, thinking things
not lawful to be uttered. Wehave done all we can do and must
simply trust the rest of providence,said Jane, with an unconscious imitation of
missus Lynde's tone and manner. Iwonder if mister Allan could do anything,

(03:04:26):
reflected Diana. Anne shook her head. No, it's no use to worry
mister Allen, especially now when thebaby's so sick. Judson would slip away
from him as smoothly as from us, although he has taken to going to
church quite regularly just now. Thatis simply because Louisa Spencer's father is an
elder and very particular about such things. Judson Parker is the only man in

(03:04:46):
Avonlea who would dream of renting hisfences, said Jane indignantly. Even Levi
Bolter or Lorenzo White would never stoopto that. Tight fisted as they are,
they would have too much respect forpublic opinion. Pap Publick opinion was
certainly down on Judson Parker when thefacts became known, but that did not
help matters much. Judson chuckled tohimself and defied it, and the improvers

(03:05:07):
were trying to reconcile themselves to theprospect of seeing the prettiest part of the
new Bridge road defaced by advertisements.When Anne rose quietly at the President's call
for reports of Committees on the occasionof the next meeting of the Society and
announced that mister Judson Parker had instructedher to inform the Society that he was
not going to rent his fences tothe Patent Medicine Company, Jane and Diana

(03:05:28):
stared as if they found it hardto believe their ears. Parliamentary etiquette,
which was generally very strictly enforced inthe Avis forbade them giving instant vent to
their curiosity. But after the societyadjourned, Anne was besieged for explanations.
Anne had no explanation to give.Judson Parker had overtaken her on the road
the preceding evening and told her thathe had decided to humor the AVIIS in

(03:05:50):
its peculiar prejudice against patent medicine advertisements. That was all Anne would say then
or ever afterwards, and it wasthe simple truth. But when Jane Andrews,
on her her way home, confidedto Oliver Sloane her firm belief that
there was more behind Judson Parker's mysteriouschange of heart than Anne Shirley had revealed,
she spoke the truth. Also.Anne had been down to Old missus

(03:06:11):
Irvings on the shore road the precedingevening and had come home by a short
cut which led her first over thelow lying shore fields and then through the
beechwood below Robert Dixon's by a littlefootpath that ran out of the main road
just above the Lake of shining waters, known to unimaginative people as Berry's Pond.
Two men were sitting in their buggies, reined off to the side of

(03:06:31):
the road, just at the entranceof the path. One was Judson Parker,
the other was Jerry Corkoran, anew Bridge man against whom, as
missus Lynde would have told to aneloquent Italics, nothing shady had ever been
proved. He was an agent foragricultural implements and a prominent personage in matters
political. He had a finger andsome people set all his fingers in every
political pie that was cooked. Andas Canada was on the eve of a

(03:06:54):
general election, Jerry Corkoran had beena busy man for many weeks, canvassing
the county and the interests of hisparty's candidate. Just as Anne emerged from
under the overhanging beech boughs, sheheard Corkoran say, if you'll vote for
Amesbury Parker, Well, I've anote for that pair of harrows you've got
in the spring. I suppose youwouldn't object to having it back. Eh.

(03:07:15):
Well, since you put it thatway, drawled Judson with a grin,
I reckon I might as well doit. A man must look out
for his own interests in these hardtimes. Both saw Anne at this moment,
and conversation abruptly ceased. Anne bowedfrostily and walked on, with her
chin slightly more tilted than usual.Soon Judson Parker overtook her. Have a
lift, Anne, he inquired genially. Thank you, No, said Anne,

(03:07:37):
politely, but with a fine needlelike disdain in her voice that pierced
even Judson Parker's none too sensitive consciousness. His face reddened and he twitched his
reins angrily, But the next second, prudential considerations checked him. He looked
uneasily at Anne as she walked steadilyon, glancing neither to the right nor
to the left. Had she heardCorkorann's unmistakable offer in his own too plain

(03:08:00):
acceptance of it confound Corkran. Ifhe couldn't put his meaning into less dangerous
phrases, he'd get into troublesome ofthese long come shorts, and confound red
headed school ma'ams with a habit ofpopping out of beechwoods where they had no
business to be. If Anne hadheard Judson Parker measuring her cord in his
own half bushel as the country,saying went and cheating himself thereby, as
such people generally do, believed thatshe would tell it far and wide.

(03:08:24):
Now. Judson Parker, as hasbeen seen, was not overly regardful of
public opinion. But to be knownas having accepted a bride would be a
nasty thing. And if it everreached Isaac Spencer's ears, farewell forever to
all hope of winning Louisa Jane,with her comfortable prospects. As the errors
of a well to do farmer.Judson Parker knew that mister Spencer looked somewhat
askance at him. As it was, he could not afford to take any

(03:08:46):
risks. Ahem. Anne, I'vebeen wanting to see you about that little
matter we were discussing the other day. I've decided not to let my fences
to that company. After all,a society with an aim like yours ought
to be encouraged. Anne thawed outthe mirror'st trifle. Thank you, she
said, And and you needn't mentionthat little conversation of mine with Jerry.

(03:09:09):
I have no intention of mentioning itin any case, said Anne icily,
for she would have seen every fencein Avonlea painted with advertisements before she would
have stooped a bargain with a manwho would sell his vote just so,
just so, agreed Judson, imaginingthat they understood each other beautifully. I
didn't suppose you would. Of course, I was only stringing Jerry. He
thinks he's so all fired cute andsmart. I've no intention of voting for

(03:09:31):
Amesbury. I'm going to vote forGrant, as I've always done. You'll
see that when the election comes off. I just led Jerry on to see
if he would commit himself. That'sall right about the fence. You can
tell the improvers that it takes allsorts of people to make a world,
as I've often heard, but Ithink there are some who could be spared.
Anne told her reflection in the EastGable mirror that night. I wouldn't
have mentioned the disgraceful thing to asoul anyhow, so my conscience is clear

(03:09:54):
on that score. I really don'tknow who or what is to be thanked
for this. I did nothing tobring it about. Had It's hard to
believe that providence ever works by meansof the kind of politics men like Judson
Parker and Jerry Corcoran have end ofchapter fourteen. Chapter fifteen, the beginning
of vacation. Anne locked the schoolhousedoor on a still yellow evening, when

(03:10:18):
the winds were purring in the sprucesaround the playground and the shadows were long
and lazy by the edge of thewoods. She dropped the key into her
pocket with a sigh of satisfaction.The school year was ended. She had
been re engaged for the next withmany expressions of satisfaction. Only mister Harmon
Andrews told her she ought to usethe strap oftener, and two delightful months

(03:10:39):
of a well earned vacation beckoned herinvitingly. Anne felt at peace with the
world and herself as she walked downthe hill with her basket of flowers in
her hand. Since the earliest mayflowers, Anne had never missed her weekly pilgrimage
to Matthew's grave. Everyone else inAvonlea except Marilla, had already forgotten quiet,
shy, unimportant Matthew Cuthbert, Buthis memory was still green in Anne's

(03:11:03):
heart and always would be. Shecould never forget the kind old man who
had been the first to give herthe love and sympathy her starved childhood had
craved. At the foot of thehill, a boy was sitting on the
fence in the shadow of the spruces, a boy with big, dreamy eyes
and a beautiful, sensitive face.He swung down and joined Anne, smiling,
but there were traces of tears onhis cheeks. I thought i'd wait

(03:11:26):
for you, teacher, because Iknew you were going to the graveyard,
he said, slipping his hand intohers. I'm going there too. I'm
taking this bouquet of geraniums to puton Grandpa Irving's grave for Grandma. And
look, teacher, I'm going toput this bunch of white roses beside Grandpa's
grave and memory of my little motherbecause I can't go to her grave to
put it there. But don't youthink she'll know all about it? Just

(03:11:48):
the same? Yes, I'm sureshe will, Paul. You see,
teacher, it's just three years today since my little mother died. It's
such a long long time. Butit r hur's just as much as ever,
and I miss her just as muchas ever. Sometimes it seems to
me that I just can't bear it. It hurts so Paul's voice quivered and

(03:12:09):
his lip trembled. He looked downat his roses, hoping that his teacher
would not notice the tears in hiseyes, and yet said Anne, very
softly, you wouldn't want it tostop hurting. You wouldn't want to forget
your little mother even if you could. No, indeed, I wouldn't.
That's just the way I feel.You're so good at understanding, teacher.

(03:12:30):
Nobody else understands so well, noteven Grandma, although she's so good to
me. Father understood pretty well,but still I couldn't talk much to him
about mother because it made him feelso bad when he put his hand over
his face. I always knew itwas time to stop. Poor father.
He must be dreadfully lonesome without me. But you see, he has nobody

(03:12:50):
but a housekeeper now, and hethinks housekeepers are no good to bring up
little boys, especially when he hasto be away from home so much on
business. Grandmothers are better next tomother's. Some day, when I'm brought
up, I'll go back to father, and we're never going to be parted
again. Paul had talked so muchto Anne about his mother and father that
she felt as if she had knownthem. She thought his mother must have

(03:13:11):
been very like what he was himselfin temperament and disposition. And she had
an idea that Stephen Irving was arather reserved man, with a deep and
tender nature, which he kept hiddenscrupulously from the world. Father's not very
easy to get acquainted with, Paulhad said once. I never got really
acquainted with him until after my littlemother died. But he's splendid when you

(03:13:33):
do get to know him. Ilove him best in all the world,
and Grandma Irving next, and thenyou, Teacher. I'd love you next
to father if it wasn't my dutyto love Grandma Irving best, because she's
doing so much for me, youknow, Teacher, I wish she would
leave the lamp in my room tillI go to sleep, though she takes
it right out as soon as shetucks me up, because she says I
mustn't be a coward. I'm notscared, but I'd rather have the light.

(03:13:58):
My little mother used to always sitbeside me and hold my hand till
I went to sleep. I expectshe spoiled me. Mothers do sometimes,
you know. No. Anne didnot know this, although she might imagine
it. She thought sadly of herlittle mother, the mother who had thought
her so perfectly beautiful, and whohad died so long ago, and was
buried beside her boyish husband in thatunvisited grave far away. Anne could not

(03:14:22):
remember her mother, and for thisreason she almost envied Paul. My birthday
is next week, said Paul,as they walked up the long red hill,
basking in the June sunshine. Andfather wrote me that he is sending
me something that he thinks I likebetter than anything else he could send.
I believe it has come already forGrandma is keeping the bookcase strawer locked,

(03:14:43):
and that is something new. Andwhen I asked her why, she just
looked mysterious and said, little boysmustn't be too curious. It's very exciting
to have a birthday, isn't it. I'll be eleven. You'd never think
it to look at me, wouldyou. Grandma says I'm very small for
my age, and that it's allbecause I don't enough porridge. I do
my very best, but Grandma givessuch generous platefuls. There's nothing mean about

(03:15:05):
Grandma, I can tell you.Ever since I had that talk about praying
going home from Sunday school that dayteacher, when you said we ought to
pray about all our difficulties. I'veprayed every night that God would give me
enough grace to enable me to eatevery bit of my porridge in the mornings.
But I've never been able to doit yet. And whether it's because
I have too little grace or toomuch porridge, I really can't decide.

(03:15:28):
Grandma says father was brought up onporridge, and it certainly did work well
in his case. For you oughtto see the shoulders he has, but
sometimes, concluded Paul with a sighand a meditative air, I really think
porridge will be the death of me. Anne permitted herself a smile, since
Paul was not looking at her all. Avonlea knew that old missus Irving was

(03:15:50):
bringing her grandson up in accordance withthe good old fashioned methods of diet and
morals. Let us hope not dear, she said, cheerfully. How are
your rock people coming on? Doesthe oldest twins still continue to behave himself?
He has to, said Paul emphatically. He knows I won't associate with
him. If he doesn't, heis really full of wickedness. I think
Aunt has Nora found out about theGolden Lady yet. No, but I

(03:16:13):
think she suspects. I'm almost sureshe watched me the last time I went
to the cave. I don't mindif she finds out. It is only
for her sake. I don't wanther to so that her feelings won't be
hurt. But if she is determinedto have her feelings hurt, it can't
be helped. If I were togo to the shores some night with you,
do you think I could see yourrock people too? Paul shook his

(03:16:33):
head gravely. No. I don'tthink you could see my rock people.
I'm the only person who can seethem. But you could see rock people
of your own. You're one ofthe kind that can. We're both that
kind, you know, teacher,he added, squeezing her hand chummily.
Isn't it splendid to be that kind? Teacher? Splendid? Anne agreed,

(03:16:54):
gray shining eyes looking down into blueshining ones, Anne and Paul both knew
how fair the Welm imagination opens tothe view, and both knew the way
to that happy land. There.The rows of joy bloomed immortal by dale,
and stream clouds never darkened. Thesunny sky, sweet bells never jangled
out of tune, and kindred spiritsabounded. The knowledge of that land's geography

(03:17:16):
east of the sun west to themoon is priceless lore, not to be
bought in any market place. Itmust be the gift of the good fairies
of birth, and the years cannever deface it or take it away.
It is better to possess it livingin a garret than to be the inhabitant
of palaces without it. The AvonleaGraveyard was as yet the grass grown solitude.

(03:17:37):
It had always been, to besure, the Improvers had an eye
on it, and Priscilla Grant hadread a paper on cemeteries before the last
meeting of the Society. At somefuture time, the improvers meant to have
the likened wayward old board fence replacedby a neat wire railing the grass moan,
and the leaning monuments straightened up.Anne put on Matthew's grave the flowers

(03:17:58):
she had brought for it, andthen went over to the little poplar shaded
corner where Hester Gray slept. Eversince the day of the spring picnic,
Anne had put flowers on Hester's gravewhen she visited Matthew's. The evening before,
she had made a pilgrimage back tothe little deserted garden in the woods
and brought therefrom some of Hester's ownwhite roses. I thought you would like

(03:18:18):
them better than any others, dear, she said softly. Anne was still
sitting there when a shadow fell overthe grass, and she looked up to
see Missus Allen. They walked hometogether. Missus Allan's face was not the
face of the girl bride whom theMinister had brought to Avonlea five years before.
It had lost some of its bloomand youthful curves, and there were

(03:18:39):
fine patient lines about eyes and mouth. A tiny grave in that very cemetery
accounted for some of them, andsome new ones had come during the recent
illness now happily over of her littleson. But Missus Allan's dimples were as
sweet and sudden as ever, hereyes as clear and bright and true.
And what her face lacked of girlishbeauty was now more than atoned for in

(03:19:01):
added tenderness and strength. I supposeyou are looking forward to your vacation,
Anne, she said, as theyleft the graveyard. Anne nodded yes,
I could roll the word as asweet morsel under my tongue. I think
this summer is going to be lovely. For one thing, Missus Morgan is
coming to the island in July,and Priscilla is going to bring her up.
I feel one of my old thrillsat the mere thought. I hope

(03:19:24):
you'll have a good time. Anne. You've worked very hard this past year,
and you have succeeded. Oh,I don't know. I've come so
far short in so many things.I haven't done what I meant to do
when I began to teach last fall. I haven't lived up to my ideals.
None of us ever do, saidMissus Allen with a sigh. But
then, Anne, you know whatLowell says. Not failure but low aim

(03:19:46):
is crime. We must have idealsand try to live up to them,
even if we never quite succeed.Life would be a sorry business without them.
With them, it's grand and great. Hold fast to your ideals,
Anne, I shall try, butI have to let go of most of
my theories, said Anne, laughinga little. I had the most beautiful
set of theories you ever knew whenI started out as a school ma'am.

(03:20:07):
But every one of them has failedme at some pincher or another. Even
the theory on corporal punishment teased MissusAllan, but Anne flushed. I shall
never forgive myself for whipping Anthony nonsense. Dear. He deserved it, and
it agreed with him. You havehad no trouble with him since, and
he has come to think there's nobodylike you. Your kindness won his love

(03:20:28):
after the idea that a girl wasno good was rooted out of his stubborn
mind. He may have deserved it, but that is not the point.
If I had calmly and deliberately decidedto whip him because I thought it a
just punishment for him, I wouldnot feel over it as I do.
But the truth is, Missus Allan, that I just flew into a temper
and whipped him because of that.I wasn't thinking whether it was just or
unjust. Even if he hadn't deservedit, I'd have done it just the

(03:20:52):
same. That is what humiliates me. Well, we all make mistakes,
dear, so just put it behindyou. We should regret our mistakes and
learn from them, but never carrythem forward into the future with us.
There goes Gilbert Blythe on his wheelhome for his vacation too. I suppose
how are you and he getting onwith your studies? Pretty well? We
plan to finish the Virgil to night. There are only twenty lines to do.

(03:21:15):
Then we are not going to studyany more until September. Do you
think you will ever get to college? Oh? I don't know, Anne
looked dreamily afar into the opal tintedhorizon. Marilla's eyes will never be much
better than they are now, althoughwe are so thankful to think that they
will not get worse. And thenthere are the twins. Somehow I don't
believe their uncle will ever really sendfor them. Perhaps college may be around

(03:21:37):
the bend in the road, butI haven't got to the bend yet,
and I don't think much about itlest I might grow discontented. Well,
I should like to see you goto college, Anne, but if you
never do, don't be discontented aboutit. We make our own lives wherever
we are, After all, collegecan only help us to do it more
easily. They are broad or narrowaccording to what we put into them,

(03:21:58):
not what we get out. Lifeis rich and full here everywhere, if
we can only learn how to openour whole hearts to its richness and fullness.
I think I understand what you mean, said Anne thoughtfully. And I
know I have so much to feelthankful for, oh so much my work
and Paul Irving and the dear Twinsand all my friends. Do you know,

(03:22:20):
missus Allan, I'm so thankful forfriendship. It beautifies life so much.
True friendship is a very helpful thing, indeed, said missus Allan.
And we should have a very highideal of it and never sully it by
any failure in truth and sincerity.I fear the name of friendship is often
degraded to a kind of intimacy thathas nothing of real friendship in it.

(03:22:41):
Yes, like Gertie Pye's and JuliaBell's they are very intimate and go everywhere
together. But Gerdie is always sayingnasty things of Julia behind her back,
and everybody thinks she is jealous ofher because she is always so pleased when
anybody criticizes Julia. I think itis desecration to call that friendship. If
we have friends, we should lookonly for the best in them and give

(03:23:01):
them the best that is in us. Don't you think then friendship would be
the most beautiful thing in the world. Friendship is beautiful, smiled Missus Allen.
But some day, then, shepaused abruptly. In the delicate,
white browed face beside her, withits candid eyes and mobile features, there
was still far more of the childthan of the woman. Anne's heart so

(03:23:22):
far harbored only dreams of friendship andambition, and Missus Allen did not wish
to brush the bloom from her sweetunconsciousness, so she left her sentence for
the future years to finish. Endof chapter fifteen. Chapter sixteen, The
substance of things hoped for Anne,said Davy appealingly, scrambling up on the

(03:23:43):
shiny leather covered sofa in the GreenGables kitchen where Anne sat reading a letter.
Anne, I'm awful hungry. You'veno idea. I'll get you a
piece of bread and butter in aminute, said Anne absently. Her letter
evidently contained some exciting news, forher cheeks were as pink as the roses
on the big bush outside, andher eyes were as starry as only Anne's

(03:24:03):
eyes could be. But I ain'tbread an butter hungry, said Davy in
a disgusted tone. I'm plum cakehungry, oh, laughed Anne, laying
down her letter and putting her armabout Davy to give him a squeeze.
That's a kind of hunger that canbe endured very comfortably, Davy boy.
You know it's one of Marilla's rulesthat you can't have anything but bread and

(03:24:24):
butter between meals. Well, giveme a piece, then, please.
Davy had at last been taught tosay please, but he generally tacked it
on as an afterthought. He lookedwith approval of the generous slice Anne presently
brought to him. You always putsuch a nice lot of butter on it,
Anne, Marilla spreads it pretty thin. It slips down a lot easier

(03:24:45):
when there's plenty of butter. Theslies slipped down with tolerable ease, Judging
from its rapid disappearance. Davy slidhead first off the sofa, turned a
double somersault on the rug, andthen sat up and announced decidedly, Anne,
I've made up my mind about Heaven. I don't want to go there.
Why not, asked Anne gravely,cause Heaven is in Simon Fletcher's Garrett,

(03:25:05):
and I don't like Simon Fletcher.Heaven in Simon Fletcher's Garrett gasped,
Anne, too amazed even to laugh. Davy Keith, whatever put such an
extraordinary idea into your head? MiltyBoulter says, that's where it is.
It was last Sunday in Sunday school. The lesson was about Elijah and Elisha,
and I up and asked Miss Rogersonwhere Heaven was. Miss Rogerson looked

(03:25:28):
awful offended. She was cross anyhow, because when she'd asked us what Elijah
left Elisha when he went to heaven, Milty Bolter said his old clothes,
and us fellows all laughed before wethought, I wish you could think first
and do things afterwards, cause thenyou wouldn't do them. But Milty didn't
mean to be disrespectful. He justcouldn't think of the name of the thing.
Miss Rogerson says heaven was where Godwas, and I wasn't to ask

(03:25:50):
questions like that. Milty nudged meand said in a whisper, Heaven's and
Uncle Simon's Garrett, and I'll explainabout it on the way home. So
when we was coming home, Milty'sa great hand at explaining things, even
if you don't know anything about athing. He'll make up a lot of
stuff, and so you get itdisplained all the same. His mother is
Missus Simon's sister, and he wentwith her to the funeral when his cousin,

(03:26:11):
Jane Ellen died. The minister saidshe'd gone to heaven, though Milty
says she was lying right before themin the coffin, but he suppose they
carried the coffin to the garret afterwards. Well, when Milty and his mother
went upstairs after it was all overto get her bonnet, he asked her
where heaven was that Jane Ellen hadgone to, and she pointed right to
the ceiling and said up there,Milty knew there wasn't anything but the garrett

(03:26:33):
over the ceiling. So that's howhe found out. And he's been awful
scared to go to his uncle Simon'sever since. Anne took Davy on her
knee and did her best to straightenout this theological tangle. Also, she
was much better fitted for the taskthan Marilla, for she remembered her own
childhood and had an instinctive understanding ofthe curious ideas that seven year olds sometimes

(03:26:54):
get about matters that are, ofcourse very plain and simple to grown up
people. She had just secces inconvincing Davy that heaven was not in Simon
Fletcher's garret when Marilla came in fromthe garden where she and Dora had been
picking peas. Dora was an industriouslittle soul and never happier than when helping
in various small tasks suited to herchubby fingers. She fed chickens, picked

(03:27:16):
up chips, wiped dishes, andran errands galore. She was neat,
faithful and observant. She never hadto be told how to do a thing
twice, and never forgot any ofher little duties. Davy, on the
other hand, was rather heedless andforgetful, but he had the born knack
of winning love, and even yetAnne and Marilla liked him the better.
While Dora proudly shelled the peas andDavy made boats of the pods with masts

(03:27:39):
of matches and sales of paper,Anne told Marilla about the wonderful contents of
her letter. Oh, Marilla,what do you think. I've had a
letter from Priscilla, and she saysthat missus Morgan is on the island and
that if it is fine Thursday,they are going to drive up to Avonlea
and will reach here about twelve.They will spend the afternoon with us and
go to the hotel at White Sandsin the evening because some of Missus Morgan's

(03:28:01):
American friends are staying there. Oh, Marilla, isn't it wonderful? I
can hardly believe I'm not dreaming.I dare say Missus Morgan is a lot
like other people, said Marilla dryly, although she did feel a trifle excited
herself. Missus Morgan was a famouswoman, and a visit from her was
no commonplace occurrence. They'll be hereto dinner, then, yes, And
oh, Marilla, may I cookevery bit of the dinner myself. I

(03:28:24):
want to feel that I can dosomething for the author of the Rosebud Garden.
If it is only to cook adinner for her. You won't mind,
will you. Goodness, I'm notso fond of stewing over a hot
fire in July that it would vexme very much to have some one else
do it. You're quite welcome tothe job. Oh, thank you,
said Anne, as if Marilla hadjust conferred a tremendous favor. I'll make
out the menu this very night.You'd better not try to put on too

(03:28:46):
much style, warned Marilla, alittle alarmed by the high flown sound of
menu. You'll likely come to griefif you do. Oh, I'm not
going to put on any style.If you mean trying to do or have
things we don't usually have on festaloccasions, assured Anne, that would be
affectation. And although I know Ihaven't as much sense and steadiness as a
girl of seventeen and a school teacherought to have, I'm not so silly

(03:29:07):
as that, but I want tohave everything as nice and dainty as possible.
Davy boy, don't leave those peapods on the back stairs. Someone
might slip on them. I'll havea light soup to begin with, you
know I can make lovely cream ofonion soup. And then a couple of
roast fowls. I'll have the twowhite roosters. I have real affection for
those roosters, and they've been petsever since the gray hen hatched out,

(03:29:28):
just the two of them, littleballs of yellow down. But I knew
they would have to be sacrificed sometime, and surely there couldn't be a worthier
occasion than this. But oh,Marilla, I cannot kill them, not
even for Missus Morgan's sake. I'llhave to ask John Henry Carter to come
over and do it for me.I'll do it, volunteered, Davy,
if marilla'll hold them by the legs, because I guess it'd take both my

(03:29:50):
hands to manage the axe. It'sawful jolly to see them hopping about after
their heads are cut off. ThenI'll have peas and beans and cream potatoes
and a lettuce salad for vegetable resumedanne, and for dessert, lemon pie
with whipped cream and coffee and cheeseand lady fingers. I'll make the pies
and lady fingers tomorrow and do upmy white muslin dress. And I must

(03:30:11):
tell Diana tonight, for she'll wantto do up hers. Missus Morgan's heroines
are nearly always dressed in white muslin, and Diana and I have always resolved
that that was what we would wearif we ever met her. It will
be such a delicate compliment, don'tyou think, Davy, Dear, you
mustn't poke pea pods into the cracksof the floor. I must ask mister
and Missus Allan and Miss Stacy todinner too, for they're all very anxious
to meet Missus Morgan. It's sofortunate she's coming while miss Stacy is here.

(03:30:35):
Davy, Dear, don't sail thepea pods in the water bucket,
go out to the trough. Oh. I do hope it will be fine
Thursday, And I think it will. For Uncle Abe said last night when
he called at mister Harrison that itwas going to rain most of this week.
That's a good sign, agreed Marilla. Anne ran across to Orchard Slope
that evening to tell the news toDiana, who was also very much excited

(03:30:56):
over it, and they discussed thematter in the hammock swung under the big
willow and the Oh, Anne,mayn't I help you cook the dinner,
implored Diana. You know I canmake splendid let a salad. Indeed,
you may, said Anne unselfishly.And I shall want you to help me
decorate too. I mean to havethe parlor simply a bower of blossoms,
and the dining table is to beadorned with wild roses. Oh, I

(03:31:18):
do hope everything will go smoothly.Missus Morgan's heroines never get into scrapes,
are are taken at a disadvantage,and they are always so self possessed in
such good housekeepers. They seem tobe born good housekeepers. You remember that
Gertrude and Edgewood Days kept house forher father when she was only eight years
old. When I was eight yearsold, I hardly knew how to do
a thing except bring up children.Missus Morgan must be an authority young girls,

(03:31:41):
when she has written so much aboutthem, and I do want her
to have a good opinion of us. I've imagined it all out a dozen
different ways, what she'll look like, and what she'll say, and what
I'll say. And I'm so anxiousabout my nose. There are seven freckles
on it, as you can see. They came at the Avis picnic when
I went around in the sum withoutmy hat. I suppose it's ungrateful of
me to worry over them when Ishould be thankful. They are not spread

(03:32:03):
all over my face as they oncewere, But I do wish they hadn't
come all. Missus Morgan's heroines havesuch perfect complexions. I can't recall a
freckled one among them. Yours arenot very noticeable, comforted Diana try a
little lemon juice on them to night. The next day, Anne made her
pies and Lady Fingers, did upher muslin dress, and swept and dusted

(03:32:24):
every room in the house, aquite unnecessary proceeding for green gables was as
usual in the apple Pie order.Dear to Marilla's heart, but Anne felt
that a fleck of dust would bea desecration in a house that was to
be honored by a visit from CharlotteE. Morgan. She even cleaned out
the catch all closet under the stairs, although there was not the remotest possibility
of missus Morgan's seeing its interior.But I want to feel that it is

(03:32:46):
in perfect order, even if sheisn't to see it, Anne told Marilla.
You know, in her book GoldenKeys, she makes her two heroines
Alice and Louisa take for their mottothat verse of longfellows in the elder days
of a builders wrought with greatest careeach minute and unseen part, for the
gods see everywhere. And so theyalways kept their cellar stairs scrubbed, and

(03:33:07):
never forgot to sweep under the beds. I should have a guilty conscience if
I thought this closet was in disorderwhen Missus Morgan was in the house.
Ever since we read Golden Keys lastApril, Diana and I have taken that
verse for our motto too. Thatnight, John, Henry Carter and Davy
between them, contrived to execute thetwo white roosters, and Anne dressed them,

(03:33:28):
the usually distasteful task glorified in hereyes by the destination of the plump
birds. I don't like picking fowls, she told Marilla, But isn't it
fortunate we don't have to put oursouls into what our hands may be doing.
I've been picking chickens with my hands, but in imagination, I've been
roaming the milky way. I thoughtyou'd scattered more feathers over the floor than
usual, remarked Marilla. Then Anneput Davy to bed and made him promise

(03:33:52):
that he would behave perfectly the nextday. If I'm as good as good
can be all day tomorrow, willyou let me be just as bad as
I like all the next day,asked Davy. I couldn't do that,
said Anne discreetly. But I'll takeyou and Dora for a row in the
flat right to the bottom of thepond, and we'll go ashore on the
sand hills and have a picnic.It's a bargain, said Davy. I'll
be good, you bet. Imeant to go over to mister Harrison's and

(03:34:15):
fire peas from my new pop gunat Ginger, but another dal'll do as
well. I expect it will bejust like Sunday, but a picnic at
the shore'll make up for that.End of Chapter sixteen. Chapter seventeen,
a chapter of accidents. Anne wokethree times in the night and made pilgrimages
to her window to make sure thatUncle Abe's prediction was not coming true.

(03:34:37):
Finally, the morning dawned pearly andlustrous in a sky full of silver sheen
and radiance, and the wonderful dayhad arrived. Diana appeared soon after breakfast
with a basket of flowers over onearm and her muslin dress over the other,
for it would not do to donit until all the dinner preparations were
completed. Meanwhile, she wore herafternoon pink print and a lawn apron.

(03:34:58):
Fearfully and wonderfully ruffled and frilled,and very neat and pretty and rosy.
She was. You look simply sweet, said Anne admiringly. Diana sighed,
but I've had to let out everyone of my dresses again. I weigh
four pounds more than I did inJuly. Anne, where will this end?
Missus Morgan's heroines are all tall andslender. Well, let's forget our

(03:35:20):
troubles and think of our mercies,said Anne gaily. Missus Allan says that
whenever we think of anything that isa trial to us, we should also
think of something nice that we canset over against it. If you are
slightly too plump, you've got thedearest dimples. And if I have a
freckled nose, the shape of itis all right. Do you think the
lemon juice did any good? Yes, I really think it did, said
Diana critically and much elated. Anneled the way to the garden, which

(03:35:43):
was full of airy shadows and waveringgolden nights. We'll decorate the parlor first.
We have plenty of time for Priscillasaid. They'd be here about twelve
or half past of the latest,so we'll have dinner at one. There
may have been two happier and moreexcited girls somewhere in Canada or the United
States. Of that moment, butI doubt it. Every snip of the
scissors, as rose and paeony andbluebell fell, seemed to chirp Missus Morgan

(03:36:07):
is coming to day. Anne wonderedhow mister Harrison could go on placidly mowing
hay in the field across the lane, just as if nothing were going to
happen. The parlor at Green Gableswas a rather severe and gloomy apartment,
with rigid horse hair furniture, stifflace curtains, and white antimacassars that were
always laid at a perfectly correct angle, except at such times as they clung

(03:36:28):
to unfortunate people's buttons. Even Annehad never been able to infuse much grace
into it, for Marilla would notpermit any alterations. But it is wonderful
what flowers can accomplish if you givethem a fair chance. When Anne and
Diana finished with the room, youwould not have recognized it. A great
blue bowlful of snowballs overflowed on thepolished table. The shining black mantelpiece was

(03:36:50):
heaped with roses and ferns. Everyshelf of the what knot held a sheaf
of bluebells. The dark corners oneither side of the grate were lighted up
with cars full of glowing crimson peonies, and the grate itself was aflame with
yellow poppies. All this splendor andcolor mingled with the sunshine falling through the
honeysuckle vines at the windows in aleafy riot of dancing shadows over walls and

(03:37:13):
floor made of the usually dismal littleroom the veritable bower of Anne's imagination,
and even extorted a tribute of admirationfrom Marilla, who came in to criticize
and remained to praise. Now wemust set the table, said Anne,
in the tone of a priestess aboutto perform some sacred rite in honor of
a divinity. We'll have a bigvase full of wild roses in the center,
and one single rose in front ofeverybody's plate, and a special bouquet

(03:37:37):
of rosebuds only by missus Morgan's anallusion to the rosebud Garden. You know,
the table was set in the sittingroom with Marilla's finest linen and the
best china, glass and silver.You may be perfectly certain that every article
placed on it was polished or scouredto the highest possible perfection of gloss and
glitter. Then the girls tripped outto the kitchen, which was filled with

(03:37:58):
appetizing odors zemanating from the oven,where the chickens were already sizzling splendidly.
Anne prepared the potatoes and Diana gotthe peas and beans ready. Then,
while Diana shut herself into the pantryto compound the lettuce salad, Anne,
whose cheeks were already beginning to glowcrimson as much with excitement as from the
heat of the fire, prepared thebread sauce for the chickens, minced her

(03:38:20):
onions for the soup, and finallywhipped the cream for her lemon pies.
And what about Davy? All thistime was he redeeming his promise to be
good? He was, indeed,to be sure, He insisted on remaining
in the kitchen for his curiosity wantedto see all that went on. But
as he sat quietly in a corner, busily engaged in untying the knots in
a piece of herring net he hadbrought home from his last trip to the

(03:38:41):
shore, nobody objected to this.At half past eleven, the lettuce salad
was made, the golden circles ofthe pies were heaped with the whipped cream,
and everything was sizzling and bubbling thatought to sizzle and bubble. We'd
better go and dress now, saidAnne, for they may be here by
twelve. We must have dinner atsharp one, for the soup must be
served as soon as it's done.Serious. Indeed were the toilet rites presently

(03:39:03):
performed in the east gable. Annepeered anxiously at her nose and rejoiced to
see that its freckles were not atall prominent, thanks either to the lemon
juice or to the unusual flush onher cheeks. When they were ready,
they looked quite as sweet and trimand girlish as ever did any of missus
Morgan's heroines. I do hope I'llbe able to say something once in a
while and not sit like a mute, said Diana anxiously. All missus Morgan's

(03:39:26):
heroines converse so beautifully, but I'mafraid I'll be tongue tied and stupid,
and I'll be sure to say Iseen. I haven't often said it since
Miss Stacy taught here, but inmoments of excitement, it's sure to pop
out, Anne. If I wereto say I seen before Missus Morgan,
I'd die of mortification, and itwould be almost as bad to have nothing
to say. I'm nervous about agood many things, said Anne, But

(03:39:48):
I don't think there is much fearthat I won't be able to talk Anne
to do her justice, There wasn't. Anne shrouded her muzzling glories in a
big apron and went down to concocther soup. Marilla had dressed herself and
the twins and looked more excited thanshe had ever been known to look before.
At half past twelve, the Allansand Miss Stacy came. Everything was

(03:40:09):
going well, but Anne was beginningto feel nervous. It was surely time
for Priscilla and Missus Morgan to arrive. She made frequent trips to the gate
and looked as anxiously down the laneas ever, her namesake in the Bluebeard
story peered from her tower casement.Suppose they don't come at all, she
said, piteously. Don't suppose it. It would be too mean, said
Diana, who, however, wasbeginning to have uncomfortable misgivings on the subject.

(03:40:33):
Anne said, Marilla coming out fromthe parlor. Miss Stacy wants to
see Miss Barry's willow ware platter.Anne hastened to the sitting room closet to
get the platter. She had,in accordance with her promise to missus Lynde,
written to Miss Barry of Charlottetown askingfor the loan of it. Miss
Barry was an old friend of Anne's, and she promptly sent the platter out
with a letter exhorting Anne to bevery careful of it, for she had

(03:40:54):
paid twenty dollars for it. Theplatter had served its purpose at the aid
Bazaar and had then been turned tothe green Gable's closet, for Anne would
not trust anybody but herself to takeit back to town. She carried the
platter carefully to the front door,where her guests were enjoying the cool breeze
that blew up from the brook.It was examined and admired. Then,
just as Anne had taken it backinto her own hands, a terrific crash

(03:41:16):
and clatter sounded from the kitchen pantry. Marilla, Diana and Anne fled out,
the latter pausing only long enough toset the precious platter hastily down on
the second step of the stairs.When they reached the pantry, a truly
harrowing spectacle met their eyes, aguilty looking small boy scrambling down from the
table, with his clean printed blouseliberally plastered with yellow filling, and on

(03:41:37):
the table the shattered remnants of whathad been two brave becreamed lemon pies.
Davy had finished raveling out his herringnet and had wound the twine into a
ball. Then he had gone intothe pantry to put it up on the
shelf above the table, where healready kept a score or so of similar
balls, which, so far ascould be discovered, served no useful purpose
save to yield the joy of possession. Davy had to climb on the table

(03:42:01):
and reach over to the shelf ata dangerous angle, something he had been
forbidden by Marilla to do, ashe had come to grief once before in
the experiment. The result in thisinstance was disastrous. Davy slipped and came
sprawling squarely down on the lemon pies. His clean blouse was ruined for that
time, and the pies for alltime. It is, however, an
ill wind that blows nobody good andthe pig was eventually the gainer by Davy's

(03:42:24):
mischance. Davy Keith, said Marilla, shaking him by the shoulder. Didn't
I forbid you to climb up onthat table again? Didn't I I forgot?
Whimpered Davy. You've told me notto do such an awful lot of
things that I can't remember them.All. Well, you march upstairs and
stay there till after dinner. Perhapsyou'll get them sorted out in your memory
by that time. No, Anne, never, you mind interceding for him.

(03:42:46):
I'm not punishing him because he spoiledyour pies. That was an accident.
I am punishing him for his disobedience. Go, Davy, I say,
ain't I to have any dinner?Wailed Davy. You can come down
after dinner is over and have yoursin the kise. Oh all right,
said Davy, somewhat comforted. Iknow Anne'll save some nice bones from me,
won't you, Anne, Cause youknow I didn't mean to fall on

(03:43:07):
the pies, say Anne, sincethey are spoiled, can I take some
of the pieces upstairs with me?No, no lemon pie for you,
master, Davy, said Marilla,pushing him toward the hall. What shall
we do for dessert, asked Anne, looking regretfully at the wreck and ruin.
Get out a crock of strawberry preserves, said Marilla consolingly. There's plenty
of whipped cream left in the bowlfor it. One o'clock came, but

(03:43:30):
no Priscilla or Missus Morgan. Annewas in an agony. Everything was done
to a turn, and the soupwas just what soup should be, but
couldn't be depended on to remain sofor any length of time. I don't
believe they're coming after all, saidMarilla crossly. Anne and Diana sought comfort
in each other's eyes. At halfpast one, Marilla again emerged from the
parlor. Girls, we must havedinner. Everybody is hungry, and it's

(03:43:52):
no use waiting any longer. Priscillaand Missus Morgan are not coming, that's
plain, and nothing is being improvedby waiting. Anne and Diana set about
lifting the dinner, with all thezest gone out of the performance. I
don't believe I'll be able to eata mouthful, said Diana dolefully, nor
I, but I hope everything willbe nice for Miss Stacy and mister and
missus Allen's sakes, said Anne listlessly. When Diana dished the peas, she

(03:44:16):
tasted them and a very peculiar expressioncrossed her face. Anne, did you
put sugar in these peas? Yes, said Anne, mashing the potatoes with
the air of one expected to doher duty. I put a spoonful of
sugar in. We always do.Don't you like it? But I put
a spoonful in too when I setthem on the stove, said Diana.
Anne dropped her masher and tasted thepeas also. Then she made a grimace.

(03:44:37):
How awful. I never dreamed youhad put sugar in, because I
knew your mother never does. Ihappen't to think of it for a wonder.
I'm always forgetting it. So Ipopped a spoonful in. It's a
case of too many cooks, Iguess, said Marilla, who had listened
to this dialog with a rather guiltyexpression. I didn't think you'd remember about
the sugar, Anne, for I'mperfectly certain you never did before, so

(03:44:58):
I put in a spoonful. Theguests in the parlor heard peel after peel
of laughter from the kitchen, butthey never knew what the fun was about.
There were no green peas on thedinner table that day, however,
well said Anne, sobering down againwith a sigh of recollection. We have
the salad anyhow, and I don'tthink anything has happened to the beans.
Let's carry the things in and getit over. It cannot be said that

(03:45:20):
that dinner was a notable success socially. The Allans and Miss Stacy exerted themselves
to save the situation, and Marilla'scustomary placidity was not noticeably ruffled. But
Anne and Diana, between their disappointmentand the reaction from their excitement of the
forenoon, could neither talk nor eat. Anne tried heroically to bear her part
in the conversation for the sake ofher guests, but all the sparkle had

(03:45:41):
been quenched her for the time being, and in spite of her love for
the Allans and Miss Stacy, shecouldn't help thinking how nice it would be
when everybody had gone home and shecould bury her weariness and disappointment in the
pillows of the east gable. Thereis an old proverb that really seems at
times to be inspired. It neverrains, but it pours the measure of

(03:46:01):
that day's tribulations was not yet full. Just as mister Allan had finished returning
thanks, there arose a strange,ominous sound on the stairs, as of
some hard, heavy object bounding fromstep to step, finishing up with a
grand smash at the bottom. Everybodyran out into the hall and gave a
shriek of dismay. At the bottomof the stairs lay a big pink conk

(03:46:22):
shell amid the fragments of what hadbeen Miss Barry's platter, and at the
top of the stairs knelt a terrifiedDavy, gazing down with wide open eyes
at the havoc. Davy said Marillaominously, Did you throw that conk down
on purpose? No? I neverdid, whimpered Davy. I was just
kneeling here, quiet as quiet,to watch you folks through the banisters.

(03:46:43):
And my foot struck that old thingand pushed it off. And I'm awful
hungry, and I do wish you'dlick a fellow and have done with it
instead of always sending him upstairs tomiss all the fun. Don't blame Davy,
said Anne, gathering up the fragmentswith trembling fingers. It was my
fault, I said that platter thereand forgot all about it. I am
properly punished for my carelessness. Butoh, what will miss Barry say?

(03:47:07):
Well, you know she only boughtit, so it isn't the same as
if it was an heirloom, saidDiana, trying to console the guests.
Went away soon after, feeling thatit was the most tactful thing to do,
and Anne and Diana washed the dishes, talking less than they had ever
been known to do before. ThenDiana went home with a headache, and
Anne went with another to the EastGable, where she stayed until Marilla came
home from the post office at sunsetwith a letter from Priscilla written the day

(03:47:31):
before. Missus Morgan had sprained herankle so severely that she could not leave
her room, and oh, Annedear, wrote Priscilla. I'm so sorry,
but I'm afraid we won't get upto Green Gables at all now,
for by the time Auntie's ankle aswell, she will have to go back
to Toronto. She has to bethere by a certain date, well,
sighed Anne, laying the letter downon the red sandstone step of the back

(03:47:52):
porch where she was sitting while thetwilight rained. Down out of a dappled
sky. I always thought it wastoo good to be true that missus Morgan
should really come. But there thatspeech sounds as pessimistic as Miss Eliza Andrews,
and I am ashamed of making it. After all, it was not
too good to be true. Thingsjust as good and far better are coming
true for me all the time.And I suppose the events of to day

(03:48:15):
have a funny side too. Perhapswhen Diana and I are old and gray,
we shall be able to laugh overthem. But I feel that I
can't expect to do it before then, for it has truly been a bitter
disappointment. You'll probably have a goodmany more and worse disappointments than that before
you get through life, said Marilla, who honestly thought you was making a
comforting speech. It seems to me, Anne that you are never going to
outgrow your fashion of setting your heartso on things and then crashing down into

(03:48:39):
despair because you don't get them.I know I'm too much inclined that way,
agreed Anne ruefully. When I thinksomething nice is going to happen,
I seem to fly right up onthe wings of anticipation, and then the
first thing, I realize I dropdown to earth with a thud. But
really, Marilla, the flying partis glorious as long as it lasts.
It's like soaring through a sunset.I think it almost pays for the thud.

(03:49:03):
Well, maybe it does, admittedMarilla. I'd rather walk calmly along
and do without both flying and thud. But everybody has her own way of
living. I used to think therewas only one right way, but since
I've had you and the twins tobring up, I don't feel so sure
of it. What are you goingto do about miss Berry's platter? Pay
her back the twenty dollars she paidfor it? I suppose. I'm so

(03:49:24):
thankful it wasn't a cherished heirloom,because then no money could replace it.
Maybe you could find one like itsomewhere and buy it for her. I'm
afraid not platters as old as thatare very scarce. Missus Lynde couldn't find
one anywhere for the supper. Ionly wish I could. For of course,
Miss Barry would just as soon haveone platter as another, if both
were equally old and genuine. Marilla, look at that big star over mister

(03:49:46):
Harrison's maple Grove, with all thatholly bush of silvery sky about it.
It gives me a feeling that islike a prayer. After all, when
one can see stars and skies likethat, little disappointments and accidents can't matter
so much, can they? Whereis Davy? Said Marilla, with an
indifferent glance at the star in bed. I've promised to take him and door
to the shore for a picnic tomorrow. Of course, the original agreement was

(03:50:09):
that he must be good, buthe tried to be good, and I
hadn't the heart to disappoint him.You'll drown yourself or the twins rowing about
the pond in that flat, grumbledMarilla. I've lived here for sixty years
and I've never been on the pondyet. Well it's never too late to
mend, said Anne roguishly. Supposeyou come with us tomorrow. We'll shut
Green Gables up and spend the wholeday at the shore, daffing the world

(03:50:31):
aside. No thank you, saidMarilla with indignant emphasis. I'd be a
nice sight, wouldn't I Rowing downthe pond in a flat? I think
I hear Rachel pronouncing on it.There's mister Harrison driving away somewhere. Do
you suppose there is any truth inthe gossip that mister Harrison is going to
see Isabella Andrews. No, I'msure there isn't. He just called there
one evening on business with mister HarmonAndrews, and missus Lynde saw him and

(03:50:54):
said she knew he was courting becausehe had a white collar on. I
don't believe mister Harrison will ever marry. He seems to have a prejudice against
marriage. Well, you can nevertell about those old bachelors, and if
he had a white collar on,I'd agree with Rachel that it looked suspicious.
For I'm sure he was never seenwith one before. I think he
only put it on because he wantedto conclude a business deal with Harmon Andrews,
said Anne. I've heard him saythat's the only time a man needs

(03:51:16):
to be particular about his appearance,because if he looks prosperous, the party
of the second part won't be solikely to try to cheat him. I
really feel sorry for mister Harrison.I don't believe he feels satisfied with his
life. It must be very lonelyto have no one to care about except
a parrot, don't you think.But I noticed mister Harrison doesn't like to
be pitied. Nobody does. Iimagine there's Gilbert coming up the lane,

(03:51:39):
said Marilla. If he wants youto go for a row on the pond,
mind you put on your coat andrubbers. There's a heavy dew tonight.
End of Chapter seventeen. Chapter eighteen, An Adventure on the Tory Road,
Anne, said Davy, sitting upin bed and propping his chin on
his hands. Anne, where issleep? People go to sleep every night?

(03:52:01):
And of course I know it's theplace where I do the things I
dream, But I want to knowwhere it is and how I get there
and back without knowing anything about it? And am I nighty too? Where
is it? Anne was kneeling atthe west gable window, watching the sunset
sky that was like a great flowerwith petals of crocus and a heart of
fiery yellow. She turned her headat Davy's question and answered dreamily. Over

(03:52:22):
the mountains of the moon, downthe valley of the shadow. Paul Irving
would have known the meaning of this, or made a meaning out of it
for himself if he didn't. Butpractical Davy, who as Anne often despairingly
remarked, hadn't a particle of imagination? Was only puzzled and disgusted Anne,
I believe you're just talking nonsense.Of course I was, dear boy.

(03:52:43):
Don't you know that it is onlyvery foolish folk who talk sense all the
time. Well, I think youmight give a sensible answer when I ask
a sensible question, said Davy inan injured tone. Oh, you are
too little to understand, said Anne, but she felt rather ashamed of saying
it, for had she not,in keen remembrance of many similar snubs administered
in her own early years, solemnlyvowed that she would never tell any child

(03:53:05):
it was too little to understand.Yet hear she was doing it so wide,
sometimes as the gulf between theory andpractice. While I'm doing my best
to grow, said Davy. Butit's a thing you can't hurry much.
If Marilla wasn't so stingy with herjam, I believe I'd grow a lot
faster. Marilla is not stingy,Davy said Anne severely. It is very

(03:53:26):
ungrateful of you to say such athing. There's another word that means the
same thing and sounds a lot better. But I don't just remember it,
said Davy, frowning intently. Iheard Marilla say she was it herself the
other day. If you mean economical, it's a very different thing from being
stingy. It is an excellent traitin a person if she is economical.
If Marilla had been stingy, shewouldn't have taken you and Dora when your

(03:53:48):
mother died. Would you have likedto live with missus Wiggins? You just
bet I wouldn't. Davy was emphaticon that point. Nor I don't want
to go out to Uncle Richard neither. I'd far rather live here, even
if Marilla is that long tailed wordwhen it comes to jam cause you're here,
Anne, say, Anne, won'tyou tell me a story for I
go to sleep? I don't wanta fairy story. They're all right for

(03:54:09):
girls, I suppose, But Iwant something exciting, lots of killing and
shooting in it, and a houseon fire and interesting things like that.
Fortunately for Anne, Marilla called outat this moment from her room. Anne,
Diana's signaling at a great rate.You'd better see what she wants.
Anne ran to the east gable andsaw flashes of light coming through the twilight
from Diana's window in groups of five, which meant, according to their old

(03:54:31):
childish code, come over at once, for I have something important to reveal.
Anne threw her white shawl over herhead and hastened through the haunted wood
and across mister Bell's pasture corner toOrchard Slope. I've good news for you,
Anne, said Diana. Mother andI have just got home from Carmody
and I saw Mary Sentner from Spencervalein mister Blair's store. She says.
The old Copp girls on the ToryRoad have a willow ware platter, and

(03:54:54):
she thinks it's exactly like the onewe had at the supper. She says
they'll likely sell it, for MarthaCopp has never been known to keep anything
she could sell. But if theywon't, there's a platter at Wesley Keyson's
and Spencervale, and she knows they'dsell it, but she isn't sure it's
just the same kind as Aunt Josephine's. I'll go right over to Spencervale after
it tomorrow, said Anne resolutely.And you must come with me. It
will be such a weight off mymind, for I have to go to

(03:55:16):
town day after tomorrow. And howcan I face your aunt Josephine without a
willow ware platter. It would beeven worse than the time I had to
confess about jumping on the spare roombed. Both girls laughed over the old
memory concerning which, if any ofmy readers are ignorant and curious, I
must refer them to Anne's earlier history. The next afternoon, the girls fared
forth on their platter hunting expedition.It was ten miles to Spencervale, and

(03:55:39):
the day was not especially pleasant fortraveling. It was very warm and windless,
and the dust on the road wassuch as might have been expected after
six weeks of dry weather. Oh, I do wish it would rain soon,
sighed Anne. Everything is so parchedup. The poor fields just seemed
pitiful to me, and the treesseemed to be stretching out their hands pleading
for rain. As for my garden, it hurts me every time I go

(03:56:01):
into it. I suppose I shouldn'tcomplain about a garden when the farmer's crops
are suffering. So mister Harrison sayshis pastures are so scorched up that his
poor cows can hardly get a biteto eat, and he feels guilty of
cruelty to animals every time he meetstheir eyes. After a wearisome drive,
the girls reached spencer Vale and turndown the Tory Road, a green,
solitary highway where the strips of grassbetween the wheel tracks bore evidence to lack

(03:56:24):
of travel. Along most of itsextent, it was lined with thick set
young spruces crowding down to the roadway, with here and there a break where
the back field of a spencer Valefarm came out to the fence, or
an expensive stumps was aflame with fireweedand goldumrod. Why is it called the
Tory Road, asked Anne. MisterAllen says it is on the principle of
calling a place a grove, becausethere are no trees in it, said

(03:56:46):
Diana. For nobody lives along theroad except the Copp girls and old Martin
Boyber at the further end, whois a liberal. The Tory government ran
the road through when they were inpower, just to show they were doing
something. Diana's father was a Liberal, for which reason she and Anne never
discussed politics. Green Gables folk hadalways been conservatives. Finally, the girls

(03:57:07):
came to the Old Copp Homestead,a place of such exceeding external neatness that
even green gables would have suffered.By contrast, the house was a very
old fashioned one, situated on aslope, which fact had necessitated the building
of a stone basement under one end. The house and out buildings were all
whitewashed to a condition of blinding perfection, and not a weed was visible in
the prim kitchen garden, surrounded byits white paling. The shades are all

(03:57:31):
down, said Diana ruefully. Ibelieve that nobody is home. This proved
to be the case. The girlslooked at each other in perplexity. I
don't know what to do, saidAnne. If I were sure the platter
was the right kind, I wouldnot mind waiting until they came home.
But if it isn't, it maybe too late to go to Wesley Keason's.
Afterwards, Diana looked at a certainlittle square window over the basement.

(03:57:52):
That is the pantry window. Ifeel sure, she said, because this
house is just like Uncle Charles's atNewbridge, and that is their pantry when
the shade isn't down. So ifwe climbed up on the roof of that
little house. We could look intothe pantry and might be able to see
the platter. Do you think itwould be any harm? No, I
don't think so, decided Anne,after due reflection. Since our motive is
not idle curiosity, this important pointof ethics being settled, Anne prepared to

(03:58:16):
mount the aforesaid little house, aconstruction of lathes with a peaked roof,
which had in times past served asa habitation for ducks. The copp girls
had given up keeping ducks because theywere such untidy birds, and the house
had not been in use for someyears save as an abode of correction for
setting hens. Although scrupulously whitewashed,it had become somewhat shaky, and Anne

(03:58:37):
felt rather dubious as she scrambled upfrom the vantage point of a keg placed
on a box. I'm afraid itwon't bear my weight, she said,
as she gingerly stepped on the rooflean on the window. Sill advised Diana,
and Anne accordingly leaned. Much toher delight, she saw as she
peered through the pane a willow wareplatter exactly such as she was in quest
of, on the shelf in frontof the window. So much she saw

(03:59:00):
before the catastrophe came in her joy, Anne forgot the precarious nature of her
footing incautiously ceased to lean on thewindow sill, gave an impulsive little hop
of pleasure, and the next momentshe had crashed through the roof up to
her arm pits, and there shehung, quite unable to extricate herself.
Diana dashed into the duck house,and, seizing her unfortunate friend by the
waist, tried to draw her down. Ow don't, shrieked poor Anne.

(03:59:24):
There are some long splinters sticking intome. See if you can put something
under my feet, and then perhapsI can draw myself up. Diana hastily
dragged in the previously mentioned keg,and Anne found that it was just sufficiently
high to furnish a secure resting placefor her feet, but she could not
release herself. Could I pull youout if I crawled up, suggested Diana.
Anne shook her head hopelessly. No, the splinter's hurt too badly.

(03:59:48):
If you can find an axe,you might chop me out. Though,
Oh dear, I do really beginto believe that I was borne under an
ill omened star. Diana searched faithfully, but no axe was to be found.
I'll have to go for help,she said, returning to the prisoner.
No, indeed you won't, saidAnne vehemently. If you do,
the story of this will get outeverywhere, and I shall be ashamed to

(04:00:09):
show my face. No, wemust just wait until the Copp girls come
home and bind them to secrecy.They'll know where the axe is and get
me out. I'm not uncomfortable aslong as I keep perfectly still not uncomfortable
in body. I mean, Iwonder what the Copp girls value this house
at. I shall have to payfor the damage I've done, but I
wouldn't mind that if I were onlysure they would understand my motive in peeping

(04:00:30):
in at their pantry window. Mysole comfort is that the platter is just
the kind I want, and ifmiss Copp will only sell it to me,
I shall be resigned to what hashappened. What if the cop girls
don't come home until after night ortill tomorrow, suggested Diana. If they're
not back by sunset, you'll haveto go for other assistance, I suppose,
said Anne reluctantly. But you mustn'tgo until you really have to.

(04:00:52):
Oh dear, this is a dreadfulpredicament. I wouldn't mind my misfortunes so
much if they were romantic, asmissus Morgan's heroines always are. But they
are always just simply ridiculous. Fancywhat the copp girls will think when they
drive into their yard and see agirl's head and shoulders sticking up out of
the roof of one of their outhouses. Listen, is that a wagon,

(04:01:13):
No, Diana, I believe itis thunder. Thunder It was, undoubtedly,
and Diana, having made a hastypilgrimage around the house, returned to
announce that a very black cloud wasrising rapidly in the northwest. I believe
we're going to have a heavy thundershower, she exclaimed, in dismay.
Oh Anne, what will we do? We must prepare for it, said

(04:01:33):
Anne tranquility. A thunder storm seemeda trifle in comparison with what had already
happened. You'd better drive the horseand buggy into that open shed. Fortunately,
my parasol is in the buggy.Here take my hat with you.
Marilla told me I was a gooseto put on my best hat to come
to the Tory road, and shewas right, as she always is.
Diana un tied the pony and droveinto the shed just as the first heavy

(04:01:54):
drops of rain fell. There shesat and watched the resulting downpour, which
was so thick and heavy that shecould hard hardly see Anne through it,
holding the parasol bravely over her barehead. There was not a great deal
of thunder, but for the bestpart of an hour the rain came merrily
down. Occasionally Anne slanted back herparasol and waved an encouraging hand to her
friend, but conversation at that distancewas quite out of the question. Finally,

(04:02:18):
the rain ceased, the sun cameout, and Diana ventured across the
puddles of the yard. Did youget very wet, she asked anxiously.
Oh no, returned Anne, cheerfully. My head and shoulders are quite dry,
and my skirt is only a littledamp with the rain beat through the
lathes. Don't pity me, Diana, for I haven't minded it at all.
I kept thinking how much good therain will do, and how glad

(04:02:39):
my garden must be for it,and imagining what the flowers and buds would
think. When the drops began tofall. I imagined out a most interesting
dialog between the asters and the sweetpeas, and the wild canaries, and
the lilac bush and the guardian spiritof the garden. When I go home,
I mean to write it down.I wish I had a pencil and
paper to do it now, becauseI dare say I'll forget the best parts
before I reach home. Diana theFaithful had a pencil and discovered a sheet

(04:03:01):
of wrapping paper in the box ofthe buggy. Anne folded up her dripping
parasol, put on her hat,spread the wrapping paper on a shingle.
Diana handed up and wrote out hergarden idol, under conditions that could hardly
be considered as favorable to literature.Nevertheless, the result was quite pretty,
and Diana was enraptured when Anne readit to her. Oh Anne, it's
sweet, just sweet. Do sendit to the Canadian woman. Anne shook

(04:03:24):
her head. Oh no, itwouldn't be suitable at all. There's no
plot in it, you see,It's just a string of fancies. I
like writing such things, but ofcourse nothing of the sort would ever do
for publication, for editors insist onplots, so Priscilla says, oh,
there's miss Sarah Copp. Now,please Diana go and explain. Miss Sarah
Copp was a small person garbed inshabby black with a hat chosen less for

(04:03:48):
vain adornment than for qualities that wouldwear well. She looked as amazed as
might be expected on seeing the curioustableau in her yard, but when she
heard Diana's explanation, she was allsympathy. She hurriedly unlocked the back door,
produced the axe, and with afew skillful blows, said Anne Free.
The latter, somewhat tired and stiff, ducked down into the interior of
her prison and thankfully emerged into libertyonce more. Miss Copp, she said

(04:04:11):
earnestly, I assure you I lookedinto your pantry window only to discover if
you had a willow ware platter.I didn't see anything else. I didn't
look for anything else. Bless you. That's all right, said miss Sarah
amiably. You needn't worry. There'sno harm done. Thank goodness. We
cops keep our pantries presentable at alltimes and don't care who sees into them.
As for that old duck house,I'm glad it's smashed. For maybe

(04:04:33):
now Martha will agree to having ittaken down. She never would before for
fear it might come in handy sometime, and I've had to whitewash it
every spring. But you might aswell argue with the post as with Martha.
She went to town to day.I drove her to the station,
and you want to buy my platter? Well, what will you give for
it? Twenty dollars, said Anne, who was never meant to match business
with with a cop or she wouldnot have offered her price at the start.

(04:04:56):
Well, I'll see, said missSarah cautiously, that this platter is
mine, fortunately, or I'd neverdare to sell it. When Martha wasn't
here as it is, I daresay she'll raise a fuss. Martha's the
boss of this establishment. I cantell you I'm getting awful tired of living
under another woman's thumb. But comein, come in. You must be
real tired and hungry. I'll dothe best I can for you in the
way of tea, but I warnyou not to expect anything but bread and

(04:05:18):
butter and some cucumbers. Martha lockedup all the cake and cheese and preserves
afore she went she always does,because she says, I'm too extravagant with
them if company comes. The girlswere hungry enough to do justice to any
fair, and they enjoyed Miss Sarah'sexcellent bread and butter and cowcumbers thoroughly.
When the meal was over, MissSarah said, I don't know as I'm
mind selling the platter, but it'sworth twenty five dollars. It's a very

(04:05:41):
old platter. Diana gave Anne's foota gentle kick under the table, meaning
don't agree. She'll let it gofor twenty if you hold out. But
Anne was not minded to take anychances in regard to that precious platter.
She promptly agreed to give twenty five, and Miss Sarah looked as if she
felt sorry she hadn't asked for thirty. Well, I guess you may have
it. I want all the moneyI can scare up just now. The

(04:06:03):
fact is Miss Sarah threw up herhead importantly, with a proud flush on
her thin cheeks. I'm going tobe married to Luther Wallace. He wanted
me twenty years ago. I likedhim real well, but he was poor
then and father packed him off.I suppose I shouldn't have let him go
so meek, But I was timidand frightened of father. Besides, I
didn't know men were their skurse.When the girls were safely away, Diana

(04:06:24):
driving and Anne holding the coveted plattercarefully on her lap, the green rain
freshened solitudes of the Tory Road wereenlivened by ripples of girlish laughter. I'll
amuse your aunt Josephine with the strange, eventful history of this afternoon when I
go to town tomorrow. We've hada rather trying time, but it's over
now. I've got the platter,and that rain has laid the dust beautifully,

(04:06:45):
so all's well. That ends.Well. We're not home yet,
said Diana rather pessimistically, and there'sno telling what may happen before we are.
You're such a girl to have adventures, Anne, Having adventures comes natural
to some people, said Anne serenely. You just have a gift for them,
or you haven't. End of Chaptereighteen, Chapter nineteen, Just a
happy day, after all, Annehad said to Marilla once, I believe

(04:07:11):
the nicest and sweetest days are notthose on which anything very splendid or wonderful
or exciting happens, but just thosethat bring simple little pleasures following one another
softly, like pearls slipping off astring. Life at Green Gables was full
of just such days, for Anne'sadventures and misadventures, like those of other
people, did not all happen atonce, but were sprinkled over the year,

(04:07:33):
with long stretches of harmless happy daysbetween, filled with work and dreams
and laughter and lessons. Such aday came late in August. In the
forenoon, Anne and Diana rode thedelighted twins down the pond of the Sandtor
to pick sweet grass and paddle inthe surf over which the wind was harping
an old lyric learned when the worldwas young. In the afternoon, Anne

(04:07:56):
walked down to the old irving placeto see Paul. She found him stretched
out on the grassy bank beside thethick fir grove that sheltered the house on
the north, absorbed in a bookof fairy tales. He sprang up radiantly
at the sight of her. Oh, I'm so glad you've come, teacher,
he said eagerly, because Grandma's away. You'll stay and have tea with
me. Won't you. It's solonesome to have tea all by one's self,

(04:08:18):
you know, Teacher, I've hadserious thoughts of asking young Mary Joe
to sit down and eat her teawith me, but I expect Grandma wouldn't
approve. She says, the Frenchhave to be kept in their place,
and anyhow, it's difficult to talkwith young Mary Joe. She just laughs
and says, well, you dobeat all the kids I ever knowed.
That isn't my idea of conversation.Of course, I'll stay to tea,

(04:08:39):
said Anne gaily. I was dyingto be asked. My mouth has been
watering for some more of your Grandma'sdelicious short bread ever since I had tea
here before. Paul looked very sober. If it depended on me, teacher,
he said, standing before Anne,with his hands in his pockets and
his beautiful little face shadowed with suddencare. You should have shortbread with a
right good will, But it dependson Mary Joe. I heard Grandma tell

(04:09:03):
her before she left that she wasn'tto give me any shortcake because it was
too rich for little boy's stomachs.But maybe Mary Joe will cut some for
you if I promise I won't getany let us hope for the best.
Yes, let us agreed Anne,whom this cheerful philosophy suited exactly. And
if Mary Joe proves hard hearted andwon't give me any short break, it
doesn't matter in the least. Soyou are not to worry over that.

(04:09:24):
You're sure you won't mind if shedoesn't, said Paul anxiously. Perfectly sure,
dear heart, then I won't worry, said Paul, with a long
breath of relief, especially as Ireally think Mary Joe will listen to reason.
She's not a naturally unreasonable person,but she has learned by experience that
it doesn't do to disobey Grandma's orders. Grandma is an excellent woman, but

(04:09:45):
people must do as she tells them. She was very much pleased with me
this morning because I managed at lastto eat all my plateful of porridge.
It was a great effort, butI succeeded. Grandma says she thinks she'll
make a man of me yet,but teach her. I want to ask
you a very import imortant question.You will answer it truthfully, won't you.
I'll try, promised Anne. Doyou think I'm wrong in my upper

(04:10:07):
story, asked Paul, as ifhis very existence depended on her reply.
Goodness, no, Paul, exclaimedAnne in amazement. Certainly you're not what
put such an idea into your head, Mary Joe. But she didn't know
I heard her. Missus Peter Sloane'shired girl, Veronica, came to see
Mary Joe last evening, and Iheard them talking in the kitchen. As
I was going through the hall,I heard Mary Joe say, dat,

(04:10:28):
Paul, he's the queer little boy. He talks that queer. I think
there's something wrong in his upper story. I couldn't sleep last night for ever
so long thinking of it and wonderingif Mary Joe was right. I couldn't
bear to ask Grandma about it somehow, but I made up my mind.
I'd ask you, I'm so gladyou think I'm all right in my upper
story. Of course you are.Mary Joe is a silly, ignorant girl,

(04:10:50):
and you are never to worry aboutanything, she says, said Anne
indignantly, secretly resolving to give MissusIrving a discreet hint as to the advisability
of restraining Mary Joe's tongue well that'sa weight off my mind, said Paul.
I'm perfectly happy now, teacher,thanks to you. It wouldn't be
nice to have something wrong in yourupper story, would it, Teacher.
I suppose the reason Mary Joe imaginesI have is because I tell her what

(04:11:13):
I think about things. Sometimes itis a rather dangerous practice, admitted Anne,
out of the depths of her ownexperience. Well by and by,
I'll tell you the thoughts I toldMary Joe, and you can see for
yourself if there's anything queer in them, said Paul. But I'll wait till
it begins to get dark. Thatis the time I ache to tell people
things, and when nobody else ishandy, I just have to tell Mary

(04:11:35):
Joe. But after this I won'tif it makes her imagine I'm wrong in
my upper story. I'll just acheand bear it. And if the ache
gets too bad, you can comeup to Green Gables and tell me your
thoughts, suggested Anne, with allthe gravity that endeared her to children who
so dearly love to be taken seriously. Yes, I will, but I
hope Davy won't be there when Igo, because he makes faces at me.

(04:11:56):
I don't mind very much, becausehe is such a little boy,
and I am quite a big one. But still it is not pleasant to
have faces made at you, andDavy makes such terrible ones sometimes I am
frightened he will never get his facestraightened out again. He makes them at
me in church when I ought tobe thinking of sacred things. Dora likes
me, though, and I likeher, but not so well as I
did before. She told Minnie mayBarry that she meant to marry me when

(04:12:18):
I grew up. I may marrysomebody when I grow up, but I'm
far too young to be thinking ofit yet, don't you think, teacher,
Rather young? Agreed teacher, speakingof marrying reminds me of another thing
that has been troubling me of late, continued Paul. Missus Lynde was down
here one day last week, havingtea with Grandma, and Grandma made me
show her my little mother's picture,the one father sent me for my birthday

(04:12:39):
present. I didn't exactly want toshow it to missus Lynde. Missus Lynde
is a good, kind woman,but she isn't the sort of person you
want to show your mother's picture to, you know, teacher, But of
course I obeyed. Grandma missus Lyndesaid she was very pretty, but kind
of actressy looking, and must havebeen an awful lot younger than father.
Then she said, some of thesedays your pa will be marrying again.

(04:13:01):
Likely, how will you like tohave a new ma, Master Paul,
Well, the idea almost took mybreath away, teacher, but I wasn't
going to let missus Lynde see that. I just looked her straight in the
face like this, and I said, missus Lynde, father made a pretty
good job of picking out my firstmother, and I could trust him to
pick out just as good a onethe second time. And I can trust
him, teacher. But still,I hope if he ever does give me

(04:13:24):
a new mother, he'll ask myopinion about her before it's too late.
There's Mary Joe coming to call usto tea. I'll go and consult with
her about the shortbread. As aresult of the consultation, Mary Joe cut
the short bread and added a dishof preserves to the bill of fare.
Anne poured the tea, and sheand Paul had a very merry meal in
the dim old sitting room, whosewindows were open to the gulf breezes,

(04:13:46):
and they talked so much nonsense thatMary Joe was quite scandalized and told Veronica
the next evening that the school meanswas as queer as Paul. After tea,
Paul took Anne up to his roomto show her his mother's picture,
which had been the mysterious birthday presentkept by missus Irving in the bookcase.
Paul's little, low ceilinged room wasa soft whirl of ruddy light from the
sun that was setting over the seaand swinging shadows from the fir trees that

(04:14:09):
grew close to the square, deepset window. From out this soft glow
and glamor shone a sweet girlish facewith tender mother eyes that was hanging on
the wall at the foot of thebed. That's my little mother, said
Paul, with loving pride. Igot Grandma to hang it there where i'd
seed as soon as I opened myeyes in the morning. I never mind
not having the light when I goto bed now, because it just seems

(04:14:31):
as if my little mother was righthere with me. Father knew just what
I would like for a birthday present, although he never asked me. Isn't
it wonderful? How much fathers.Do know. Your mother was very lovely,
Paul, and you look a littlelike her. But her eyes and
hair are darker than yours. Myeyes are the same color as father's,
said Paul, flying about the roomto heap all available cushions on the window

(04:14:52):
seat. But father's hair is gray. He had lots of it, but
it is gray. You see.Father is nearly fifty. That's a ripe
old age, isn't it. Butit's only outside he's old inside. He's
just as young as anybody. Now, teacher, please sit here, and
I'll sit at your feet. MayI lay my head against your knee.
That's the way my little mother andI used to sit. Oh, this

(04:15:13):
is real splendid. I think nowI want to hear those thoughts which Mary
Joe pronounces so queer, said Anne, patting the mop of curls at her
side. Paul never needed any coaxingto tell his thoughts, at least to
congenial souls. I thought them outin the fir grove one night, he
said, dreamily. Of course Ididn't believe them, but I thought them,

(04:15:33):
you know, teacher, And thenI wanted to tell them to somebody,
And there was nobody but Mary Joe. Mary Joe was in the pantry
setting bread, and I sat downon the bench beside her, and I
said, Marry Joe, do youknow what I think? I think the
evening Star is a lighthouse on theland where the fairies dwell. And Mary
Joe said, well, you's arta queer one. There ain't no such

(04:15:54):
ding as fairies. I was verymuch provoked. Of course I knew there
were no fairies, but that needn'tprevent my thinking there is, you know,
teacher. But I tried again,quite patiently. I said, well,
then, Mary Joe, do youknow what I think? I think
an angel walks over the world afterthe sun sets, a great, tall,
white angel with silvery folded wings,and sings the flowers and birds to

(04:16:18):
sleep. Children can hear them ifthey know how to listen. Then Mary
Joe held up her hands all overflower and said, well, you's art
a queer little boy. UZ makesme feel scared, And she really did
look scared. I went out thenand whispered the rest of my thoughts to
the garden. There was a littlebirch tree in the garden, and it
died. Grandma says the salt spraykilled it. But I think the dryad

(04:16:40):
belonging to it was a foolish dryadwho wandered away to see the world and
got lost, And the little treewas so lonely it died of a broken
heart. And when the poor foolishlittle dryad gets tired of the world and
comes back to her tree, herheart will break, said Anne. Yes,
but if dryads are foolish, theymust take the consequences, just as
if they were people, said PaulGravely. Do you know what I think

(04:17:03):
about the new moon, teacher?I think it is a little golden boat
full of dreams, and when ittips on a cloud, some of them
skill out and fall into your sleep. Exactly, teacher, Oh, you
do know. And I think theviolets are little snips of the sky that
fell down when the angels cut outholes for the stars to shine through,
And the buttercups are made out ofold sunshine. And I think the sweet

(04:17:23):
peas will be butterflies when they goto heaven. Now, teacher, do
you see anything so very queer aboutthose thoughts? No, laddie dear,
They're not queer at all. They'restrange and beautiful thoughts for a little boy
to think, and so people whocouldn't think anything of the sort themselves if
they tried for a hundred years,think them queer. But keep on thinking
them, Paul. Some day youare going to be a poet, I

(04:17:45):
believe. When Anne reached home shefound a very different type of boyhood waiting
to be put to bed. Davywas sulky, and when Anne had undressed
him, he bounced into bed andburied his face in the pillow. Davy,
you have forgotten to say your prayers, said Anne rebukingly. No.
I didn't forget, said Davy defiantly. But I ain't goin to say my
prayers any more. I'm going togive up tryin to be good, cause

(04:18:07):
no matter how good I am,you'd like Paul Irving better, so I
might as well be bad and havethe fun of it. I don't like
Paul Irving better, said Anne,seriously. I like you just as well,
only in a different way. ButI wan't you like me the same
way, pouted Davy. You can'tlike different people the same way. You
don't like Dora and me the sameway, do you? Davy sat up

(04:18:30):
and reflected no, He admitted atlast, I like Dora because she's my
sister. But I like you becauseyou're you, and I like Paul because
he is Paul, and Davy becausehe is Davy, said Anne gaily.
Well, I kind of wish i'dset my prayers then, said Davy,
convinced by this logic. But it'stoo much bother getting out now to save

(04:18:52):
em. I'll say them twice overin the morning. Anne, Won't that
do as well? No, Annewas positive it would not do as well,
So Davy scrambled out and knelt ather knee. When he had finished
his devotions, he leaned back onhis little, bare brown heels and looked
up at her. Anne. I'mgooder than I used to be. Yes,
indeed you are, Davy, saidAnne, who never hesitated to give
credit where credit was due. Iknow I'm gooder, said Davy confidently,

(04:19:15):
and I'll tell you how I knowit. To day, Marilla give me
two pieces of bread and jam,one for me and one for Dora.
One was a good deal, biggerthan the other, And Marilla didn't say
which was mine, but I'd givethe biggest piece to Dora. That was
good of me, wasn't it verygood? And very manly? Davy,
of course, admitted Davy Dora wasn'tvery hungry, and she only had half
her slice, and then she'd givethe rest to me. But I didn't

(04:19:37):
know she was going to do thatwhen I give it to her, So
I was good Anne. In thetwilight, Anne sauntered down to the Dryad's
bubble and saw Gilbert blythe coming downthrough the dusky, haunted wood. She
had a sudden realization that Gilbert wasa schoolboy no longer, and how manly
he looked. The tall, frankfaced fellow with the clear, straightforward eyes
and the broad shoulders. Anne Ithought Gilbert was a very handsome lad,

(04:20:00):
even though he didn't look at alllike her ideal man. She and Diana
had long ago decided what kind ofa man they admired, and their taste
seemed exactly similar. He must bevery tall and distinguished looking, with melancholy,
inscrutable eyes and a melting sympathetic voice. There was nothing either melancholy or
inscrutable in Gilbert's physiognomy, but ofcourse that didn't matter him friendship. Gilbert

(04:20:23):
stretched himself out on the ferns besidethe bubble and looked approvingly at Anne.
If Gilbert had been asked to describehis ideal woman, the description would have
answered point for point to Anne,even to those seven tiny freckles whose obnoxious
presence still continued to vex her soul. Gilbert was as yet little more than
a boy. But a boy hashis dreams, as have others. And

(04:20:44):
in Gilbert's future there was always agirl with big, limpid gray eyes and
a face as fine and delicate asa flower. He had made up his
mind also that his future must beworthy of its goddess. Even in quiet
Avonlea, there were temptations to bemet, and faced White Sand's you were
rather fast, said, And Gilbertwas popular wherever he went. But he
meant to keep himself worthy of Anne'sfriendship, and perhaps some distant day,

(04:21:07):
her love. And he watched overword and thought and deed as jealously as
if her clear eyes were to passjudgment on it. She held over him
the unconscious influence that every girl whoseideals are high and pure wields over her
friends, an influence which would endureas long as she was faithful to those
ideals, and which she would ascertainly lose if she were ever false to
them. In Gilbert's eyes, Anne'sgreatest charm was the fact that she never

(04:21:32):
stooped to the petty practices of somany of the Avonlea girls, the small
jealousies, the little deceits and rivalries, the palpable bids for favor. Anne
held herself apart from all this,not consciously or of design, but simply
because anything of the sort was utterlyforeign to her transparent, impulsive nature,
crystal clear in its motives and aspirations. But Gilbert did not attempt to put

(04:21:53):
his sauce into words, for hehad already too good reason to know that
Anne would mercilessly and rostily nip allattempts at sentiment in the bud or a
laugh at him, which was tentimes worse. You look like a real
dryad under that birch tree, hesaid teasingly. I love birch trees,
said Anne, laying her cheek againstthe creamy satin of the slim bull with

(04:22:15):
one of the pretty caressing gestures whichcame so naturally to her. Then you'll
be glad to hear that mister MajorSpencer has decided to set out a row
of white birches all along the roadfront of his farm by way of encouraging
the Avis, said Gilbert. Hewas talking to me about it to day.
Major Spencer is the most progressive andpublic spirited man in Avonlea, and
mister William Bell is going to setout a spruce hedge along his road front

(04:22:36):
and up his lane. Our societyis getting on splendidly, Anne, It
is past the experimental stage and isan accepted fact. The older folks are
beginning to take an interest in it, and the White Sands people are talking
of starting one too. Even ElishaWright has come round. Since that day
the Americans from the hotel had thepicnic at the shore. They praised our
roadside so highly and said they wereso much prettier than in any other part

(04:22:57):
of the island. And when indue time the other farmers follow mister Spencer's
good example and plant ornamental trees andhedges along their road fronts Avonlea will be
the prettiest settlement in the province.The Aids are talking of taking up the
graveyard, said Anne. And Ihope they will, because there will have
to be a subscription for that,and it would be no use for the
Society to try it after the Hallaffair. But the Aids would never have

(04:23:21):
stirred in the matter if the Societyhadn't put it into their thoughts. Unofficially,
those trees we planted on the churchgrounds are flourishing, and the trustees
have promised me that they will fencein the school grounds next year. If
they do, I'll have an arborday and every scholar shall plant a tree,
and we'll have a garden in thecorner by the road. We've succeeded
in almost all our plans so far, except in getting the old Bolter house

(04:23:42):
removed, said Gilbert. And I'vegiven that up in despair. Leave I
won't have it taken down just tovex us. There's a contrary streak in
all the Bolters, and it's stronglydeveloped in him. Julia Bell wants to
send another committee to him, butI think the better way will be just
to leave him severely alone, saidAnne. Safely. Anne trust to providence,

(04:24:02):
as Missus Lynde says, smiled Gilbert. Certainly, no more committees.
They only aggravate him. Julia Bellthinks you can do anything if you only
have a committee to attempt it nextspring Anne, we must start an agitation
for nice lawns and grounds. We'llsow good seed betimes this winter. I've
retreaties here on lawns and lawn making, and I'm going to prepare a paper
on the subject soon. Well,I suppose our vacation is almost over.

(04:24:26):
School opens Monday. Has Ruby Gillisgot the Carmody School? Yes, Priscilla
wrote that she had taken her ownhome school, so the Carmody trustees gave
it to Ruby. I'm sorry Priscilla'snot coming back, but since she can't,
I'm glad Ruby has got the school. She will be home for Saturdays,
and it will seem like old timesto have her and Jane and Diana
and myself fall together again. Marilla, just home from missus Lynde's, was

(04:24:48):
sitting on the back porch step whenAnne returned to the house. Rachel and
I have decided to have our cruiseto town tomorrow, she said. Mister
Lynde is feeling better this week,and Rachel wants to go before he has
another six spell. I intend toget up extra early tomorrow morning, for
I've ever so much to do,said Anne virtuously. For one thing,
I'm going to shift the feathers frommy old bedtick to the new one.

(04:25:10):
I ought to have done it longago, but I've just kept putting it
off. It's such a detestable task. It's a very bad habit to put
off disagreeable things, and I nevermean to again, or else I can't
comfortably tell my pupils not to doit. That would be inconsistent. Then
I want to make a cake formister Harrison, and finish my paper on
gardens for the Avis, and writestella, and wash and starch my muslin
dress and make Dora's new apron.You won't get half done, said Marilla

(04:25:34):
pessimistically. I never yet planned todo a lot of things, but something
happened to prevent me. End ofchapter nineteen, Chapter twenty, The way
it often happens, Anne Rose betimesthe next morning, and blithely greeted the
fresh day. When the banners ofthe sunrise were shaken triumphantly. Across the
pearly skies, green gables lay ina pool of sunshine, flecked with the

(04:25:56):
dancing shadows of poplar and willow.Beyond the land was mister Harrison's wheat field.
A great wind rippled expanse of palegold. The world was so beautiful
that Anne spent ten blissful minutes hangingidly over the garden gate drinking the loveliness
in. After breakfast, Marilla madeready for her journey. Dora was to
go with her, having been longpromised this treat. Now, Davy,

(04:26:19):
you try to be a good boyand don't bother Anne, she straightly charged
him. If you are good,I'll bring you a striped candy cane from
town for Alas, Marilla had stoopedto the evil habit of bribing people to
be good. I won't be badon purpose, but s'pose and I'm bad's
accidentally. Davy wanted to know.You'll have to guard against accidents, admonished

(04:26:40):
Marilla. Anne. If mister Shearercomes to day, get a nice roast
and some steak. If he doesn't, you'll have to kill a fowl for
dinner tomorrow. Anne nodded. I'mnot going to bother cooking any dinner for
just Davy and myself to day.She said that cold ham bone will do
for noon lunch, and I'll havesome steak fright for you when you come
home at night. I'm going tohelp mister Harrison haul Dulcon morning, announced
Davy. He asked me to andI guess he'll ask me to dinner too.

(04:27:03):
Mister Harrison is an awful kind man. He's a real sociable man.
I hope I'll be like him whenI grow up, I mean, behave
like him. I don't want tolook like him, but I guess there's
no danger for missus. Lynde says, I'm a very handsome child. Do
you s'pose it'll last? Anne?I want to know. I dare say
it will, said Anne gravely.You are a handsome boy, Davy.

(04:27:25):
Marilla looked volumes of disapproval. Butyou must live up to it and be
just as nice and gentlemanly as youlook to be. And you told Minnie
may Barry the other day when youfound her crying because someone said she was
ugly, that if she was niceand kind and loving, people wouldn't mind
her looks, said Davy discontentedly.Seems to me you can't get out of
being good in this world. Forsome reason or another. You just have

(04:27:48):
to behave. Don't you want tobe good? Asked Marilla, who had
learned a great deal that had notyet learned the futility of asking such questions.
Yes, I want to be good, but not too good, said
Davy cautiously. You don't have tobe very good to be a Sunday School
superintendent. Mister Bell's that he's areal bad man. Indeed, he's not,
said Marilla, indignantly. He is, he says, he is himself

(04:28:11):
a severated Davy. He said itwhen he prayed in Sunday School last Sunday.
He said he was a vile worm, and a miserable sinner, and
guilty of the blackest iniquity. Whatdid he do that was so bad,
Marilla? Did he kill anybody?Or steal a collection? Sense? I
wanna know? Fortunately, missus Lyndecame driving up the lane at this moment,

(04:28:32):
and Marilla made off, feeling thatshe had escaped from the snare of
the fowler, and wishing devoutly thatmister Bell were not quite so highly figurative
in its public petitions, especially inthe hearing of small boys who were always
wanting to know. Anne, leftalone in her glory, worked with a
will. The floor was swept,the beds made, the hens fed,
the muslin dress washed and hung outon the line. Then Anne prepared for

(04:28:55):
the transfer of feathers. She mountedto the garret and donned the first old
dress that came to hand, anavy blue cashmere she had worn at fourteen.
It was decidedly on the short sideand as skimpy as the notable wincey
Anne had worn upon the occasion ofher debut at Green Gables, but at
least it would not be materially injuredby down and feathers. Anne completed her
toilette by tying a big red andwhite spotted handkerchief that had belonged to Matthew

(04:29:18):
over her head, and thus accouterdbetook herself to the kitchen chamber, whither
Marilla before her departure, had helpedher carry the feather bed. A cracked
mirror hung by the chamber window,and in an unlucky moment, Anne looked
into it. There were those sevenfreckles on her nose, more rampant than
ever, or so it seemed inthe glare of light from the unshaded window.

(04:29:40):
Oh, I forgot to rub thatlotion on last night. She thought,
I'd better run down to the pantryand do it now. Anne had
already suffered many things trying to removethose freckles. On one occasion, the
entire skin had peeled off her nose, but the freckles remained. A few
days previously, she had found arecipe for a freckle lotion in a magazine,
and as the ingredients were within herreach, she straightway compounded it,

(04:30:02):
much to the disgust of Marilla,who thought that if Providence had placed freckles
on your nose, it was yourbound and duty to leave them there.
Anne scurried down to the pantry,which always dim from the big willow growing
close to the window, was nowalmost dark by reason of the shade drawn
to exclude flies. Anne caught thelittle bottle containing the lotion from the shelf
and copiously anointed her nose therewith bymeans of a little sponge sacred to the

(04:30:25):
purpose. This important duty done,she returned to her work. Any One
who has ever shifted feathers from onetick to another will not need to be
told that. When Anne finished,she was a sight to behold. Her
dress was white with down and fluff, and her front hair escaping from under
the handkerchief, was adorned with averitable halo of feathers. At this auspicious

(04:30:45):
moment, a knock sounded at thekitchen door. That must be mister Shearer,
thought Anne. I'm in a dreadfulmess, but I'll have to run
down as I am, for he'salways in a hurry. Down flew Anne
to the kitchen door. If evera charitable floor did open to swallow up
a miserable, befeathered damsel, theGreen Gables porch floor should promptly have engulfed
Anne at that moment. On thedoorstep were standing Priscilla Grant, golden and

(04:31:08):
fair in silk attire, a short, stout, gray haired lady in a
tweed suit, and another lady,tall, stately, wonderfully gowned, with
a beautiful high bred face and large, black lashed violet eyes, whom Anne
instinctively felt, as she would havesaid in her earlier days, to be
Missus Charlotte E. Morgan. Inthe dismay of the moment, one thought

(04:31:30):
stood out from the confusion of Anne'smind, and she grasped at it as
at the proverbial straw. All MissusMorgan's heroines were noted for rising to the
occasion, no matter what their troubleswere they invariably rose to the occasion and
showed their superiority over all ills oftime, space and quantity. Anne therefore
felt it was her duty to riseto the occasion, and she did it

(04:31:52):
so perfectly that Priscilla afterwards declared thatshe never admired Anne Shirley more than at
that moment. No matter what heroutrage feel, she did not show them.
She greeted Priscilla and was introduced toher companions as calmly and composedly as
if she had been arrayed in purpleand fine linen. To be sure,
it was somewhat of a shock tofind that the lady she had instinctively felt

(04:32:12):
to be Missus Morgan was not MissusMorgan at all, but an unknown Missus
Pendexter, while the stout, littlegray haired woman was Missus Morgan. But
in the greater shock, the lesserlost its power. Anne ushered her guests
to the spare room and thence intothe parlor, where she left them while
she hastened out to help Priscilla unharnessher horse. It's dreadful to come upon

(04:32:32):
you so unexpectedly, as this,apologized Priscilla. But I did not know
till last night that we were coming. Aunt Charlotte is going away Monday,
and she had promised to spend aday with a friend in town. But
last night her friend telephoned to hernot to come because they were quarantined for
scarlet fever. So I suggested wecome here instead, for I knew you
were longing to see her. Wecalled at the White Sands Hotel and brought

(04:32:52):
Missus Pendexter with us. She isa friend of Aunt's and lives in New
York, and her husband is amillionaire. We can't stay very long,
for Missus Pendexter has to be backat the hotel by five o'clock. Several
times, while they were putting awaythe horse, Anne caught Priscilla looking at
her in a furtive, puzzled way. She needn't stare at me, so
Anne thought, a little resentfully.If she doesn't know what it is to
change a featherbed, she might imagineit. When Priscilla had gone to the

(04:33:17):
parlor, and before Anne could escapeupstairs, Diana walked into the kitchen.
Anne caught her astonished friend by thearm. Diana, Barry, who do
you suppose is in that parlor atthis very moment? Missus Charlotte E.
Morgan, and a New York millionaire'swife. And here I am like this,
and not a thing in the housefor dinner but a cold ham bone

(04:33:37):
Diana. By this time, Annehad become aware that Diana was staring at
her in precisely the same bewildered fashionas Priscilla had done. It was really
too much, Oh Diana, don'tlook at me, so, she implored,
You at least must know that theneatest person in the world couldn't empty
feathers from one tick into another andremain neat in the process. It,

(04:34:00):
I, I, It isn't thefeathers, hesitated, Diana. It's your
nose, Anne, My nose,Oh Diana, surely nothing has gone wrong
with it. Anne rushed to thelittle looking glass over the sink. One
glance revealed the fatal truth. Hernose was a brilliant scarlet. Anne sat
down on the sofa, her dauntlessspirit subdued. At last, what is

(04:34:25):
the matter with it? Asked Diana, curiosity overcoming delicacy. I thought I
was rubbing my freckle lotion on it. But I must have used that red
dye Marilla has for marking the patternon her rugs was the despairing response.
What shall I do? Wash itoff? Said Diana. Practically, perhaps
it won't wash off. First Idye my hair, then I dye my
nose. Marilla cut my hair offwhen I dyed it, But that remedy

(04:34:48):
would hardly be practicable in this case. Well, this is another punishment for
vanity, and I suppose I deserveit, though there is not much comfort
in that. It is really almostenough to make one bel leave an ill
luck, though missus Lynde says thereis no such thing, because everything is
foreordained. Fortunately, the dye washedoff easily, and Anne somewhat consoled,
but took herself to the east gablewhile Diana ran home. Presently, Anne

(04:35:12):
came down again, clothed and inher right mind. The muslin dress she
had fondly hoped to wear was bobbingmerrily about on the line outside, so
she was forced to content herself withher black lawn. She had the fire
on and the tea steeping. WhenDiana returned. The latter wore her muslin
at least, and carried a coveredplatter in her hand. Mother sent you

(04:35:32):
this, she said, lifting thecover and displaying a nicely carved and jointed
chicken. To Anne's grateful eyes.The chicken was supplemented by light new bread,
excellent butter and cheese, Marilla's fruitcake, and a dish of preserved
plums floating in their golden syrup asin congealed summer sunshine. There was a
big bowlful of pink and white astersalso by way of decoration, Yet the

(04:35:53):
spread seemed very meager beside the elaborateone formerly prepared for Missus Morgan. Anne's
hungry guests, however, did notseem to think anything was lacking, and
they ate the simple viands with apparentenjoyment. But after the first few moments,
Anne thought no more of what wasor was not on her bill of
fare. Missus Morgan's appearance might besomewhat disappointing, as even her loyal worshippers

(04:36:15):
had been forced to admit to eachother, but she proved to be a
delightful conversationalist. She had traveled extensivelyand was an excellent story teller. She
had seen much of men and womenand crystallized her experiences into witty little sentences
and epigrams, which made her hearersfeel as if they were listening to one
of the people in clever books.But under all her sparkle there was a

(04:36:37):
strongly felt undercurrent of true womanly sympathyand kind heartedness, which one affection as
easily as her brilliancy won admiration.Nor did she monopolize the conversation. She
could draw others out as skillfully andfully as she could talk herself, and
Anne and Diana found themselves chattering freelyto her. Missus Pendexter said little.
She merely smiled with her lovely eyesand lips, and ate chicken and fruit

(04:37:00):
cake and preserves with such exquisite gracethat she conveyed the impression of dining on
ambrosia and honeydew. But then,as Anne said to Diana later on,
anybody so divinely beautiful as Missus Pendexterdidn't need to talk. It was enough
for her just to look. Afterdinner, they all had to walk through
Lover's Lane and Violet Vale in theBirch Path, then back through the Haunted

(04:37:21):
Wood to the Dryad's Bubble, wherethey sat down and talked for a delightful
last half hour. Missus Morgan wantedto know how the Haunted Wood came by
its name, and laughed until shecried when she heard the story and Anne's
dramatic account of a certain memorable walkthrough it at the witching hour of twilight.
It has indeed been a feast ofreason and flow of soul, hasn't

(04:37:41):
it, said Anne, when herguests had gone and she and Diana were
alone again. I don't know whichI enjoyed more, listening to Missus Morgan
or gazing at Missus Pendexter. Ibelieve we had a nicer time than if
we'd known they were coming and encumberedwith much serving. You must stay to
tea with me, Diana, andwe'll talk it all over, Priscilla,
says, Missus Pendexter's husband's sister ismarried to an English earl, and yet

(04:38:04):
she took a second helping of theplum preserves, said Diana, as if
the two facts were somehow incompatible.I dare say even the English earl himself
wouldn't have turned up his aristocratic noseof Marilla's plum preserves, said Anne proudly.
Anne did not mention the misfortune whichhad befallen her nose when she related
the day's history to Marilla that evening, but she took the bottle of freckle

(04:38:26):
lotion and emptied it out of thewindow. I shall never try any beautifying
messes again, she said, darkly, resolute. They may do for careful,
deliberate people, but for any oneso hopelessly given over to making mistakes
as I seem to be, it'stempting fate to meddle with them. End
of Chapter twenty Chapter twenty one,Sweet Miss Lavendar school opened and Anne returned

(04:38:49):
to her work with fewer theories,but considerably more experienced. She had several
new pupils, six and seven yearolds, just venturing round eyed into a
world wonder. Among them were Davyand Dora. Davy sat with Milty Bolter,
who had been going to school fora year and was therefore quite a
man of the world. Dora hadmade a compact at Sunday school the previous

(04:39:11):
Sunday to sit with Lily Sloane,but Lily Sloane not coming the first day,
she was temporarily assigned to Mirabelle Cotton, who was ten years old and
therefore in Dora's eyes, one ofthe big girls. I think school is
great fun, Davy told Marilla.When he got home that night. You
said I'd find it hard to sitstill, and I did. You mostly
do tell the truth. I notice, but you can wriggle your legs about

(04:39:32):
under the desk, and that helpsa lot. It's splendid to have so
many boys to play with. Isit with Milty Bolter, and he's fine.
He's longer than me, but I'mwider. It's nicer to sit in
the back seats, but you can'tsit there till your legs grow long enough
to touch the floor. Milty draweda picture of Ann on his slate,
and it was awful, ugly.And I told him if he'd made pictures
of Anne like that, I'd lickhim at recess. I thought first I'd

(04:39:52):
draw one of him and put hornsin a tail on it, but I
was afraid it would hurt his feelings. And Anne says, you should never
hurt anyone's feel It seems it's dreadfulto have your feelings hurt. It's better
to knock a boy down than hurthis feelings. If you must do something.
Milty said he wasn't scared of me, but he'd just as soon call
it somebody else. To oblige me, so he rubbed out Anne's name and
printed Barbara Shaws under it. Miltydoesn't like Barbara because she calls him a

(04:40:15):
sweet little boy, and once shepatted him on his head. Dora said
primly that she liked school, butshe was very quiet, even for her,
And when at twilight Marilla bade hergo upstairs to bed, she hesitated
and began to cry. I'm I'mfrightened, she sobbed. I I don't
want to go upstairs alone in thedark. What notion have you got into
your head now, demanded Marilla.I'm sure you've gone to bed alone all

(04:40:37):
summer and never been frightened before.Dora still continued to cry. So Anne
picked her up, cuddled her sympathetically, and whispered, tell Anne all about
it, sweetheart, what are youfrightened of? Of of Mirabel Cotton's uncle,
sobbed Dora. Mirabel Cotton told meall about her family to day in
school. Nearly everybody and her familyhas died, all her grandfather's and grit

(04:41:00):
grandmother's, in ever so many unclesand aunts. They have a habit of
dying, Mirabel says. Mirabel's awfulproud of having so many dead relations.
And she told me what they alldied of, and what they said,
and how they looked in their coffins. And Mirabelle says one of her uncles
was seen walking around the house afterhe was buried. Her mother saw him.
I don't mind the rest so much, but I can't help thinking about

(04:41:21):
that Uncle Anne went upstairs with Doraand sat by her until she fell asleep.
The next day, Mirabel Cotton waskept in at recess, and gently
but firmly given to understand that whenyou were so unfortunate as to possess an
uncle who persisted in walking about housesafter he had been decently interred, it
was not in good taste to talkabout that eccentric gentleman to your destmate of
tender years. Mirabel thought this veryharsh. The Cottons had not much to

(04:41:45):
boast of. How was she tokeep up her prestige among her schoolmates if
she were forbidden to make capital outof the family ghost. September slipped by
into a Gold and Crimson graciousness ofOctober. One Friday evening, Diana came
over. I'd a letter from EllaKimball to day Anne and She wants us
to go over to Tea tomorrow afternoonand meet her cousin Irene Trent from town.

(04:42:07):
But we can't get one of ourhorses to go, for there'll all
be in use tomorrow and your ponyis lane. So I suppose we can't
go. Why can't we walk,suggested Anne. If we go straight back
through the woods, we'll strike theWest Grafton Road, not far from the
Kimball place. I was through thatway last winter, and I know the
road. It's no more than fourmiles and we don't have to walk home,
for Oliver Kimball will be sure todrive us. He'll be only too

(04:42:27):
glad of the excuse where he goesto see Carrie Sloane, and they say
his father will hardly ever let himhave a horse. It was accordingly arranged
that they should walk, and thefollowing afternoon they set out, going by
way of Lover's Lane to the backof the Cuthbert farm, where they found
a road leading into the heart ofacres of glimmering beech and maplewoods, which
were all in a wondrous glow offlame and gold, lying in a great

(04:42:48):
purple stillness and peace. It's asif the year were kneeling to prey in
a vast cathedral full of mellow stainedlight, isn't it? Said Anne dreamily.
It doesn't seem right to hurry throughit, does it. It seems
irreverent, like running in a church. We must hurry, though, said
Diana, glancing at her watch.We've left ourselves little enough time as it
is. Well. I'll walk fast, but don't ask me to talk,

(04:43:11):
said Anne, quickening her pace.I just want to drink the day's loveliness
in. I feel as if shewere holding it out to my lips like
a cup of airy wine, andI'll take a sip at every step.
Perhaps it was because she was soabsorbed in drinking it in that Anne took
the left turning when they came toa fork in the road. She should
have taken the right, but everafterwards she counted it the most fortunate mistake

(04:43:33):
of her life. They came outfinally to a lonely grassy road with nothing
inside along it but ranks of sprucesaplings. Why where are we, exclaimed
Diana in bewilderment. This isn't theWest Grafton Road, No, it's the
baseline road in Middle Grafton, saidAnne, rather shamedfacedly. I must have
taken the wrong turning at the fork. I don't know where we are exactly,

(04:43:53):
but we must be all of threemiles from Kimball. Still, then
we can't get there by five,for it's past four now, said Diana,
with a despairing look at her watch. We'll arrive after they've had their
tea and they'll have all the botherof getting hours over again. We'd better
turn back and go home, suggestedAnne humbly. But Diana, after consideration,
vetoed this. No, we mayas well go and spend the evening

(04:44:15):
since we have come this far.A few yards further on, the girls
came to a place where the roadforked again. Which of these do we
take? Asked Diana dubiously. Anneshook her head. I don't know,
and we can't afford to make anymore mistakes. Here is a gate and
a lane leading right into the wood. There must be a house at the
other side. Let us go downand inquire what a romantic old lane this

(04:44:37):
is, said Diana, as theywalked along its twists and turns. It
ran under patriarchal old firs, whosebranches met above, creating a perpetual gloom
in which nothing except moss could grow. On either hand were brown wood floors
crossed here and there by fallen lancesof sunlight. All was very still and
remote, as if the world andthe cares of the world were far away.

(04:45:00):
I feel as if we were walkingthrough an enchanted forest, said Anne
in a hushed tone. Do yousuppose we'll ever find our way back to
the real world again, Diana,we shall presently come to a palace with
a spell bound princess in it.I think. Around the next turn they
came in sight, not indeed ofa palace, but of a little house,
almost as surprising as a palace wouldhave been in this province of conventional

(04:45:21):
wooden farmhouses, all as much alikein general characteristics as if they had grown
from the same seed. Anne stoppedshort in rapture, and Diana exclaimed,
Oh, I know where we arenow. That is the little stone house
where miss Lavender Lewis lives Echo Lodge, she calls it. I think I've
often heard of it, but I'venever seen it before. Isn't it a
romantic spot? It's the sweetest,prettiest place I ever saw or imagined,

(04:45:45):
said Anne, delightedly. It lookslike a bit out of a story book
or a dream. The house wasa low weaved structure, built of undressed
blocks of Red Island sandstone, witha little peaked roof, out of which
peered two dormer windows with quaint woodenhoods over them, and two great chimneys.
The whole house was covered with aluxuriant growth of ivy, finding easy

(04:46:06):
foothold on the rough stone work,and turned by autumn frosts to most beautiful
bronze and wine red tints. Beforethe house was an oblong garden into which
the lane gate where the girls werestanding opened. The house bounded it on
one side. On the three others, it was enclosed by an old stone
dike so overgrown with moss and grassand ferns that it looked like a high

(04:46:26):
green bank. On the right andleft, the tall dark spruces spread their
palm like branches over it. Butbelow it was a little meadow green with
clover aftermath, sloping down to theblue loop of the Grafton River. No
other house or clearing was in sight, nothing but hills and valleys covered with
feathery young firs. I wonder whatsort of a person Miss Lewis is,

(04:46:48):
speculated Diana as they opened the gateinto the garden. They say she is
very peculiar. She'll be interesting,then, said Anne, Decidedly peculiar people
are always that, at least,whatever else they are or are not.
Didn't I tell you we would cometo an enchanted palace. I knew the
elves hadn't woven magic over that lanefor nothing. But miss Lavendar lewis as
hardly as spell bound princess, laughedDiana. She's an old maid. She's

(04:47:11):
forty five and quite gray. I'veheard. Oh, that's only part of
the spell, asserted Anne, confidently. At heart, she's young and beautiful
still, and if we only knewhow to unloose the spell, she would
step forth radiant and fair again.But we don't know how. It's always
and only the prince who knows that, And Miss Lavender's prince hasn't come yet.
Perhaps some fatal mischance has befallen him, though that's against the law of

(04:47:34):
all fairy tales. I'm afraid hecame long ago and went away again,
said Diana. They say she usedto be engaged to see an irving Paul's
father when they were young, butthey quarreled and parted. Hush, warned
Anne, the door's open. Thegirls paused in the porch under the tendrils
of ivy and knocked at the opendoor. There was a patter of steps
inside, and a rather odd littlepersonage presented herself, a girl of about

(04:47:57):
fourteen, with a freckled face,a snub nose, a mouth so wide
that it did really seem as ifit stretched from ear to ear, and
two long braids of fair hair tiedwith two enormous bows of blue ribbon.
Is Miss Lewis at home, askedDiana, Yes, ma'am, come in,
ma'am. I'll tell miss Lavendar you'rehere, ma'am. She's upstairs,
ma'am. With this, the smallhandmaiden whisked out of sight, and the

(04:48:19):
girls, left alone, looked aboutthem with delighted eyes. The interior of
this wonderful little house was quite asinteresting as its exterior. The room had
a low ceiling and two square,small paned windows curtained with muslin frills.
All the furnishings were old fashioned,but so well and daintily kept that the
effect was delicious, But it mustbe candidly admitted that the most attractive feature

(04:48:42):
to two healthy girls who had justtramped four miles through autumn air was a
table set out with pale blue chinaand laden with delicacies, while little golden
hued ferns scattered over the cloth gaveit what Anne would have termed a festal
air. Miss Lavender must be expectingcompany to tea, she whispered. There
are six places, said, butwhat a funny little girl she has.

(04:49:03):
She looked like a messenger from pixieLand. I suppose she could have told
us the road, but I wascurious to see Miss Lavendar. Sh She's
coming, And with that Miss LavenderLewis was standing in the doorway. The
girls were so surprised that they forgotgood manners and simply stared. They had
unconsciously been expecting to see the usualtype of elderly spinster, as known to
their experience, a rather angular personagewith prim gray hair and spectacles. Nothing

(04:49:27):
more unlike Miss Lavendar could possibly beimagined. She was a little lady with
snow white hair, beautifully wavy andthick, and carefully arranged in becoming puffs
and coils. Beneath it was analmost girlish face, pink cheeked and sweet
lipped, with big, soft browneyes and dimples, actually dimples. She
wore a very dainty gown of creammuslin with pale hued roses on it,

(04:49:51):
a gown which would have seemed ridiculouslyjuvenile on most women of her age,
but which suited Miss Lavender so perfectlythat you never thought about it at all.
Carlott of the Fort says that youwished to see me, she said,
in a voice that matched her appearance. We wanted to ask the right
road to West Grafton, said Diana. We are invited to tea at mister
Kimball's, but we took the wrongpath coming through the woods and came out
to the baseline instead of the WestGrafton road. Do we take the right

(04:50:15):
or left? Turning at your gate? The left, said Miss Lavendar,
with a hesitating glance at her teatable. Then she exclaimed, as if
in a sudden little burst of resolution, But oh, won't you stay and
have tea with me? Please do? Mister Kimballs will have tea over before
you get there, and Carlotta theFourth and I will be so glad to
have you. Diana looked mute inquiryat Anne. We'd like to stay,

(04:50:37):
said Anne promptly, for she hadmade up her mind that she wanted to
know more of this surprising Miss Lavendarif it won't inconvenience you. But you
are expecting other guests, aren't you. Miss Lavendar looked at her tea table
again and blushed. I know you'llthink me dreadfully foolish, she said.
I am foolish, and I'm ashamedof it when I'm found out. But
never unless I am found out,I'm not expecting anybody. I I was

(04:51:00):
just pretending I was. You see, I was so lonely. I love
company, that is the right kindof company, but so few people ever
come here because it is so farout of the way. Carlotta the Fourth
was lonely too, So I justpretended I was going to have a tea
party. I cooked for it anddecorated the table for it, and said
it was my mother's wedding China,and I dressed up for it. Diana

(04:51:21):
secretly thought Miss Lavendar quite as peculiaras report had pictured her. The idea
of a woman of forty five playingit having a tea party, just as
if she were a little girl.But Anne of the Shining Eyes exclaimed joyfully,
Oh do you imagine things too?That too revealed a kindred spirit to
Miss Lavendar. Yes I do,she confessed boldly. Of course it's silly,

(04:51:42):
and anybody as old as I am. But what is the use of
being an independent old maid if youcan't be silly when you want to and
when it doesn't hurt anybody. Aperson must have some compensations. I don't
believe I could live at times ifI didn't pretend things. I'm not often
caught at it, though, andCarlotta the Fourth never tells. But I'm
glad to be caught to day,for you have really come, and I

(04:52:03):
have tea all ready for you.Will you go up to the spare room
and take off your hats. It'sthe white door at the head of the
stairs. I must run out tothe kitchen and see that Carlotta the Fourth
isn't letting the tea boil. Carlottathe Fourth is a very good girl,
but she will let the tea boil. Miss Lavendar tripped off to the kitchen
on hospitable thoughts intent and the girlsfound their way up to the spare Room,
an apartment as white as its door, lighted by the ivy hung dormer

(04:52:26):
window, and looking, as Annesaid, like the place where happy dreams
grew. This is quite an adventure, isn't it, said Diana. And
isn't miss Lavender sweet? If sheis a little odd, she doesn't look
a bit like an old maid.She looks just as music sounds, I
think, answered Anne. When theywent down, Miss Lavendar was carrying in
the tea pot, and behind her, looking vastly pleased, was Carlotta the

(04:52:47):
Fourth with a plate of hot biscuits. Now you must tell me your names,
said miss Lavendar. I'm so gladyou are young girls. I love
young girls. It's so easy topretend I'm a girl myself. When I'm
with them. I do hate,with a little grimace, to believe I'm
old. Now, who are you? Just? For convenience sake, Diana
Barry and Anne Shirley, May Ipretend that I've known you for a hundred

(04:53:08):
years and call you Anne and Dianaright away? You may, the girls
said, both together. Then let'sjust sit, comefully down and eat everything,
said miss Lavendar, happily, Carlotta, you sit at the foot and
help with the chicken. It isso fortunate that I made the sponge cake
and doughnuts. Of course, itwas foolish to do it for imaginary guess
I know. Carlotta the Fourth thought, so didn't you, Carlotta, But

(04:53:29):
you see how well it has turnedout. Of course they wouldn't have been
wasted for Carlotta the Fourth and Icould have eaten them through time, but
sponge cake is not a thing thatimproves with time. That was a merry
and memorable meal, and when itwas over, they all went out to
the garden, lying in the glamorof sunset. I do think you have
the loveliest place here, said Diana, looking round her admiringly. Why do

(04:53:51):
you call it echo lodge, askedAnne. Carlotta said, Miss Lavendar,
go into the house and bring outthe little tin horn that is hanging over
the clock shelf. Arlotta the Fourthskipped off and returned with the horn.
Blow it, Carlotta commanded Miss Lavendar. Carlotta, accordingly, blew a rather
raucous, strident blast. There wasa moment's stillness, and then from the
woods over the river came a multitudeof fairy echoes, sweet elusive silvery,

(04:54:15):
as if all the horns of elfLand were blowing against the sunset. Anne
and Diana exclaimed in delight. Nowlaugh Carlotta, laugh loudly. Carlotta,
who would probably have obeyed if MissLavendar had told her to stand on her
head, climbed up on the stonebench and laughed loud and heartily. Back
came the echoes, as if ahost of pixie people were mimicking her laughter.

(04:54:36):
In the purple woodlands and along thefur fringed points. People always admire
my echoes very much, said MissLavendar, as if the echoes were her
personal property. I love them myself. They are very good company, with
a little pretending. On calm evenings. Carlotta the Fourth and I often sit
out here and amuse ourselves with them. Carlotta, take back the horn and

(04:54:56):
hang it carefully in its place.Why do you call her carl a lot
of the fourth, asked Diana,who was bursting with curiosity on this point.
Just to keep her from getting mixedup with other Carlottas in my thoughts,
said Miss Lavender. Seriously, theyall look so much alike. There's
no telling them apart. Her nameisn't really Carlotta at all. It is
let me see, what is it. I think it's Leonora. Yes,

(04:55:19):
it is Leonora. You see itis this way. When mother died ten
years ago, I couldn't stay herealone, and I couldn't afford to pay
the wages of a grown up girl. So I got little Carlotta Bowman to
come and stay with me for boardand clothes. Her name really was Carlotta.
She was Carlotta the first she wasjust thirteen. She stayed with me
till she was sixteen, and thenshe went away to Boston because she could

(04:55:41):
do better there. Her sister cameto stay with me. Then. Her
name was Julietta. Missus Bowman hada weakness for fancy names, I think,
but she looked so like Carlotta thatI kept calling her that all the
time, and she didn't mind,so I just gave up trying to remember
her right name. She was Carlotathe second, and when she went away,
Evelina came and she was Karlotta thethird. Now I have Carlotta the

(04:56:03):
fourth. But when she is sixteen, she's fourteen now she will want to
go to Boston too. And whatI shall do then, I really do
not know. Carlotta the Fourth isthe last of the Bowman girls and the
best the other Carlot has always letme see that. They thought it silly
of me to pretend things, ButCarlotta the Fourth never does, no matter
what she may really think. Idon't care what people think about me if
they don't let me see it,well, said Diana, looking regretfully at

(04:56:27):
the setting sun. I suppose wemust go if we want to get to
mister Kimball's before dark. We've hada lovely time, Miss Lewis. Won't
you come again to see me?Pleaded Miss Lavendar. Tall Anne put her
arm about the little lady. Indeedwe shall, she promised. Now that
we've discovered you, we'll wear outour welcome coming to see you. Yes,
we must go. We must tearourselves away, as Paul Irving says

(04:56:49):
every time he comes to Green Gables. Paul Irving, there was a subtle
change in Miss Lavendar's voice. Whois he? I didn't think there was
anybody of that name in Avonlea Annefelt vexed at her own heedlessness. She
had forgotten about Miss Lavendar's old romancewhen Paul's name slipped out. He is
a little pupil of mine, sheexplained slowly. He came from Boston last

(04:57:11):
year to live with his grandmother,missus Irving of the Shore Road. Is
he Stephen Irving's son? Miss Lavendarasked, bending over her namesake border so
that her face was hidden. Yes, I'm going to give you girls a
bunch of lavender apiece, said MissLavendar brightly, as if she had not
heard the answer to her question.It's very sweet. Don't you think mother
always loved it? She planted theseboarders long ago. Father named me Lavendar

(04:57:36):
because he was so fond of it. The very first time he saw mother
was when he visited her home inEast Grafton with her brother. He fell
in love with her at first sight, and they put him in the spare
room bed to sleep, and thesheets were scented with lavender, and he
lay awake all night and thought ofher. He always loved the scent of
lavendar after that, and that waswhy he gave me the name. Don't

(04:57:56):
forget to come back soon, girls, dear, We'll be looking for you.
Carlotta the fourth and I She openedthe gate under the furs for them
to pass through. She looked suddenlyold and tired. The glow and radiance
had faded from her face. Herparting smile was as sweet with ineradicable youth
as ever. But when the girlslooked back from the first curve in the
lane, they saw her sitting onthe old stone bench under the silver poplar

(04:58:18):
in the middle of the garden,with her head leaning wearily on her hand.
She does look lonely, said Dianasoftly. We must come often to
see her. I think her parentsgave her the only right and fitting name
that could possibly be given her,said Anne. If they had been so
blind as to name her Elizabeth orNellie or Muriel, she must have been
called Lavender just the same. Ithink it's so suggestive of sweetness and old

(04:58:41):
fashioned graces and silk attire. Nowmy name just smacks of bread and butter,
patchwork and chores. Oh, Idon't think so, said Diana.
Anne seems to me real, statelyand like a queen. But I'd like
Karen a book if it happened tobe your name. I think people make
their names nice or ugly just bywhat they are themsels. I can't bear
Josie or Gerdy for names now.But before I knew the Pie girls,

(04:59:04):
I thought them real pretty. Thelovely idea, Diana, said, Anne,
enthusiastically living, so that you beautifyyour name, even if it wasn't
beautiful to begin with, making itstand in people's thoughts for something so lovely
and pleasant that they never think ofit by itself. Thank you, Diana.
End of Chapter twenty one, Chaptertwenty two, Odds and ends.

(04:59:26):
So you had tea at the stoneHouse with Lavender Lewis, said Marilla at
the breakfast table next morning. Whatis she like now? It's over fifteen
years since I saw her last.It was one Sunday in Grafton Church.
I suppose she has changed a greatdeal, Davy Keith. When you want
something you can't reach, ask tohave it passed, and don't spread yourself
over the table in that fashion.Did you ever see Paul Irving doing that

(04:59:48):
when he was here to meals?But Paul's arms are longer in mine,
grumbled Davy. They've had eleven yearsto go and mine have only had seven.
Side. I did ask, butyou and Anne were so busy talking
you didn't pay any attention. SidesPaul's never been here to any meal,
a step tea, And it's easierto be polite at tea than at breakfast.
You ain't half as hungry. It'san awful long time between supper and

(05:00:08):
breakfast, now, Anne, that'sspoonful? Ain't me bigger than it was
last year? And I'm ever somuch bigger. Of course, I don't
know what miss Lavender used to looklike, but I don't fancy somehow that
she has changed a great deal,said Anne, after she had helped Davy
to Mabel's syrup, giving him twospoonfuls to pacify him. Her hair is
snow white, but her face isfresh and almost girlish, and she has

(05:00:30):
the sweetest brown eyes, such apretty shade of wood brown, with little
golden glints in them. And hervoice makes you think of white satin and
tinkling water and fairy bells, allmixed up together. She was reckoned a
great beauty when she was a girl, said Marilla. I never knew her
very well, but I liked heras far as I did know her.
Some folks thought her peculiar even then, Davy, if ever I catch you
at such a trick again, you'llbe made to wait for your meals till

(05:00:52):
everyone else is done. Like theFrench. Most conversations between Anne and Marilla
in the presence of the twins werepunctuated by these rebukes Davyward. In this
instance, Davy, sad to relatenot being able to scoop up the last
drops of his syrup with his spoon, had solved the difficulty by lifting his
plate in both hands and applying hissmall pink tongue to it. Anne looked
at him with such horrified eyes thatthe little sinner turned red and said,

(05:01:15):
half shame facedly, half defiantly,there ain't any wasted that way. People
who are different from other people arealways called peculiar, said Anne, and
miss Lavendar is certainly different, thoughit's hard to say just where the difference
comes in. Perhaps it is becauseshe's one of those people who never grow
old. One might as well growold when all your generation do, said

(05:01:37):
Marilla, rather reckless of her pronouns. If you don't, you don't fit
in anywhere far as I can learn. Lavender Lewis has just dropped out of
everything she's lived in that out ofthe way place until everybody has forgotten her.
That stone House is one of theoldest on the island. Old mister
Lewis built it eighty years ago.When he came out from England. Davy
stopped joggling Dora's elbow. Oh Isaw you. You needn't try to look

(05:01:59):
innocent. What does make you behave? So this morning? Maybe I got
out on the wrong side of thebed, suggested Davy. Milty Bolter says
if you do that, things arebound to go wrong with you all day.
His grandmother told him. But whichis the right side? And what
are you to do when your bed'sagainst the wall? I wanna know.
I've always wondered what went wrong betweenStephen Irving and Lavender Lewis, continued Marilla,
ignoring Davy. They were certainly engagedtwenty five years ago, and then

(05:02:22):
all at once it was broken off. I don't know what the trouble was,
but it must have been something terrible, for he went away to the
States and never come home. Since. Perhaps it was nothing very dreadful.
After all, I think the littlethings in life often make more trouble than
the big things, said Anne,with one of those flashes of insight which
experience could not have bettered. Marilla, please don't say anything about my being

(05:02:42):
at Miss Lavender's to missus Lynde.She'd be sure to ask a hundred questions,
and somehow I wouldn't like it,nor Miss Lavender either, if she
knew. I feel sure I daresay. Rachel will be curious, admitted
Marilla. Though she hasn't as muchtime as she used to for looking after
other people's affairs, She's tied homenow on account of Tom, and she's
feeling pretty downhearted. For I thinkshe's beginning to lose hope of his ever

(05:03:03):
getting better. Rachel will be leftpretty lonely if anything happens to him,
with all her children settled out westexcept Eliza in town, and she doesn't
like her husband. Marilla's pronounce slandered. Eliza was very fond of her husband.
Rachel says if he'd only brace upand exert his will power, he'd
get better. But what is theuse of asking a jellyfish to sit up
straight? Continued Marilla. Thomas Lyndenever had any will power to exert.

(05:03:26):
His mother ruled him till he married, and then Rachel carried it on.
It's a wonder he dared to getsick without asking her permission. But there
I shouldn't talk. So Rachel hasbeen a good wife to him. He'd
never have amounted to anything without her. That's certain. He was born to
be ruled, and it's well hefell into the hands of a clever,
capable manager like Rachel. He didn'tmind her way. It saved him the

(05:03:47):
bother of ever making up his ownmind about anything. Davy, do stop
squirming like an eel. I've nothingelse to do, protested Davy. I
can't eat any more, and it'sno fun watching you and Anne eat.
Well, you and Dora go outand give the hens their w wheat,
said Marilla. And don't you tryto pull any more feathers out of the
white rooster's tail either. I wantedsome feathers for an injun head dress,

(05:04:07):
said Davy sulkily. Milty Bolger hasa dandy one made out of the feathers
his mother gave him when she killedtheir old white gobbler. You might let
me have some. That rooster's gotever so many morny once. You may
have the old feathered duster in thegarret, said Anne. And I'll dye
them green and red and yellow foryou, you do spoil that boy,
dreadfully, said Marilla, when Davy, with a radiant face, had followed

(05:04:27):
prim Dora out. Marilla's education hadmade great strides in the past six years,
but she had not yet been ableto rid herself of the idea that
it was very bad for a childto have too many of its wishes indulged.
All the boys of his class haveIndian head dresses, and Davy wants
one too, said Anne, Iknow how it feels. I'll never forget
how I used to long for puffedsleeves when all the other girls had them.

(05:04:49):
And Davy isn't being spoiled. Heis improving every day. Think what
a difference there is in him sincehe came here a year ago. He
certainly doesn't get into as much mischiefsince he began to go to school,
acknowledged Marilla. I suppose he worksoff the tendency with the other boys.
But it's a wonder to me.We haven't heard from Richard Keith before this,
never a word since last May.I'll be afraid to hear from him,

(05:05:11):
sighed Anne, beginning to clear awaythe dishes. If a letter should
come, I'd dread opening it.For fear it would tell us to send
the twins to him. A monthlater a letter did come, but it
was not from Richard Keith. Afriend of his wrote to say that Richard
Keith had died of consumption a fortnightpreviously. The writer of the letter was
the executor of his will, andby that will, the sum of two
thousand dollars was left to Miss MarillaCuthbert in trust for David and Dora Keith

(05:05:34):
until they came of age or married. In the meantime, the interest was
to be used for their maintenance.It seems dreadful to be glad of anything
in connection with the death, saidAnne soberly. I'm sorry for poor mister
Keith, but I am glad thatwe can keep the twins. It's a
very good thing about the money,said Marilla. Practically I wanted to keep
them, but I really didn't seehow I could afford to do it,

(05:05:55):
especially when they grew older. Therent of the farm doesn't do any more
than keep the house, and Ibound that not a cent of your money
should be spent on them. Youdo far too much for them as it
is. Dora didn't need that newhat you bought her any more than a
cat needs two tails. But nowthe way is made clear and they are
provided for. Davy and Dora weredelighted when they heard that they were to
live at Green Gables for good.The death of an uncle whom they had

(05:06:17):
never seen. Could not weigh amoment in the balance against that. But
Dora had one misgiving. Was UncleRichard buried? She whispered to Anne,
Yes, dear, of course heHe isn't like Mirabella Cotton's uncle, is
he? In a still more agitatedwhisper, he won't walk about houses after
being buried, Willie Anne, endof chapter twenty two, Chapter twenty three,

(05:06:41):
Miss Lavender's Romance. I think I'lltake a walk through to Echo Lodge
this evening, said Anne one Fridayafternoon in December. It looks like snow,
said Marilla dubiously. I'll be therebefore the snow comes, and I
mean to stay all night long.Diana can't go because she has company,
and I'm sure Miss Lavendar will belooking for me tonight. It's a whole
fortnight since I was there. Annehad paid many a visit to Echo Lodge

(05:07:03):
since that October day. Sometimes sheand Diana drove round by the road.
Sometimes they walked through the woods.When Diana could not go, Anne went
alone. Between her and Miss Lavendarhad sprung up one of those fervent,
helpful friendships possible only between a womanwho has kept the freshness of youth in
her heart and soul and a girlwhose imagination and intuition supplied the place of

(05:07:23):
experience. Anne had at last discovereda real, kindred spirit. While into
the little lady's lonely, sequestered lifeof dreams. Anne and Diana came with
the wholesome joy and exhilaration of theouter existence which Miss Lavendar, the world
forgetting by the world for good,had long ceased to share. They brought
an atmosphere of youth and reality tothe Little Stone House. Carlotta the Fourth

(05:07:47):
always greeted them with her very widestsmile, and carlotta smiles were fearfully wide,
loving them for the sake of heradored mistress as well as for her
own. Never had there been suchhyjings held in the Little Stone House as
were held that beautiful late lingering autumn, when November seen October over again,
and even December ate the sunshine andhazes of summer. But on this particular

(05:08:08):
day it seemed as if December hadremembered that it was time for winter and
had suddenly turned dull and brooding,with a windless hush, predictive of coming
snow. Nevertheless, Anne keenly enjoyedher walk through the great gray maze of
the Beechlands. Though alone, shenever found it lonely. Her imagination peopled
her path with merry companions, andwith these she carried on a gay,

(05:08:30):
pretended conversation that was wittier and morefascinating than conversations are apt to be in
real life, where people sometimes failmost lamentably to talk up to the requirements.
In a make believe assembly of choicespirits, everybody says just the thing
you want her to say, andso gives you the chance to say just
what you want to say. Attendedby this invisible company, Anne traversed the
woods and arrived at the fir lanejust as broad and feathery flakes began to

(05:08:53):
flutter down softly. At the firstbend, she came upon Miss Lavendar,
standing under a big, broad branchingfur. She wore a gown of warm,
rich red, and her head andshoulders were wrapped in a silvery gray
silk shawl. You looked like thequeen of the fir Wood Fairies, called
Anne merrily. I thought you wouldcome tonight, Anne, said Miss Lavendar,

(05:09:14):
running forward. And I'm doubly gladfor Karlotta, the fourth is away.
Her mother is sick and she hadto go home for the night.
I should have been very lonely ifyou hadn't come. Even the dreams and
the echoes wouldn't have been enough company. Oh Anne, how pretty you are,
she added, suddenly, looking upat the tall, slim girl with
the soft rose flush of walking onher face. How pretty and how young.
It's so delightful to be seventeen,isn't it. I do envy,

(05:09:37):
you, concluded Miss Lavendar candidly.But you are only seventeen at heart,
smiled Anne. No, I'm old, or rather middle aged, which is
far worse, sighed Miss Lavendar.Sometimes I can pretend I'm not, but
at other times I realize it,and I can't reconcile myself to it as
most women seem to. I'm justas rebellious as I was when I discovered
my first gray hair. Now,Anne, Anne, don't look as if

(05:10:00):
you were trying to understand seventeen can'tunderstand. I'm going to pretend right away
that I am seventeen too, andI can do it now that you're here.
You always bring youth in your handlike a gift. We're going to
have a jolly evening tea. First, What do you want for tea?
We'll have whatever you like. Dothink of something nice and indigestible. There
were sounds of riot and mirth inthe little stone house that night, what

(05:10:22):
with cooking and feasting and making candyand laughing and pretending. It is quite
true that Miss Lavender and Anne comportedthemselves in a fashion entirely unsuited to the
dignity of a spinster of forty fiveand a sedate school ma'am. Then when
they were tired, they sat downon the rug before the grate in the
parlor, lighted only by the softfire shine, and perfumed deliciously by Miss
Lavender's open rose jar on the mantel. The wind had risen and was sighing

(05:10:47):
and wailing around the eaves, andthe snow was studding softly against the windows,
as if a hundred storm sprides weretapping for entrance. I'm so glad
you're here, Anne, said MissLavendar, nibbling at her candy. If
you were, and I should beblue, very blue, almost navy blue.
Dreams and make believes are all verywell in the daytime, in the
sunshine, but when dark and stormcome, they fail to satisfy. One

(05:11:10):
wants real things then, but youdon't know this. Seventeen never knows it.
At seventeen, dreams do satisfy becauseyou think the realities are waiting for
you. Further On, when Iwas seventeen, Anne, I didn't think
forty five would find me a whitehaired, little old maid with nothing but
dreams to fill my life. Butyou aren't an old maid, said Anne,
smiling into Miss Lavendar's wistful wood browneyes. Old maids are born,

(05:11:33):
they don't become. Some are bornold maids, Some achieve old maidenhood,
and some have old maidenhood. Trustupon them, parodied Miss Lavendar, Whimsically,
you are one of those who haveachieved it, then, laughed Anne.
And you've done it so beautifully thatif every old maid were like you,
they would come into the fashion.I think I always like to do
things as well as possible, saidMiss Lavendar meditatively, and since an old

(05:11:57):
maid I had to be, Iwas determined to be a very nice one.
People say I'm odd, but it'sjust because I follow my own way
of being an old maid and refusedto copy the traditional pattern. Did anyone
ever tell you anything about Stephen Irvingand me, Yes, said Anne candidly.
I've heard that you and he wereengaged once. So we were twenty
five years ago, a lifetime ago, and we were to have been married

(05:12:21):
that next spring. I had mywedding dress maid, although nobody but mother
and Stephen ever knew that we'd beenengaged in a way almost all our lives,
you might say. When Stephen wasa little boy, his mother would
bring him here when she came tosee my mother. And the second time
he ever came, he was nineand I was six. He told me
out in the garden that he hadpretty well made up his mind to marry
me when he grew up. Iremember that. I said thank you.

(05:12:42):
And when he was gone, Itold mother very gravely that there was a
great weight off my mind because Iwasn't frightened any more about having to be
an old maid. How poor motherlaughed, and what went wrong, asked
Anne breathlessly. We had just astupid, silly, commonplace quarrel, so
commonplace that I feel, believe me. I don't even remember just how it

(05:13:03):
began. I hardly know who wasthe more to blame for it. Stephen
did really begin it, but Isuppose I provoked him by some foolishness of
mine. He had a rival ortwo. You see. I was vain
and coquettish and liked to tease hima little. He was a very high
strung, sensitive fellow. Well,we parted in a temper on both sides.
But I thought it would come allright, And it would have if

(05:13:23):
Stephen hadn't come back too soon.Anne, my dear, I'm sorry to
say, Miss Lavender dropped her voiceas if she were about to confess a
predilection for murdering people. That Iam a dreadfully sulky person. Oh you
needn't smile. It's only too true. I'd do sulk. And Stephen came
back before I had finished sulking.I wouldn't listen to him, and I

(05:13:44):
wouldn't forgive him, and so hewent away for good. He was too
proud to come again. And thenI sulked because he didn't come. I
might have sent for him, perhaps, but I couldn't humble myself to do
that. I was just as proudas he was. Pride and sulkiness make
a very bad combination, Anne,But I could never care for anybody else,
and I didn't want to. Iknew I would rather be an old

(05:14:06):
maid for a thousand years than marryanybody who wasn't Stephen Irving. Well,
it all seems like a dream now, of course. How sympathetic you look,
Anne, how sympathetic is only seventeencan look? But don't overdo it.
I'm really a very happy, contentedlittle person in spite of my broken
heart. My heart did break,if ever a heart did, when I
realized that Stephen Irving was not comingback. But Anne, a broken heart

(05:14:30):
in real life isn't half as dreadfulas it is in books. It's a
good deal, like a bad tooth, though you won't think that a very
romantic simile. It takes spells ofaching and gives you a sleepless night now
and then, but between times itlets you enjoy life and dreams and echoes
and peanut candy as if there werenothing The matter with it, and now
you're looking disappointed. You don't thinkI'm half as interesting a person as you

(05:14:52):
did five minutes ago, when youbelieved I was always the prey of a
tragic memory bravely hidden beneath external smiles. That's the worst nor the best of
real life. Anne. It won'tlet you be miserable. It keeps on
trying to make you comfortable and succeedingeven when you're determined to be unhappy and
romantic. Isn't this candy scrumptious?I've eaten far more than is good for

(05:15:14):
me already, but I'm going tokeep recklessly on. After a little silence,
Miss Lavender said abruptly, it gaveme a shock to hear about Stephen's
son that first day you were here, Anne. I have never been able
to mention him to you since,but I've wanted to know all about him.
What sort of a boy is he? He is the dearest, sweetest
child I ever knew, Miss Lavendar, and he pretends things too, just
as you and I do. Ilike to see him, said Miss Lavender

(05:15:38):
softly, as if talking to herself. I wonder if he looks anything like
the little dream boy who lives herewith me, my little dream boy.
If you would like to see Paul, I'll bring him through with me sometime,
said Anne. I would like it, but not too soon. I
want to get used to the thought. There might be more pain than pleasure
in it. If he looked toomuch like Stephen, or if he didn't

(05:15:59):
look enough like him. In amonth's time, you may bring him accordingly.
A month later, Anne and Paulwalked through the woods to the stone
house and met Miss Lavendar in thelane. She had not been expecting them
just then, and she turned verypale. So this is Stephen's boy,
she said in a low tone,taking Paul's hand and looking at him as
he stood, beautiful and boyish inhis smart little fur coat and cap.

(05:16:21):
He is very like his father.Everybody says I'm a chip off the old
block, remarked Paul, quiet athis ease, Anne, who had been
watching the little scene, drew arelieved breath. She saw that Miss Lavendar
and Paul had taken to each other, and that there would be no constraint
or stiffness. Miss Lavendar was avery sensible person, in spite of her
dreams and romance, and after thatfirst little betrayal. She tucked her feelings

(05:16:42):
out of sight and entertained Paul asbrightly and naturally as if he were anybody's
son who had come to see her. They all had a jolly afternoon together,
and such a feast of fat thingsby way of supper as would have
made old missus Irving hold up herhands in horror, believing that Paul's digestion
would be ruined for ever. Comeagain, Laddie, said Miss Lavendar,
shaking hands with him at parting.You may kiss me if you like,

(05:17:04):
said Paul gravely. Miss Lavendar stoopedand kissed him. How did you know
I wanted to, she whispered,because you looked at me just as my
little mother used to do when shewanted to kiss me. As a rule,
I don't like to be kissed boys, don't you know, Miss Lewis.
But I think i'd rather like tohave you kiss me, and of
course i'll come to see you again. I think i'd like to have you
for a particular friend of mine.If you don't object, I I don't

(05:17:27):
think I shall object, said MissLavendar. She turned and went in very
quickly, but a moment later shewas waving a gay and smiling good bye
to them from the window. Ilike Miss Lavendar, announced Paul as they
walked through the beech woods. Ilike the way she looked at me,
and I liked her stone house.And I like Carlotta the Fourth. I
wish Grandma Irving had a Carlot ofthe Fourth instead of a Merry Joe.

(05:17:48):
I feel sure Carlotta the Fourth wouldn'tthink I was wrong in my upper story
when I told her what I thinkabout things. Wasn't that a splendid tea
we had, Teacher, Grandma says, a boy shouldn't be thinking about what
he gets to eat, but hecan't help it sometimes when he is real
hungry. You know, Teacher,I don't think Miss Lavender would make a
boy eat porridge for breakfast if hedidn't like it. She'd get things for
him he did like. But ofcourse Paul was nothing if not fair minded.

(05:18:12):
That mightn't be very good for him. It's very nice for a change,
though, teacher, you know.End of Chapter twenty three. Chapter
twenty four A prophet in his owncountry One May day, Avonlea folks were
mildly excited over some Avonlea notes,signed Observer, which appeared in the Charlottetown

(05:18:33):
Daily Enterprise. Gossip ascribed the authorshipfareof to Charlie Sloane, partly because the
said Charlie had indulged in similar literaryflights in times past, and partly because
one of the notes seemed to embodya sneer at Gilbert Blythe Avonlea juvenile society
persisted in regarding Gilbert Blythe and CharlieSloane as rivals in the good graces of
a certain damsel with gray eyes andan imagination. Gossip as usual was wrong.

(05:18:59):
Gilbert Blythe, aided and abetted byAnne, had written the notes,
putting in the one about himself asa blind. Only two of the notes
have any bearing on this history.Rumor has it that there will be a
wedding in our village ere the daisiesare in bloom. A new and highly
respected citizen will lead to the hymenealAltar, one of our most popular ladies.
Uncle Abe, our well known weatherprophet, predicts a violent storm of

(05:19:23):
thunder and lightning for the evening ofthe twenty third of May, beginning at
seven o'clock sharp the area of thestorm will extend over the greater part of
the province. People traveling that eveningwill do well to take umbrellas and mackintoshes
with them. Uncle Abe really haspredicted a storm for some time this spring,
said Gilbert. But do you supposemister Harrison really does go to see

(05:19:44):
Isabella Andrews. No, said Anne, laughing. I'm sure he only goes
to play checkers with mister Harrison Andrews. But missus Lynde says she knows Isabella
Andrews must be going to get married. She's in such good spirits this spring.
Poor old uncle Abe felt rather indignantover the notes. He suspected that
observer was making fun of him.He angrily denied having assigned any particular date

(05:20:04):
for his storm, but nobody believedhim. Life and Avonlea continued on the
smooth and even tenor of its way. The planting was put in. The
Improvers celebrated an Arbor day. Eachimprover set out or caused to be set
out five ornamental trees. As thesociety now numbered forty members, this meant
a total of two hundred young trees. Early oats greened over the red fields,

(05:20:27):
apple orchards flung great blossoming arms aboutthe farm houses, and the snow
queen adorned itself as a bride forher husband. Anne liked to sleep with
her window open and let the cherryfragrance blow over her face all night.
She thought it very poetical. Marillathought she was risking her life. Thanksgiving
should be celebrated in the spring,said Anne one evening to Marilla, as

(05:20:48):
they sat on the front doorsteps andlistened to the silver, sweet chorus of
the frogs. I think it wouldbe ever so much better than having it
in November, when everything is deador asleep. Then you have to remember
to be thankful. But in Mayone simply can't help being thankful that they
are alive, if for nothing else. I feel exactly as Eve must have
felt in the garden of Eden beforethe trouble began. Is that grass in

(05:21:11):
the hollow green or golden? Itseems to me, Marilla, that a
pearl of a day like this,when the blossoms are out and the winds
don't know where to blow from next, for sheer crazy delight, must be
pretty near as good as heaven.Marilla looked scandalized and glanced apprehensively around to
make sure the twins were not withinearshot. They came around the corner of
the house just then. Ain't itan awful, nice smelling evening, asked

(05:21:33):
Davy, sniffing delightedly as he swunga hoe in his grammy hands. He
had been working in his garden thatspring. Marilla, by way of turning
Davy's passion for reveling and mud andclay into useful channels, had given him
and Dora a small plot of groundfor a garden. Both had eagerly gone
to work in a characteristic fashion.Dora planted, weeded, and watered carefully,
systematically and dispassionately. As a result, her plot was already green with

(05:21:57):
prim orderly little rope of vegetables andannuals. Davy, however, worked with
more zeal than discretion. He dugand hoed and raked and watered and transplanted
so energetically that his seeds had nochance for their lives. How is your
garden coming on, Davy, boy, asked Anne, kind of slow,
said Davy, with a sigh.I don't know why the things don't grow

(05:22:18):
better. Milty Boulcher says, Imust have planted them in the dark of
the moon, and that's the wholetrouble. He says, you must never
sow seeds, or kill pork,or cut your hair, or do any
important thing in the wrong time ofthe moon. Is that true, Anne?
I want to know, maybe ifyou didn't pull your plants up by
the roots every other day to seehow they're getting on at the other end,
they'd do better, said Marilla sarcastically. I only pulled six of'em

(05:22:41):
up, protested Davy. I wantedto see if there was grubs at the
roots. Milty Boulter said, ifit wasn't the moon's fault, it must
be grubs. But I only foundone grub. It was a great,
big, juicy, curly grub.I put him on a stone and got
another stone and smashed him flat.He made a jolly squish. I tell
you I was sorry there wasn't moreof em. Dora's garden was planned at
the same time as mine, andher things are growing all right. It

(05:23:03):
can't be the moon, concluded Davyin a reflective tone. Marilla, Look
at that apple tree, said Anne. Why the thing is human. It's
reaching out long arms to pick itsown pink skirts daintily up and provoke us
to admiration. Those yellow duchess treesalways bearewell, said Marilla complacently. That
tree'll be loaded this year. I'mreal glad. They're great for pies.

(05:23:26):
But neither Marilla, nor Anne noranybody else was faded to make pies out
of yellow duchess apples that year.The twenty third of May came an unseasonably
warm day, as none realized morekeenly than Anne and her little beehive of
pupils, sweltering over fractions and syntaxin the Avonleas school room. A hot
breeze blew all the forenoon, butafter noon hour it died away into a

(05:23:47):
heavy stillness. At half past three, Anne heard a low rumble of thunder.
She promptly dismissed school at once sothat the children might get home before
the storm came. As they wentout to the playground, Anne perceived a
shadow and gloom over the world,in spite of the fact that the sun
was still shining brightly. Annetta Bellcaught her hand nervously. Oh, teacher,
look at that awful cloud. Annelooked and gave an exclamation of dismay.

(05:24:11):
In the northwest. A mass ofcloud such as she had never in
all her life beheld before, wasrapidly rolling up. It was dead black,
save where its curled and fringed edgesshowed a ghastly livid white. There
was something about it indescribably menacing asit gloomed up in the clear blue sky.
Now and again, a bolt oflightning shot across it, followed by

(05:24:33):
a savage growl. It hung solow that it almost seemed to be touching
the tops of the wooded hills.Mister Harmon Andrews came clattering up the hill
in his truck wagon, urging histeam of graze to their utmost speed.
He pulled them to a halt oppositethe school. Guess Uncle Lates hit it
for once in his life. Anne, He shouted his storm's coming a little
ahead of time. Did you eversee the like of that cloud? Here?
All you young ones that are goingmy way, pile in, and

(05:24:56):
those that ain't scoop for the postoffice, if you've got more than a
quarter of a mile ago, staythere till the showers over. Anne caught
davyan door by the hands and flewdown the hill. Along the birch path
and passed violet Veil and Willowmere asfast as the twin's fat legs could go.
They reached Green Gables not a momenttoo soon, and were joined at
the door by Marilla, who hadbeen hustling her ducks and chickens under shelter.

(05:25:18):
As they dashed into the kitchen,the light seemed to vanish, as
if blown out by some mighty breath. The awful cloud rolled over the sun,
and a darkness as of late twilightfell across the world. At the
same moment, with a crash ofthunder and a blinding glare of lightning,
the hail swooped down and blotted thelandscape out in one white fury. Through
all the clamor of the storm camethe thud of torn branches striking the house,

(05:25:41):
and the sharp crack of breaking glass. In three minutes, every pane
in the west and north windows wasbroken, and the hail poured in through
the apertures, covering the floor withstones, the smallest of which was as
big as a hen's egg. Forthree quarters of an hour, the storm
raged unabated, and no one whounderwent it ever forgot it. Marilla,
for once in her life, shakenout of her composure by sheer terror,

(05:26:02):
knelt by her rocking chair in acorner of the kitchen, gasping and sobbing
between the deafening thunder peels. Annewhite as paper, had dragged the sofa
away from the window and sat onit with a twin on either side.
Davy at the first crash, ithout, Anne, Anne, Is it
the judgment? Day? Anne?And I've never meant to be naughty?
And then had buried his face inAnne's lap and kept it there, his

(05:26:23):
little body quivering. Dora, somewhatpale but quite composed, sat with her
hand clasped in hands, quiet andmotionless. It is doubtful if an earthquake
would have disturbed Dora. Then,almost as suddenly as it began, the
storm ceased, the hail stopped,the thunder rolled and muttered away to the
eastward, and the sun burst out, merry and radiant over a world so

(05:26:45):
changed that it seemed an absurd thingto think that a scant three quarters of
an hour could have effected such atransformation. Marilla rose from her knees,
weak and trembling, and dropped onher rocker. Her face was haggard,
and she looked ten years older.If we all come out of that alive,
she asked solemnly, you bet wehave, pied Davy, cheerfully,
quite his own man. Again.I wasn't a bit scared either, only

(05:27:08):
just at the first it come ona fellow so sudden, I made up
my mind, quick as a wink, that I wouldn't fight Teddy Sloane on
Monday, as I'd promised. Butnow maybe I will say, Dora,
was you scared? Yes, Iwas a little scared, said Dora primly.
But I held tight to Anne's handand said my prayers over and over
again. Well I'd have said myprayers too if i'd thought of it,

(05:27:29):
said Davy. But he added triumphantly, You see I came through just as
safe as you. For all Ididn't say em. Anne got Marilla a
glassful of her potent currant wine.How potent it was, Anne, in
her earlier days had had all toogood reason to know. And then they
went to the door to look outon the strange scene. Far and wide
was a white carpet knee deep ofhailstones. Drifts of them were heaped up

(05:27:52):
under the eaves and on the steps. When three or four days later those
hailstones melted, the havoc they hadrun was plainly seen, for every green
growing thing in the field or gardenwas cut off. Not only was every
blossom stripped from the apple trees,but great boughs and branches were wrenched away.
And out of the two hundred treesset out by the improvers, by

(05:28:14):
far the greater number were snapped offor torn to shreds. Can it possibly
be the same world it was anhour ago, asked Anne dazedly. It
must have taken longer than that toplay such havoc. The like of this
has never been known in Prince EdwardIsland, said Marilla. Never. I
remember when I was a girl thatwas a bad store, but it was
nothing to this. We'll hear ofterrible destruction, you may be sure.

(05:28:37):
I do hope none of the childrenwere caught out in it, murmured Anne
anxiously. As it was discovered laternone of the children had been, since
all those who had any distance togo had taken mister Andrew's excellent advice and
sought refuge at the post office.There comes John Henry Carter, said Marilla.
John Henry came wading through the hailstoneswith a rather scared grin. Oh

(05:28:59):
hain't they's awful, Miss Cuthbert.Mister Harrison sent me over to see if
yous had come out. All right, We're none of us killed, said
Marilla grimly, And none of thebuildings was struck. I hope you got
off equally. Well, Yes'm notquite so well, ma'am. We was
struck. The lightning knocked over thekitchen chimbly and come down the flu and
knocked over Ginger's cage and tore ahole in the floor and went into the
cellar. Yes'm was Ginger hurt?Queried Anne. Yes'm he was hurt pretty

(05:29:23):
bad. He was killed. Lateron, Anne went over to comfort mister
Harrison. She found him sitting bythe table, stroking Ginger's gay dead body
with a trembling hand. Poor Gingerwon't call you any more names, Anne,
he said mournfully. Anne could neverhave imagined herself crying on Ginger's account,
but the tears came into her eyes. He was all the company I

(05:29:45):
had, Anne, and now he'sdead. Well, well, I'm an
old fool to care so much.I'll let on. I don't care.
I know you're going to say somethingsympathetic as soon as I stopped talking,
but don't. If you did,I'd cry like a baby. Hasn't this
been a terrible storm? I guessfolks won't laugh at Uncle Abe's predictions again.
Seems as if all the storms thathe's been prophesying all his life that

(05:30:06):
never happened came all at once,beats all how he struck The very day
though, don't it look at themess we have here. I must hustle
round and get some boards to patchup that hole in the floor. Avonlea.
Folks did nothing the next day butvisit each other and compare damages.
The roads were impassable for wheels byreason of the hailstones, so they walked
or rode on horseback. The mailcame late with ill tidings from all over

(05:30:27):
the province. Houses had been struck, people killed and injured, the whole
telephone and telegraph system had been disorganized, and any number of young stock exposed
in the fields had perished. UncleAbe waded out to the blacksmith's forge early
in the morning and spent the wholeday there. It was Uncle Abe's hour
of triumph, and he enjoyed itto the full. It would be doing

(05:30:48):
Uncle Labe an injustice to say thathe was glad the storm had happened,
But since it had to be,he was very glad he had predicted it
to the very day too. UncleAbe forgot that he had ever denied setting
the day. As for the triflingdiscrepancy in the hour, that was nothing.
Gilbert arrived at Green Gables in theevening and found Marilla and Anne busily
engaged in nailing strips of oilcloth overthe broken windows. Goodness only knows when

(05:31:11):
we'll get glass for them, saidMarilla. Mister Barry went over to Carmody
this afternoon, but not a paincould he get for love or money.
Lawson and Blair were cleaned out bythe Carmody people by ten o'clock. Was
the storm bad at White Sands,Gilbert, I should say so. I
was caught in the school with allthe children, and I thought some of
them would go mad with fright.Three of them fainted, and two girls
took hysterics, and Tommy Blewett didnothing but shriek at the top of his

(05:31:33):
voice the whole time. I onlysquilled once said Davy proudly. My garden
was all smashed flat, he continuedmournfully. But so was Doris, he
added, in a tone which indicatedthat there was yet bomb and gilead Anne
came running down from the west gable. Oh, Gilbert, have you heard
the news? Mister Levi Bolter's oldhouse was struck and burned to the ground.

(05:31:55):
It seems to me that I amdreadfully wicked to feel glad over that
when so much damage has been done. Miss mister Boulter says he believes the
Avee is magiced up that storm onpurpose. Well, one thing is certain,
said Gilbert, laughing. Observer hasmade Uncle Abe's reputation as a weather
prophet. Uncle Abe's storm will godown in local history. It is a
most extraordinary coincidence that it should havecome on the very day we selected.

(05:32:17):
I actually have a half guilty feelingas if I really had magiced it up.
We may as well rejoice over theold house being removed, for there's
not much to rejoice over where ouryoung trees are concerned. Not ten of
them have escaped. Ah well,we'll just have to plant them over again
next spring, said Anne. Philosophically, that is one good thing about this
world. There are always sure tobe more springs. End of Chapter twenty

(05:32:41):
four. Chapter twenty five An AvonleasScandal. One blithe June morning, a
fortnight after Uncle Abe's storm, Annecame slowly through the green Gables yard from
the garden, carrying in her handstwo blighted stalks of white narcissus. Look,
Marilla, she said, sorrowfully,holding up the flowers before the eyes
of a grim lady with her hairquaffed in a green gingham apron, who

(05:33:04):
was going into the house with aplucked chicken. These are the only buds
the storms spared, and even theyare imperfect. I am so sorry I
wanted some for Matthew's grave. Hewas always so fond of June lilies.
I kind of miss them myself,admitted Marilla. Though it doesn't seem right
to lament over them when so manyworse things have happened, all the crops

(05:33:26):
destroyed, as well as the fruit. But people have sown their oats over
again, said Anne comfortingly. Andmister Harrison says he thinks if we have
a good summer they will come outall right. Though late and my annuals
are all coming up again. Butoh, nothing can replace the June lilies.
Poor little hester Gray will have noneeither. I went all the way
back to her garden last night,but there wasn't one. I'm sure she'll

(05:33:48):
miss them. I don't think it'sright for you to say such things,
Anne, I really don't, saidMarilla severely. Hester Gray has been dead
for thirty years, and her spiritis in heaven. I hope yes.
But I believe she loves and remembersher garden here, still, said Anne.
I'm sure, no matter how longI'd lived in heaven, I'd looked
down and see somebody putting flowers onmy grave. If I had had a

(05:34:10):
garden here like hester Gray's, itwould take me more than thirty years,
even in Heaven, to forget beinghomesick for it by spells. Well,
don't let the twins hear you talkinglike that, was Marilla's feeble protest.
As she carried her chicken into thehouse. Anne pinned her narciss eye on
her hair and went to the lanegate, where she stood for a while
sunning herself in the June brightness,before going in to attend to her Saturday

(05:34:32):
morning duties. The world was growinglovely again. Old mother Nature was doing
her best to remove the traces ofthe storm, and though she was not
to succeed fully for many a moon, she was really accomplishing wonders. I
wish I could just be idle allday to day, Anne told a bluebird
who was singing and swinging on awillow bough. But a school ma'am,
who is also helping to bring uptwins can't indulge in laziness, Bertie,

(05:34:55):
how sweet you are singing, littlebird. You are just putting the feelings
of my heart into song, everso much better than I could myself.
Why who is coming? An expresswagon was jolting up the lane with two
people on the front seat and abig trunk behind. When it drew near,
Anne recognized the driver as the sonof the station agent at Bright River,
But his companion was a stranger,a scrap of a woman who sprang

(05:35:17):
nimbly down at the gate almost beforethe horse came to a standstill. She
was a very pretty little person,evidently nearer fifty than forty, but with
rosy cheeks, sparkling black eyes,and shining black hair, surmounted by a
wonderful, beflowered and beplumed bonnet.In spite of having driven eight miles over
a dusty road, she was asneat as if she had just stepped out
of the proverbial band box. Isthis where mister James A. Harrison lives,

(05:35:41):
she inquired briskly. No, misterHarrison lives over there, said Anne,
quite lost in astonishment. Well,I did think this place seemed too
tidy, much too tidy for JamesA to be living here, unless he
has greatly changed since I knew him, chirped the little lady. Is it
true that James A Is going tobe married to some woman living in this
settlement? No? Oh, no, cried Anne, flushing so guiltily that

(05:36:03):
the stranger looked curiously at her,as if she half suspected her of matrimonial
designs on mister Harrison. But Isaw it in an island paper, persisted
the fair unknown A friend sent amarked copy to me. Friends are always
so ready to do such things.James A's name was written in over new
citizen. Oh, that note wasonly meant as a joke, gasped Anne.
Mister Harrison has no intention of marryinganybody. I assure you he hasn't.

(05:36:26):
I'm very glad to hear it,said the rosy lady, climbing nimbly
back to her seat in the wagon, because he happens to be married already.
I am his wife. Oh youmay well look surprised. I suppose
he has been masquerading as a bachelorin breaking hearts right and left. Well,
well, James, ah, noddingvigorously over the fields at the long
White House. Your fun is over. I am here, though I wouldn't

(05:36:48):
have bothered coming if I hadn't thoughtyou were up to some mischief, I
suppose, turning to Anne, thatparrot of his is as profane as ever.
His parrot is dead, I think, gasped poor Anne, who couldn't
have felt sure of her own nameat that precise moment. Dead. Everything
will be all right, then,cried the rosy lady, jubilantly. I
can manage James A if that birdis out of the way, with which

(05:37:11):
cryptic utterance, she went joyfully onher way, and Anne flew to the
kitchen door to meet Marilla. Anne. Who was that woman? Marilla,
said Anne, solemnly, but withdancing eyes. Do I look as if
I were crazy, not more sothan usual, said Marilla, with no
thought of being sarcastic. Well thendo you think I am awake? Anne?
What nonsense has got into you?Who was that woman? I say,

(05:37:33):
Marilla, If I'm not crazy andnot asleep, she can't be such
stuff as dreams are made of.She must be real anyway. I am
sure I couldn't have imagined such abonnet, She says. She is mister
Harrison's wife, Marilla. Marilla staredin her turn his wife, Anne,
surely, then, what has hebeen passing himself off as an unmarried man?

(05:37:55):
For I don't suppose he did,really, said Anne, trying to
be just. We never said hewasn't married. People simply took it for
granted. Oh, Marilla, whatwill missus Lynde say to this? They
found out what missus Lynde had tosay when she came up that evening.
Missus Lynde wasn't surprised. Missus Lyndehad always expected something of the sort.
Missus Lynde had always known there wassomething about mister Harrison. To think of

(05:38:18):
his deserting his wife, She said, indignantly, It's like something you'd read
of in the states, But whowould expect such a thing to happen right
here in Avonlea. But we don'tknow that he deserted her protested Anne determined
to believe her friend innocent till hewas proved guilty. We don't know the
rights of it at all. Wellwe soon will. I am going straight
over there, said missus Lynde,who had never learned that there was such

(05:38:38):
a word as delicacy in the dictionary. I'm not supposed to know anything about
her arrival, and mister Harrison wasto bring some medicine for Thomas from Carmody
to day, so that will bea good excuse. I'll find out the
whole story and come in and tellyou. On the way back, Missus
Lynde rushed in where Anne had fearedto tread. Nothing would have induced the
latter to go over to the Harrisonplace, but she had her natural and

(05:38:59):
proper shi of curiosity, and shefelt secretly glad that missus Lynde was going
to solve the mystery. She andMarilla waited expectantly for that good lady's return,
but waited in vain. Missus Lyndedid not revisit Green Gables that night,
Davy, arriving home at nine o'clockfrom the Bolter place, explained why
I met Missus Lynde and some strangewoman in the hollow, he said,
And gracious how they were talking bothat once. Missus Lynde said to tell

(05:39:22):
you she was sorry it was toolate to call tonight. Anne. I'm
awful hungry. We had tea atMilty's at four, and I think Missus
Boulter is real mean. She didn'tgive us any preserves or cake, and
even the bread was scarce, Davy. When you go visiting, you must
never criticize anything you are given toeat, said Anne solemnly. It is
very bad manners. All right,I'll only think it, said Davy,

(05:39:45):
cheerfully. Do give a fellow somesupper, Anne, Anne looked at Marilla,
who followed her into the pantry andshut the door cautiously. You can
give him some jam on his bread. I know what tea at Levi Boulter's
is apt to be. Davy tookhis slice of bread and jam with a
sigh. It's a kind of disappointingworld, after all, he remarked.
Milty has a cat that takes fits. She's took a fit regular every day

(05:40:08):
for three weeks. Milty says,it's awful fun to watch her. I
went down to day on purpose tosee her have one, but the mean
old thing wouldn't take a fit andjust kept healthy as healthy though Milty and
Me hung round all the afternoon andwaited, but never mind. Davy brightened
up as the insidious comfort of theplum jam stole into his soul. Maybe
I'll see her in one some time. Yet, it doesn't seem likely she'd

(05:40:30):
stop having them all at once whenshe's been so in the habit of it,
does it? This jam's awful nice? Davy had no sorrows that the
plum jam could not cure. Sundayproved so rainy that there was no stirring
abroad, but by Monday everybody hadheard some version of the Harrison story.
The school buzzed with it, andDavy came home full of information. Marilla,

(05:40:52):
mister Harrison has a new wife,while not exactly new, but they've
stopped being merry for quite a spell. Milty says, I always sposed people
had to keep up being married oncethey've begun, but Milty says, no,
there's ways of stopping if you can'tagree. Milty says, one way
is just to start off and leaveyour wife, and that's what mister Harrison
did. Milty says mister Harrison lefthis wife because she throwed things at him,
hard things, and Artie Sloane saysit was because she wouldn't let him

(05:41:15):
smoke, and Ned Clay says itwas because she never let up scolding him.
I wouldn't leave my wife for anythinglike that. I just put my
foot down and say, Missus Davy, you've just got to do what'll please
meet, because I'm a man that'llsettle her pretty quick, I guess.
But Anetta Clay says she left himbecause you wouldn't scrape his boots at the
door, and she doesn't blame her. I'm going right over to mister Harrison's

(05:41:37):
this minut and see what she's like. Davy soon returned, somewhat cast down.
Missus Harrison was away. She's goneto Carmody with missus Rachel Lynde to
get new paper for the parlor.And mister Harrison said to tell Anne to
go over and see him because hewants to have a talk with her and
say the floor is scrubbed, andmister Harrison is shaved. Though there wasn't
any preaching yesterday, the Harrison kitchenwore a very familiar look to Anne.

(05:42:00):
The floor was indeed scrubbed to awonderful pitch of purity, and so was
every article of furniture in the room. The stove was polished until she could
see her face in it. Thewalls were whitewashed, and the window panes
sparkled in the sunlight. By thetable sat mister Harrison in his working clothes,
which on Friday had been noted forsundry rents and tatters, but which
were now neatly patched and brushed.He was sprucely shaved, and what little

(05:42:23):
hair he had was carefully trimmed.Sit down, Anne, Sit down,
said mister Harrison, in a tonebut two degrees removed from that which Avonlea
people used at funerals. Emily's goneover to carmody with Rachel Lynde. She's
struck up a lifelong friendship already withRachel Lynde. Beats all how contrary women
are well, Anne, My easytimes are over all over. Its neatness

(05:42:48):
and tidiness for me, For therest of my natural life. I suppose
mister Harrison did his best to speakdolefully, but an irrepressible twinkle in his
eye betrayed him. Mister Harrison,you are glad your wife has come back,
cried Anne, shaking her finger athim. You needn't pretend you're not,
because I can see it plainly.Mister Harrison relaxed into a sheepish smile.

(05:43:08):
Well, well, I'm getting usedto it, he conceded. I
can't say I was sorry to seeEmily. A man really needs some protection
in a community like this, wherehe can't play a game of checkers with
a neighbor without being accused of wantingto marry that neighbor's sister and having it
put in the paper. Nobody wouldhave supposed you went to see Isabella Andrews
if you hadn't pretended to be unmarried, said Anne severely. I didn't pretend

(05:43:33):
I was. If anybody had askedme if I was married, I'd have
said I was, but they justtook it for granted. I wasn't anxious
to talk about the matter. Iwas feeling too sore over it. It
would have been nuts for missus.Rachel Lynde. If she had known my
wife had left me, wouldn't itnow? But some people say that you
left her. She started it,Anne, she started it. I'm going
to tell you the whole story,for I don't want you to think worse

(05:43:55):
of me than I deserve, norof Emily neither. But let's go out
on the veranda. Everything is sof fearful neat in here that it kind
of makes me homesick. I supposeI'll get used to it after a while,
but it eases me up to lookat the yard. Emily hasn't had
time to tidy it up yet.As soon as they were comfortably seated on
the veranda, mister Harrison began histale of woe. I lived in Scottsford,

(05:44:15):
New Brunswick before I came here.Anne, my sister kept house for
me, and she suited me fine. She was just reasonably tidy, and
she let me alone and spoiled me, so, Emily says. But three
years ago she died. Before shedied, she worried a lot about what
was to become of me, andfinally she got me to promise he'd get
married. She advised me to takeEmily Scott because Emily had money of her

(05:44:37):
own and was a pattern housekeeper.I said, says I. Emily Scott
wouldn't look at me. You askher and see, says my sister.
And just to ease her mind,I promised her I would and I did,
and Emily said she'd have me.Never was so surprised in my life.
Anne. A smart, pretty littlewoman like her, and an old
fellow like me. I tell you, I thought at first I was in

(05:44:57):
luck. Well. We were marriedand took a little wedding trip to Saint
John for a fortnight, and thenwe went home. We got home at
ten o'clock at night, and I'dgive you my word, Anne that in
half an hour that woman was atworkhouse cleaning. Oh. I know you're
thinking my house needed it. You'vegot a very expressive face, Anne,
Your thoughts just come out on itlike print. But it didn't not that

(05:45:18):
bad. It had got pretty mixedup while I was keeping bachelor's hall,
I admit, but I'd got awoman to come in and clean it before
I was married, and there'd beenconsiderable painting and fixing done. I tell
you, if you took Emily intoa brand new white marble palace, she'd
be into the scrubbing as soon asshe could get an old dress on.
Well, she cleaned house till oneo'clock that night, and at four she

(05:45:38):
was up and at it again.And she kept on that way far as
I could see. She never stopped. It was scour and sweep and dust,
everlasting, except on Sundays, andthen she was just longing for Monday
to begin again. But it washer way of amusing herself. And I
could have reconciled myself to it ifshe'd left me alone. But that she
wouldn't do. She'd set out tomake me over, but she had caught

(05:46:00):
me young enough. I wasn't allowedto come into the house unless I changed
my boots for slippers at the door. I daresn't smoke a pipe for my
life unless I went to the barn. And I didn't use good enough grammar.
Emily had been a schoolteacher in herearly life, and she'd never got
over it. Then she hated tosee me eating with my knife. Well,
there it was pick and nag,everlasting. But I suppose Anne to

(05:46:21):
be fair. I was cantankerous too. I didn't try to improve as I
might have done. I just gotcranky and disagreeable when she found fault.
I told her one day she hadn'tcomplained of my grammar when I proposed to
her. It wasn't an overly tactfulthing to say. A woman would forgive
a man for beating her sooner thanfor hinting. She was too much pleased
to get him well. We bickeredalong like that, and it wasn't exactly

(05:46:44):
pleasant, But we might have gotused to each other after a spell if
it hadn't been for Ginger. Gingerwas the rock we split on at last.
Emily didn't like parrots, and shecouldn't stand Ginger's profane habits of speech.
I was attached to the bird formy brother the Sailor's sake. My
brother the Sailor was a pet ofmine when we were little tads, and
he'd sent Ginger to me when hewas dying. I didn't see any sense

(05:47:04):
in getting worked up over his swearing. There's nothing I hate worse in profanity
and a human being, But ina parrot. That's just repeating what it's
heard, with no more understanding ofit than i'd have of Chinese. Allowances
might be made, but Emily couldn'tsee it that way. Women ain't logical.
She tried to break Ginger of swearing, but she hadn't any better success
than she had in trying to makeme stop saying I seen in them.

(05:47:26):
Things seemed as if the more shetried, the worse Ginger got. Same
as me. Well, things wenton like this, both of us getting
raspier, till the climax came.Emily invited our minister and his wife to
tea, and another minister and hiswife that was visiting them. I'd promise
to put Ginger away in some safeplace where nobody would hear him. Emily
wouldn't touch his cage with a tenfoot pole, and I meant to do

(05:47:48):
it for I didn't want the ministersto hear anything unpleasant in my house.
But it slipped my mind. Emilywas worrying me so much about clean collars
and grammar that it wasn't any wonderand I never thought of that poor parrot
till we sat down to tea.Just as Minister number one was in the
very middle of saying grace, Ginger, who was on the veranda outside the
dining room window, lifted up hisvoice. The gobbler had come into view

(05:48:11):
in the yard, and the sightof a gobbler always had none wholesome effect
on Ginger. He surpassed himself thattime. You can smile, Anne,
and I don't deny I've chuckled someover it since myself, But at the
time I felt almost as much mortifiedas Emily. I went out and carried
Ginger to the barn. I can'tsay I enjoyed the meal. I knew
by the look of Emily that therewas trouble brewing for Ginger and james A.

(05:48:33):
When the folks went away, Istarted for the cow pasture, and
on the way I did some thinking. I felt sorry for Emily and kind
of fancied I hadn't been so thoughtfulof her as I might. And besides,
I wondered if the ministers would thinkthat Ginger had learned his vocabulary from
me. The long and short ofit was, I decided that Ginger would
have to be mercifully disposed of,And when I drove the cows home,

(05:48:55):
I went in to tell Emily so. But there was no Emily, and
there was a lets her on thetable. Just according to the rule in
story books, Emily writ that I'dhave to choose between her and Ginger.
She'd gone back to her own houseand there she would stay till I went
and told her I'd got rid ofthat parrot. I was all riled up
Anne, and I said she mightstay till doomsday if she waited for that,
and I stuck to it. Ipacked up her belongings and sent them

(05:49:18):
after her. It made an awfullot of talk. Scottsford was pretty near
as bad as Avonlea for gossip,and everybody sympathized with Emily. It kept
me all cross and cantankerous, andI saw i'd have to get out or
I'd never have any peace. Iconcluded I'd come to the island. I'd
been here when I was a boy, and I liked it. But Emily
had always said she wouldn't live ina place where folks were scared to walk

(05:49:38):
out after dark for fear they'd falloff the edge. So just to be
contrary, I moved over here.And that's all there is to it.
I hadn't ever heard a word fromor about Emily till I come home from
the back field Saturday and found herscrubbing the floor, but with the first
decent dinner I'd had since she leftme already on the table. She told
me to eat first and then we'dtalk, by which I concluded that Emily

(05:50:00):
had learned some lessons about getting alongwith a man. So she's here and
she's going to stay. Seeing theginger's dead and the island's some bigger than
she thought. There's Missus Lynde inher now. No, don't go,
Anne, stay and get acquainted withEmily. She took quite a notion to
you Saturday. Wanted to know whothat handsome, red haired girl was.
At the next house. Missus Harrisonwelcomed Anne radiantly and insisted on her staying

(05:50:22):
to tea. James A has beentelling me all about you and how kind
you've been making cakes and things forhim. She said, I want to
get acquainted with all my new neighborsjust as soon as possible. Missus Lynde
is a lovely woman, isn't sheso friendly? When Anne went home in
the sweet June dusk, missus Harrisonwent with her across the fields where the
fireflies were lighting their starry lamps.I suppose, said Missus Harrison confidentially,

(05:50:45):
that james A has told you ourstory. Yes, then I needn't tell
it. For James A is ajust man and he would tell the truth.
The blame was far from being allon his side. I can see
that now. I wasn't back inmy own house an hour before. I
wished I hadn't been so hasty,but I wouldn't give in. I see
now that I expected too much ofa man, and I was real foolish
to mind his bad grammar. Itdoesn't matter if a man does use bad

(05:51:07):
grammar, so long as he isa good provider and doesn't go poking round
the pantry to see how much sugaryou've used in a week. I feel
that James A and I are goingto be real happy now. I wish
I knew who observer is so thatI could thank him. I owe him
a real debt of gratitude. Annekept her own counsel, and Missus Harrison
never knew that her gratitude found itsway to its object. Anne felt rather

(05:51:29):
bewildered over the far reaching consequences ofthose foolish notes. They had reconciled a
man to his wife and made thereputation of a prophet. Missus Lynde was
in the Green Gables kitchen. Shehad been telling the whole story to Marilla.
Well, and how do you likemissus Harrison, she asked Anne,
very much. I think she's areal nice little woman. That's exactly what
she is, said Missus Rachel withemphasis. And as I've just been saying

(05:51:52):
to Marilla, I think we oughtall to overlook mister Harris's peculiarities for her
sake and try to make her feelat home here. That's what well,
I must get back. Thomas'll bewearying for me. I'll get out a
little. Since Eliza came, andhe seemed a lot better these past few
days. But I never like tobe long away from him. I hear
Gilbert blythe has resigned from White Sands. He'll be off to college in the
fall, I suppose. Missus Rachellooked sharply at Anne. But Anne was

(05:52:17):
bending over a sleepy Davy lodding offon the sofa, and nothing was to
be red in her face. Shecarried Davy away, her oval girlish cheek
pressed against his yellow curly head.As they went up the stairs. Davy
flung a tired arm about Anne's neckand gave her a warm hug and a
sticky kiss. You're awful nice,Anne melty Bolter wrote on his slate to
day and showed it to Jenny's sloaneroses, red and violets, blue sugars,

(05:52:41):
sweet, and so are you,And that spresses my feelings for you
exactly, Anne. End of chaptertwenty five, Chapter twenty six, Around
the Bend, Thomas Lynde faded outof life as quietly and unobtrusively as he
had lived it. His wife wasa tender patient, unwe wearied nurse.
Sometimes Rachel had been a little hardon her Thomas in health when his slowness

(05:53:04):
or meekness had provoked her. Butwhen he became ill, no voice could
be lower, no hand more gentlyskillful, no vitual more uncomplaining. You've
been a good wife to me,Rachel, he once said, simply,
when she was sitting by him inthe dusk, holding his thin, blanched
old hand in her work hardened one, A good wife. I'm sorry I
ain't leaving you better off, butthe children will look after you. They're

(05:53:26):
all smart, capable children, justlike their mother. A good mother,
a good woman. He had fallenasleep then, and the next morning Just
as the white dawn was creeping upover the pointed furs in the hollow,
Marilla went softly into the east gableand wakened Anne. Anne, Thomas Lynde
is gone. Their hired boy justbrought the word I'm going right down to

(05:53:47):
Rachel. On the day after ThomasLynde's funeral, Marilla went about Green Gables
with a strangely preoccupied air. Occasionallyshe looked at Anne, seemed on the
point of saying something, then shookher head and buttoned up her mouth.
After tea, she went down tosee missus Rachel, and when she returned,
she went to the east gable,where Anne was correcting school exercises.

(05:54:07):
How is missus Lynde tonight, askedthe latter. She's feeling calmer and more
composed, answered Marilla, sitting downon Anne's bed, a proceeding which betokened
some unusual mental excitement, for inMarilla's code of household ethics, to sit
on a bed after it was madeup was an unpardonable offense. But she's
very lonely. Eliza had to gohome to day. Her son isn't well,
and she felt she couldn't stay anylonger. When I've finished these exercises,

(05:54:30):
I'll run down and chat awhile withmissus Lynde, said Anne. I
had intended to study some Latin compositionto night, but it can wait.
I suppose Gilbert Blythe is going tocollege in the fall, said Marilla jerkily.
How would you like to go toAnne? Anne looked up in astonishment.
I would like it, of course, Marilla. But it isn't possible.
I guess it can be made possible. I've always felt that you should

(05:54:52):
go. I've never felt easy tothink you were giving it all up on
my account. But Marilla, I'venever been sorry for a moment that I
stayed home. I've been so happy. Oh, these past two years have
been just delightful. Oh. Yes, I know you've been contented enough,
but that isn't the question exactly.You ought to go on with your education.
You've saved enough to put you throughone year at Redmond, and the
money the stock brought in will dofor another year. And there's scholarships and

(05:55:15):
things you might win. Yes,but I can't go, Marilla. Your
eyes are better, of course,but I can't leave you alone with the
twins. They need so much lookingafter I won't be alone with them.
That's what I meant to discuss withyou. I had a long talk with
Rachel to night. Anne. She'sfeeling dreadful, bad over a good many
things. She's not left very welloff. It seems they mortgaged the farm

(05:55:36):
eight years ago to give the youngestboy a start when he went west,
and they've never been able to paymuch more than the interest since. And
then, of course Thomas's illness hascost a good deal. One way or
another. The farm will have tobe sold, and Rachel thinks they'll be
hardly anything left after the bills aresettled. She says she'll have to go
and live with Eliza, and it'sbreaking her heart to think of leaving Avonlea.
A woman of her age doesn't makenew friends and interests easy, and

(05:55:57):
Anne, as she talks about it, the thought came to me that I
would ask her to come and livewith me, But I thought I ought
to talk it over with you firstbefore I said anything to her. If
I had Rachel living with me,you could go to college. How do
you feel about it? I feelas if somebody had handed me the moon
and I didn't know exactly what todo with it, said Anne dazedly.

(05:56:21):
But as for asking missus Lynde tocome here, that is for you to
decide, Marilla. Do you thinkAre you sure you would like it?
Missus Lynde is a good woman anda kind neighbor. But she's got her
faults. You mean to say,well, she has, of course,
But I think I'd rather put upwith worse faults than see Rachel go away
from Avonlea. I'd miss her terrible. She's the only close friend I've got

(05:56:41):
here, and I'd be lost withouther. We've been neighbors for forty five
years, and we've never had aquarrel, though we came rather near at
that time. You flew at missusRachel for calling you homely and red haired?
Do you remember, Anne? Ishould think I do, said Anne
ruefully. People don't forget things likethat. How I hated poor missus Rachel
at that moment, and then thatapology you made her. Well, you

(05:57:03):
were a handful in all conscience,Anne, I did feel so puzzled and
bewildered. How to manage you.Matthew understood you better. Matthew understood everything,
said Anne softly, as she alwaysspoke of him. Well, I
think it could be managed so thatRachel and I wouldn't clash at all.
It always seemed to me that thereason two women can't get along in one
house is that they try to sharethe same kitchen and get in each other's

(05:57:23):
way. Now, if Rachel camehere, she could have the north gable
for her bedroom and the spare roomfor a kitchen as well as not for
we don't really need a spare roomat all. She could put her stove
there and what furniture she wanted tokeep, and be real comfortable and independent.
She'll have enough to live on.Of course, her children'll see to
that. So all I'd be givingher would be house room. Yes,
Anne, as far as I'm concerned, I'd like it, then ask her,

(05:57:45):
said Anne promptly. I'd be verysorry myself to see missus Rachel go
away. And if she comes,continued Marilla, you can go to college
as well as not. She'll becompany for me, and she'll do for
the twins what I can't do.So there's no reason in the world why
you shouldn't go. Anne had along meditation at her window that night,
joy and regret struggle together in herheart. She had come at last,

(05:58:07):
suddenly and unexpectedly, to the bendin the road, and college was around
it with a hundred rainbow hopes andvisions. But Anne realized as well that
when she rounded that curve, shemust leave many sweet things behind, all
the little, simple duties and interestwhich had grown so dear to her in
the last two years, and whichshe had glorified into beauty and delight by
the enthusiasm she had put into them. She must give up her school,

(05:58:30):
and she loved every one of herpupils, even the stupid and naughty ones.
The mere thought of Paul Irving madeher wonder if Redmond were such a
name to conjure with. After all, I've put out a lot of little
roots these two years, Anne toldthe moon. And when I'm pulled up,
they're going to hurt a great deal. But it's best to go,
I think, And as Marilla says, there's no good reason why I shouldn't.

(05:58:52):
I must get out all my ambitionsand dust them. Anne sent in
her resignation the next day, andmissus Rachel, after a heart to heart
talk with Marilla, gratefully accepted theoffer of a home at green Gables.
She elected to remain in her ownhouse for the summer. However, the
farm was not to be sold untilthe fall, and there were many arrangements
to be made. I certainly neverthought of living as far off the road

(05:59:12):
as green Gables, sighed Missus Rachelto herself. But really green Gables doesn't
seem as out of the world asit used to do. Anne has lots
of company, and the twins makeit real lively. And anyhow, I'd
rather live at the bottom of awell than leave Avonlea. These two decisions,
being noised abroad, speedily ousted thearrival of Missus Harrison. In popular
gossip, sage heads were shaken overMarilla Cuthbert's rash step in asking Missus Rachel

(05:59:36):
to live with her. People opinedthat they wouldn't get on together they were
both too fond of their own way, and many doleful predictions were made,
none of which disturbed the parties inquestion at all. They had come to
a clear and distinct understanding of therespective duties and rights of their new arrangements
and meant to abide by them.I won't meddle with you, nor you
with me, Missus Rachel had saiddecisively. And as for the twins,

(05:59:57):
I'll be glad to do all Ican for them, but I won't undertake
to answer Davy's questions. That's whatI'm not an encyclopedia. Neither am I
a Philadelphia lawyer. You'll miss Annefor that. Sometimes. Anne's answers were
about as queer as Davy's questions,said Marilla dryly. The twins will miss
her, and no mistake, buther future can't be sacrificed to Davy's thirst
for information. When he asks questionsI can't answer, I'll just tell him

(06:00:19):
children should be seen and not heard. That was how I was brought up,
and I don't know but what itwas just as good away as all
these new fangled notions for training children. Well, Anne's methods seem to have
worked fairly well with Davy, saidmissus Lynde smilingly. He is a reformed
character, that's what he isn't abad little soul, conceded Marilla. I
never expected to get as fond ofthose children as I have. Davy gets

(06:00:41):
round you somehow, and Dora isa lovely child, although she is kind
of well, kind of monotonous,exactly supplied, missus Rachel. Like a
book where every page is the same. That's what Dora will make a good
reliable woman, but you'll never setthe pond on fire. Well, that
sort of folks are comfortable to havearound, even if they not as interesting
as the other kind. Gilbert Blythewas probably the only person to whom the

(06:01:04):
news of Anne's resignation brought on mixedpleasure. Her pupils looked upon it as
a sheer catastrophe. Annetta Bell hadhysterics when she went home. Anthony Pye
fought two pitched and unprovoked battles withother boys by way of relieving his feelings.
Barbara Shaw cried all night. PaulIrving defiantly told his grandmother that she
needn't expect him to eat any porridgefor a week. I can't do it,

(06:01:26):
Grandma, he said. I don'treally know if I can eat anything.
I feel as if there was adreadful lump in my throat. I'd
have cried coming home from school ifJake Dennell hadn't been watching me. I
believe I will cry after I goto bed. It wouldn't show on my
eyes tomorrow, would it, Andit would be such a relief. But
anyway, I can't eat porridge.I'm going to need all my strength of
mind to bear up against this,Grandma, and I won't have any left

(06:01:48):
to grapple with porridge. Oh,Grandma, I don't know what I'll do
when my beautiful teacher goes away.Milty Bolter says he bets Jane Andrews will
get the school. I suppose MissAndrews is very nice, but I know
she won't understand things like Miss Shirley. Diana also took a very pessimistic view
of affairs. It will be horriblylonesome here next winter. She mourned one
twilight when the moonlight was raining Airy'ssilver through the cherry boughs and filling the

(06:02:12):
east gable with a soft, dreamlikeradiance, in which the two girls sat
and talked. Anne on her lowrocker by the window, Diana sitting turk
fashion on the bed. You andGilbert will be gone, and the Allans
too. They're going to call misterAllan to Charlottetown, and of course he'll
accept. It's too mean. We'llbe vacant all winter, I suppose,
and have to listen to a longstring of candidates, and half of them

(06:02:36):
won't be any good. I hopethey won't call mister Baxter from East Grafton
here anyhow, said Anne. Decidedly. He wants the call, but he
does preach such gloomy sermons. MisterBell says he's a minister of the old
school, but Missus Lynde says there'snothing whatever the matter with him but indigestion.
His wife isn't a very good cook, it seems, and Missus Lynde
says that when a man has toeat sour bread two weeks out of three,

(06:02:56):
his theology is bound to get akink in it. Somewhere. Missus
Allan feels very badly about going away. She says everybody has been so kind
to her since she came here asa bride that she feels as if she
were leaving lifelong friends. And thenthere's the baby's grave, you know.
She says she doesn't see how shecan go away and leave that it was
such a little mite of a thingand only three months old, and she

(06:03:17):
says she is afraid it will missits mother, although she knows better and
wouldn't say so to mister Allan foranything. She says, she has slipped
through the birch grove back of themanse nearly every night to the graveyard and
sung a little lullaby to it.She told me all about it last evening,
when I was up putting some ofthose early wild roses on Matthew's grave.
I promised her that as long asI was in Avonlea, I would
put flowers on the baby's grave.And when I was away, I felt

(06:03:37):
sure that that I would do ittoo, supplied Diana heartily. Of course
I will, and I'll put themon Matthew's grave too. For your sake,
Anne, Oh thank you. Imeant to ask you if you would,
and on little Hester Graves too,Please don't forget hers. Do you
know? I've thought and dreamed somuch about Little Hester Grave that she has
become strangely real to me. Ithink of her back there in her little

(06:03:59):
garden, in that cool, stillgreen corner, and I have a fancy
that if I could steal back theresome spring evening, just at the magic
time TwixT light and dark, andtiptoe so softly up the beech hill that
my footsteps could not frighten her.I would find the garden just as it
used to be, all sweet withjune lilies and early roses, with the
tiny house behind it, all hungwith vines, and little hester Gray would

(06:04:19):
be there, with her soft eyesand the wind ruffling her dark hair,
wandering about, putting her finger tipsunder the chins of the lilies, and
whispering secrets with the roses. AndI would go forward, oh so softly,
and hold out my hands and sayto her, little hester Gray,
won't you let me be your playmate? For I love the roses too.
And we would sit down on theold bench and talk a little, and

(06:04:41):
dream a little, or just bebeautifully silent together. And then the moon
would rise, and I would lookaround me and there would be no hester
Gray, and no little vine hunghouse, and no roses, only an
old waist garden starred with june liliesamid the grasses, and the wind sighing
oh so sorrowfully in the cherry trees. And I would not know where it
had been real, or if Ihad just imagined it all. Diana crawled

(06:05:03):
up and got her back against thehead board of the bed. When your
companion of twilight Hours said such spookythings. It was just as well not
to be able to fancy there wasanything behind you. I'm afraid the Improvement
Society will go down when you andGilbert are both gone, she remarked dolefully.
Not a bitter fear of it,said Anne briskly, coming back from
dreamland to the affairs of practical life. It is too firmly established for that,

(06:05:26):
especially since the older people are becomingso enthusiastic about it. Look what
they are doing this summer for theirlawns and lanes. Besides, I'll be
watching for hints at Redmond, andi'll write a paper for it next winter
and send it over. Don't takesuch a gloomy view of things, Diana,
and don't grudge me my little hourof gladness and jubilation now. Later
on, when I have to goaway, i'll feel anything but glad.

(06:05:48):
It's all right for you to beglad. You're going to college, and
you'll have a jolly time and makeheaps of lovely new friends. My hope
I shall make new friends, saidAnne thoughtfully. The possibilities of making new
friends help to make lie very fascinating. But no matter how many friends I
make, they'll never be as dearto me as the old ones, especially
a certain girl with black eyes anddimples. Can you guess who she is?

(06:06:10):
Diana? But there'll be so manyclever girls at Redmond, sighed Diana.
And I'm only a stupid little countrygirl, who says I seen sometimes,
though I really know better when Istop to think. Well, of
course, these past two years havereally been too pleasant to last. I
know somebody who is glad you aregoing to Redmond anyhow, Anne, I'm
going to ask your question, aserious question. Don't be vexed, and

(06:06:33):
do answer seriously. Do you careanything for Gilbert ever? So much as
a friend? And not a bitin the way you mean, said Anne,
calmly and decidedly. She also thoughtshe was speaking sincerely. Diana sighed.
She wished somehow that Anne had answereddifferently. Don't you mean ever to
be married? Anne? Perhaps someday when I meet the right one,

(06:06:53):
said Anne, smiling dreamily up atthe moonlight. But how can you be
sure when you do meet the rightone, persisted Diana. Oh I should
know him. Something would tell me. You know what my ideal is,
Diana. But people's ideals change sometimesMine won't and I couldn't care for any
man who didn't fulfill it. Butif you never meet him, then I

(06:07:15):
shall die an old maid, wascheerful response. I dare say it isn't
the hardest death by any means.Oh, I suppose the dying would be
easy enough. It's the living anold maid I shouldn't like, said Diana,
with no intention of being humorous.Although I wouldn't mind being an old
maid very much if I could beone like miss Lavendar, but I never
could be. When I'm forty five, I'll be horribly fat. And while

(06:07:36):
there might be some romance about athin old maid, there couldn't possibly be
any about a fat one. Ohmind you. Nelson Atkins proposed to Ruby
Gillis three weeks ago. Ruby toldme all about it. She says she
never had any intention of taking him, because any one who married him will
have to go in with the oldfolks. But Ruby says that he made
such a perfectly beautiful and romantic proposalthat it simply swept her off her feet.
But she didn't want to do anythingrash, so she asked for a

(06:08:00):
week to consider, and two dayslater she was at a meeting of the
sewing circle at his mother's and therewas a book called The Complete Guide to
Etiquette lying on the parlor table.Ruby said she simply couldn't describe her feelings
when in a section of it,headed the Deportment of Courtship and Marriage,
she found the very proposal Nelson hadmade, word for word. She went
home and wrote him a perfectly scathingrefusal. And she says his father and

(06:08:21):
mother have taken turns watching him eversince, for fear he'll drown himself in
the river. But Ruby says theyneedn't be afraid, for in the Deportment
of Courtship and Marriage it told howa rejected lover should behave and there's nothing
about drowning in that. And shesays Wilbur Blair is literally pining away for
her, but she's perfectly helpless inthe matter. Anne made an impatient movement.
I hate to say it, itseems so disloyal, but well,

(06:08:45):
I don't like Ruby Gillis now.I liked her when we went to school
and Queen's together, though not sowell as you and Jane, of course,
But this last year at Carmody,she seems so different. So so
I know, nodded Diana, it'sthe Gillis coming out in her her she
can't help it. Missus Lynde saysthat if ever a Gillis girl thought about
anything but the boys, she nevershowed it. In her walk and conversation.

(06:09:07):
She talks about nothing but boys andwhat compliments they pay her, and
how crazy they all are about herat Carmody, and the strange thing is
they are too. Diana admitted thissomewhat resentfully last night. When I saw
her in mister Blair's store, shewhispered to me that she had just made
a new mash. I wouldn't askher who it was, because I knew
she was dying to be asked.Well, it's what Ruby always wanted.

(06:09:29):
I suppose you remember, even whenshe was little, she always said she
meant to have dozens of bows whenshe grew up and have the very gayest
time she could before she settled down. She's so different from Jane, isn't
she. Jane is such a nice, sensible, ladylike girl. Dear old
Jane is a jewel, agreed Anne. But she added, leaning forward to
bestow a tender pat on the plumpdimple little hand hanging over her pillow.

(06:09:52):
There's nobody like my own Diana.After all, do you remember that evening
we first met Diana and swore eternalfriendship in your garden. We've kept that
oath. I think we've never hada quarrel, nor even a coolness.
I shall never forget the thrill thatwent over me the day that you told
me you loved me. I'd hadsuch a lonely, starved heart all through
my childhood. I'm just beginning torealize how starved and lonely it really was.

(06:10:15):
Nobody cared for me or wanted tobe bothered with me. I should
have been miserable if it hadn't beenfor that strange little dream life of mine,
wherein I imagined all the friends andlove I craved. But when I
came to Green Gables everything was changed. And then I met you. You
don't know what your friendship has meantto me. I want to thank you
here and now, dear, forthe warm and true affection you've always given
me and always always will. SobbedDiana. I shall never love anybody,

(06:10:41):
any girl half as well as Ilove you. And if I ever do,
Marian have a little girl of myown, I'm going to name her
Anne. End of chapter twenty six. Chapter twenty seven, An afternoon of
a stone house. Where are yougoing? All dressed up? Anne?
Davy went to know, you'll lookbully in that dress. Anne had come

(06:11:03):
down to dinner in a new dressof pale green muslin, the first color
she had worn since Matthew's death.It became her perfectly, bringing out all
the delicate flower like tints of herface and the gloss and burnish of her
hair. Davy, how many timeshave I told you that you mustn't use
that word? She rebuked. I'mgoing to echo Lodge. Take me with
you, entreated Davy. I wouldif I were driving, But I'm going

(06:11:26):
to walk, and it's too farfor you, rate yr old legs.
Besides, Paul is going with me, and I fear you won't enjoy yourself
in his company. Oh I likePaul lots better than I did, said
Davy, beginning to make fearful inroadsinto his pudding. Since I've got pretty
good myself, I don't mind hisbeing gooder so much. If I can
keep on, I'll catch up withhim some day. Both in legs and
goodness sides. Paul's real nice tous second primer boys in school. He

(06:11:48):
won't let the other big boys meddlewith us, and he shows us lots
of games. How came Paul tofall into the brook at noon hour yesterday?
Asked Anne. I met him onthe playground such a dripping figure that
I sent him promptly home for clothes, without waiting to find out what had
happened. Well, it was partlyhis accident, explained Davy. He stuck
his head in on purpose, butthe rest of him fell ins accidentally.

(06:12:11):
We was all down at the brookand Prillie Rogerson got mad at Paul about
something. She's awful mean and horroranyway if she is pretty, and said
that his grandmother put his hair upin curl rags every night. Paul wouldn't
have minded what she said, Iguess, but Gracy Andrews laughed, and
Paul got awful red, cause Gracie'shis girl, you know, He's clean,
gone on her, brings her flowersand carries her books as far as

(06:12:32):
the shore road. He got asred as a beat and said his grandmother
didn't do any such thing, andhis hair was born curly. And then
he laid down on the bank andstuck his head right into the spring to
show them. Oh, it wasn'tthe spring we drink out of, seeing
a horrified look on Marilla's face,it was the little one lower down.
But the bank's awful slippy, andPaul went right in. I tell you
he made a bully splash. Oh, Anne, An, I didn't mean

(06:12:53):
to say that. It just slippedout before I thought. He made a
splendid splash. But he looked.It's so funny when he crawled out,
all wet and muddy. The girlslaughed more than ever, but Gracie didn't
laugh. She looked sorry. Gracey'sa nice girl, but she's got a
snub nose. When I get bigenough to have a girl, I won't
have one with a snub nose.I'll pick one with a pretty nose like
yours. Anne. A boy whomakes such a mess of syrup all over

(06:13:17):
his face when he is eating hispudding, we'll never get a girl to
look at him, said Marilla severely. But I'll wash my face before I
go courting, protested Davy, tryingto improve matters by rubbing the back of
his hand over the smears. AndI'll wash behind my ears too, without
being told I remember too this morning, Marilla. I don't forget half as
often as I did. But,and Davy sighed, there's so many corners

(06:13:37):
about a fellow that it's awful hardto remember them all. Well, if
I can't go to miss Lavenders,I'll go over and see Missus Harrison.
Missus Harrison's an awful nice woman.I tell you, she keeps a jar
of cookies in her pantry, apurpose for little boys, and she always
gives me the scrapings out of apan. She's mixed up a plum cake
and a good many plums stick tothe sides. You see. Mister Harrison
was always a nice man, buthe's twice nice since you got married over

(06:14:00):
again, I guess getting married makesfolks nicer. Why don't you get married,
Marilla? I wanna know. Marilla'sstate of single blessedness had never been
a sore point with her, soshe answered amiably, with an exchange of
significant looks with Anne, that shesupposed it was because nobody would have her.
But maybe you never asked anybody tohave you, protested Davy. Oh,

(06:14:21):
Davy, said Dora, primly shockedinto speaking without being spoken to,
it's the men that have to dothe asking. I don't know why they
have to do it, always,grumbled Davy. Seems to me everything's put
on the men in this world.Can I have some more pudding, Marilla?
You had as much as was goodfor you, said Marilla, but
she gave him a moderate second helping. I wish people could live on pudding.

(06:14:41):
Why can't they, Marilla? Iwant to know, because they'd soon
get tired of it. I'd liketo try that for myself, said skeptical
Davy. But I guess it's betterto have putting only on fish in company
days than none at all. Theynever have any at Milty Bolters. Milty
says, when company comes, hismother gives them cheese and cuts it herself.
One little bit of peace and oneover her manners. If Milty Bolter

(06:15:02):
talks like that about his mother,at least you needn't repeat it, said
Marilla, severely, bless my soul. Davy had picked up this expression for
mister Harrison and used it with greatgusto. Milty meant it as a compliment.
He's awful proud of his mother,cause folks say she could scratch a
living on a rock I suppose thempesky hens are in my pansy beds,
again, said Marilla, rising andgoing out hurriedly. The slandered hens were

(06:15:23):
nowhere near the pansy bed, andMarilla did not even glance at it.
Instead, she sat down on thecellar hat and laughed until she was ashamed
of herself. When Anne and Paulreached the stone House that afternoon, they
found Miss Lavender and Carlotta the Fourthin the garden weeding, raking, clipping,
and trimming as if for dear life. Miss Lavender, herself all gay
and sweet in the frills and lacesshe loved, dropped her shears and ran

(06:15:45):
joyously to meet her guests, whileCarlotta the Fourth grinned cheerfully. Welcome,
Anne, I thought you'd come today you belonged to the afternoon, so
it brought you. Things that belongtogether are sure to come together. What
a lot of trouble that would savesome people, if if only they knew
it. But they don't, andso they waste beautiful energy moving heaven and
earth to bring things together that don'tbelong. And you, Paul, why

(06:16:07):
you've grown. You're half a headtaller than when you were here before.
Yes, I've begun to grow likepigweed in the night, as missus Lynde
says, said Paul in frank delightover the fact. Grandma says it's the
porridge shaking effect. At last,perhaps it is goodness knows, Paul sighed
deeply. I've eaten enough to makeanyone grow. I do hope now that
I've begun, I'll keep on tillI'm as tall as father. He is

(06:16:29):
six feet, you know, MissLavendar. Yes, Miss Lavendar did know.
The flush on her pretty cheeks deepeneda little. She took Paul's hand
on one side and Anne's on theother, and walked to the house in
silence. Is it a good dayfor the echoes, miss Lavendar, queried
Paul anxiously. The day of hisfirst visit had been too windy for echoes,
and Paul had been much disappointed.Yes, just the best kind of

(06:16:49):
a day, answered Miss Lavendar,rousing herself from her reverie. But first,
we are all going to have somethingto eat. I know you two
folks didn't walk all the way backhere through those beechwoods without getting hungry.
And Carlotta the Fourth and I caneat any hour of the day. We
have such obliging appetites, so we'lljust make a raid on the pantry.
Fortunately, it's lovely and full.I had a presentiment that I was going

(06:17:10):
to have company to day, andCarlotta the Fourth and I prepared. I
think you are one of the peoplewho always have nice things in their pantry,
declared Paul. Grandma's like that too, But she doesn't approve of snacks
between meals. I wonder, headded meditatively, if I ought to eat
them away from home when I knowshe doesn't approve. Oh, I don't
think she would disapprove. After you'vehad a long walk. That makes a

(06:17:32):
difference, said miss Lavendar, exchangingamused glances with Anne over Paul's brown curls.
I suppose that snacks are extremely unwholesome. That is why we have them
so often. At Echo Lodge.We, Carlotta the Fourth and I live
in defiance of every known law ofdiet. We eat all sorts of indigestible
things whenever we happen to think ofit, by day or night, and

(06:17:52):
we flourish like green bay trees.We are always intending to reform. When
we read any article in a paper, warning us against something we like.
We cut it out and pinned upon the kitchen wall so that we'll remember
it. But we never can,somehow until after we've gone and eaten that
very thing. Nothing has ever killedus yet, but Carlotta the fourth has
been known to have bad dreams.After we had eaten doughnuts and mince pie

(06:18:12):
and fruit cake before we went tobed. Grandma lets me have a glass
of milk and a slice of breadand butter before I go to bed,
And on Sunday nights she puts jamon the bread, said Paul. So
I'm always glad when it's Sunday nightfor more reasons than one. Sunday is
a very long day on the shoreroad. Grandma says it's all too short
for her, and that father neverfound Sunday's tiresome when he was a little

(06:18:33):
boy. It wouldn't seem so longif I could talk to my rock people,
but I never do that because Grandmadoesn't approve of it. On Sundays,
I think a good deal, butI'm afraid my thoughts are worldly.
Grandma says we should never think anythingbut religious thoughts on Sundays. But teacher
here said once that every really beautifulthought was religious, no matter what it
was about or what day we thoughtit on. But I feel sure Grandma

(06:18:56):
thinks that sermons and Sunday school lessonsare the only things you can think truly
religious thoughts about. And when itcomes to a difference of opinion between Grandma
and Teacher, I don't know whatto do in my heart. Paul laid
his hand on his breast and raisedvery serious blue eyes to Miss Lavendar's immediately
sympathetic face. I agree with teacher, But then you see, Grandma has

(06:19:17):
brought Father up her way and madea brilliant success of him, and Teacher
has never brought anybody up yet,though she's helping with Davy and Dora,
But you can't tell how they'll turnout till they are grown up. So
sometimes I feel as if it mightbe safer to go by Grandma's opinions.
I think it would agreed Anne solemnly. Anyway, I dare say that if
your Grandma and I both got downto what we really do mean under our

(06:19:37):
different ways of expressing it, we'dfind out we both meant much the same
thing. You'd better go by herway of expressing it. Since it's been
the result of experience. We'll haveto wait until we see how the twins
do turn out before we can besure that my way is equally good.
After lunch, they went back tothe garden, where Paul made the acquaintance
of the echoes to his wonder anddelight, while Anne and Miss Lavender sat

(06:19:59):
on the stone bench under the poplarand talked. Till you are going away
in the fall, said Miss Lavendarwistfully. I ought to be glad for
your sake, Anne, but I'mhorribly selfishly sorry. I shall miss you
so much. Oh. Sometimes Ithink it is of no use to make
friends. They only go out ofyour life after a while and leave a
hurt that is worse than the emptinessbefore they came. That sounds like something

(06:20:22):
Miss Eliza Andrews might say, Butnever, Miss Lavender said Anne. Nothing
is worse than emptiness, and I'mnot going out of your life. There
are such things as letters and vacations, dearest. I'm afraid you're looking a
little pale and tired. Oh,went Paul on the dike, where he
had been making noises diligently, notall of them melodious. In the making

(06:20:44):
but all coming back, transmuted intothe very gold and silver of sound by
the fairy alchemists over the river.Miss Lavendar made an impatient movement with her
pretty hands. I'm just tired ofeverything, even of the echoes. There
is nothing in my life but echoes, echoes of lost hope and dreams and
joys. They're beautiful and mocking.Oh Anne, it's horrid of me to

(06:21:04):
talk like this when I have company. It's just that i'm getting old and
it doesn't agree with me. Iknow I'll be fearfully cranky by the time
I'm sixty. But perhaps all Ineed is a course of blue pills.
At this moment, Carlotta the Fourth, who had disappeared after lunch, returned
and announced that the northeast corner ofmister John Kimball's pasture was red with early
strawberries, and wouldn't Miss Sureley liketo go and pick some early strawberries for

(06:21:27):
tea? Exclaimed Miss Lavender. Oh, I'm not so old as I thought,
and I don't need a single bluepill. Girls. When you come
back with your strawberries, we'll havetea out here under the silver poplar.
I'll have it all ready for youwith home grown cream. Anne and Carlotta
the Fourth accordingly betook themselves back tomister Kimball's pasture, a green, remote
place where the air was as softas velvet, and fragrant as a bed

(06:21:48):
of violets and gold, and asamber. Oh isn't it sweet and fresh?
Bag here, breathed Anne, Ijust feel as if I were drinking
in the sunshine. Yes, ma'am, so do I. That's just exactly
how I feel, too, ma'am, agreed Carlota the Fourth, who would
have said precisely the same thing ifAnne had remarked that she felt like a
Pelican of the wilderness. Always afterAnne had visited Echo Lodge, Carlotta the

(06:22:11):
Fourth mounted to her little room overthe kitchen and tried before her looking glass
to speak and look and move likeAnne. Carlotta could never flatter herself that
she quite succeeded. But practice makesperfect, as Carlotta had learned at school,
and she fondly hoped that in timeshe might catch the trick of that
dainty uplift of chin, that quick, starry out flashing of eyes, that
fashion of walking as if you werea bough swaying in the wind. It

(06:22:33):
seemed so easy when you watched Anne. Carlotta the Fourth admired Anne wholeheartedly.
It was not that she thought herso very handsome. Diana Barry's beauty of
crimson cheek and black curls was muchmore to Carlotta the Fourth's taste than Anne's
moonshine charm of luminous gray eyes andthe pale, ever changing roses of her
cheeks. But I'd rather look likeyou than be pretty, she told Anne

(06:22:55):
sincerely. Anne laughed, sipped thehoney from the tribute, and cast away
the she was used to taking hercompliments. Mixed public opinion never agreed on
Anne's looks. People who had heardher called handsome met her and were disappointed.
People who had heard her called plainsaw her and wondered where other people's
eyes were. Anne herself would neverbelieve that she had any claim to beauty.

(06:23:15):
When she looked in the glass,all she saw was a little pale
face with seven freckles on the nose. Thereof her mirror never revealed to her
the elusive, ever varying play offeeling that came and went over her features
like a rosy illuminating flame or thecharm of dream and laughter alternating in her
big eyes. While Anne was notbeautiful in any strictly defined sense of the

(06:23:37):
word, she possessed a certain evasivecharm and distinction of appearance that left beholders
with a pleasurable sense of satisfaction inthat softly rounded girlhood of hers, with
all its strongly felt potentialities. Thosewho knew Anne best felt, without realizing
that they felt it, that hergreatest attraction was the aura of possibility surrounding
her, the power of future developmentthat was in her. She seemed to

(06:24:00):
walk in an atmosphere of things aboutto happen. As they picked Carlotta the
fourth confided to Anne her fears regardingMiss Lavender. The warm hearted little handmaiden
was honestly worried over her adored mistress'scondition. Miss Lavendar isn't well, Miss
Shirley, ma'am. I am sureshe isn't, though she never complains.
She hasn't seemed like herself this longwhile, ma'am, not since that day

(06:24:22):
you and Paul were here together before. I feel sure she caught cold.
That night, ma'am, after youand him had gone, she went out
and walked in the garden for longafter dark, with nothing but a little
shawl on her. There was alot of snow on the walks, and
I feel sure she got a chill, ma'am. Ever since then, I've
noticed her acting tired and lonesome,like she don't seem to take an interest
in anything, ma'am. She neverpretends company's coming, nor fixes up for

(06:24:45):
it, nor nothing, ma'am.It's only when you come she seems to
chirk up a bit. And theworst sign of all, Miss Shirley,
ma'am. Carlot of the fourth loweredher voice as if she were about to
tell some exceedingly weird and awful symptom. Indeed, is that she never gets
cross. Now when I breaks things, why, Miss Shirley, ma'am.
Yesterday I bruck her green and yellowbowl that's always stood on the bookcase.
Her grandmother brought it out from England, and Miss Lavendar was awful choice of

(06:25:07):
it. I was dusting it justas careful, Miss Shirley, ma'am,
and it slipped out so fashion aforeI could grab hold of it and bruck
into about forty million pieces. Itell you I was sorry, Anne scared,
I thought Miss Lavender would scold meawful, ma'am, and I'd ruther
she had than take it the wayshe did. She just come in and
hardly looked at it and said,it's no matter, Carlotta, take up

(06:25:27):
the pieces and throw them away,just like that, Miss Shirley, ma'am,
take up the pieces and throw themaway as if it wasn't her grandmother's
bowl from England. Oh, sheisn't well, and I feel awful bad
about it. She's got nobody tolook after her but me. Carlotta the
Fourth's eyes brimmed up with tears.Anne patted the little brown paw holding the
cracked pink cup sympathetically. I thinkMiss Lavendar needs a change, Carlotta.

(06:25:52):
She stays here alone too much.Can't we induce her to go away for
a little trip. Carlotta shook herhead with its rampant bows disconsolately. I
don't think so, Miss Shirley,ma'am. Miss Lavendar hates visiting. She's
only got three relations she ever visits, and she says she just goes to
see them as a family duty.Last time, when she come home,
she said she wasn't going to visitfor family duty no more. I've come

(06:26:14):
home in love with loneliness Carlotta,she says to me, and I never
want astray from my own vine andfig tree again. My relations try so
hard to make an old lady ofme, and it has a bad effect
on me, just like that MissShirley, ma'am. It has a very
bad effect on me. So Idon't think it would do any good to
coach her to go visiting. Wemust see what can be done, said
Anne decidedly, as she put thelast possible berry in her pink cup.

(06:26:37):
Just as soon as I have myvacation, I'll come through and spend a
whole week with you. We'll havea picnic every day and pretend all sorts
of interesting things, and see ifwe can't cheer Miss Lavender up. That
will be the very thing, MissShirley ma'am, exclaimed Carlotta the fourth and
rapture. She was glad for MissLavender's sake, and for her own too.
With a whole week in which tostudy Anne constantly, she would surely
be able to learn how to moveand behave like her. When the girls

(06:27:00):
got back to Echo Lodge, theyfound that Miss Lavendar and Paul had carried
the little square table out of thekitchen to the garden and had everything ready
for tea. Nothing ever tasted sodelicious as those strawberries and cream eaten under
a great blue sky, all curdledover with fluffy little white clouds, and
in the long shadows of the wood, with its lispings and its murmurings.
After tea, Anne helped Carlotta washthe dishes in the kitchen, while Miss

(06:27:23):
Lavender sat on the stone bench withPaul and heard all about his rock people.
She was a good listener, thissweet miss Lavender. But just at
the last it struck Paul that shehad suddenly lost interest in the Twin Sailors.
Miss Lavendar, why do you lookat me like that? He asked
gravely. How do I look,Paul, just as if you were looking
through me at somebody I put youin mind of, said Paul, who

(06:27:45):
had such occasional flashes of uncanny insightthat it wasn't quite safe to have secrets
when he was about you. Doput me in mind of somebody I knew
long ago, said Miss Lavender dreamily. When you were young? Yes,
when I was young. Do Iseem very old to you? Paul?
Do you know. I can't makeup my mind about that, said Paul,
confidentially. Your hair looks old.I never knew a young person with

(06:28:07):
white hair. But your eyes areas young as my beautiful teachers. When
you laugh, I tell you what, Miss Lavender. Paul's voice and face
were as solemn as a judge's.I think you would make a splendid mother.
You have just the right look inyour eyes, the look my little
mother always had. I think it'sa pity you haven't any boys of your
own. I have a little dreamboy, Paul, Oh, have you

(06:28:29):
really How old is he? Aboutyour age? I think he ought to
be older because I dreamed him longbefore you were born. But I'll never
let him get any older than elevenor twelve, because if he did,
some day he might grow up altogether, and then I'd lose him. I
know, nodded Paul. That's thebeauty of dream people. They stay any
age you want them. You andmy beautiful teacher and me myself are the

(06:28:51):
only folks in the world that Iknow of that have dream people. Isn't
it funny and nice? We shouldall know each other. But I guess
that kind of people always find eachother out. Grandma never has dream people,
and Marry Joe thinks I'm wrong inthe upper story because I have them.
But I think it's splendid to havethem, you know, Miss Lavendar,
tell me all about your little dreamboy. He has blue eyes and

(06:29:11):
curly hair. He steals in andwakens me with a kiss every morning.
Then all day he plays here inthe garden, and I play with him
such games as we have. Werun races and talk with the echoes,
and I tell him stories. Andwhen twilight comes, I know, interrupted
Paul. Eagerly he comes and sitsbeside you. So, because of course
at twelve, you'd be too bigto climb into your lap, and lays

(06:29:33):
his head on your shoulder. Soand you put your arms about him and
hold him tight tight, and restyour cheek on his head. Yes,
that's the very way. Oh,you do know Miss Lavender. Anne found
the two of them there when shecame out of the stone house, and
something in Miss Lavender's face made herhate to disturb them. I'm afraid we
must go, Paul, if wewant to get home before dark. Miss

(06:29:56):
Lavendar, I'm going to invite myselfto Echo Lodge for all a whole week
pretty soon. If you come fora week, I'll keep you for two,
threatened Miss Lavendar. End of chaptertwenty seven. Chapter twenty eight,
The Prince comes back to the enchantedPalace. The last day of school came
and went. A triumphant semi annualexamination was held, and Anne's pupils acquitted

(06:30:18):
themselves splendidly. At the close,they gave her an address and a writing
desk. All the girls and ladiespresent cried, and some of the boys
had it cast up to them lateron that they cried too, although they
always denied it. Missus Harmon Andrews, Missus Peter Sloane, and Missus William
Bell walked home together and topped thingsover. I do think it is such
a pity Anne as leaving when thechildren seem so much attached to her,

(06:30:41):
sighed Missus Peter Sloane, who hada habit of sighing over everything, and
even finished off her jokes that way. To be sure, she added hastily,
we all know we'll have a goodteacher next year too. Jane will
do her duty, I've no doubt, said Missus Andrews rather stiffly. I
don't suppose she'll tell the children quiteso many fairy tales, or spend so
much time roaming about the woods withthem. But she has her name on

(06:31:03):
the Inspector's roll of honor, andthe new Bridge people are in a terrible
state over her leaving. I'm realglad Anne is going to college, said
missus Bell. She has always wantedit, and it will be a splendid
thing for her. Well, Idon't know, missus Andrews was determined not
to agree fully with anybody that day. I don't see that Anne needs any
more education. She'll probably be marryingGilbert blythe if his infatuation for her last

(06:31:23):
till he gets through college. Andwhat good will Latin and Greek do her?
Then? If they taught you atcollege how to manage a man,
there might be some sense in hergoing. Missus Harmon Andrews, so avonlea
gossip whispered, had never learned howto manage her man, and as a
result, the Andrews household was notexactly a model of domestic happiness. I

(06:31:44):
see that the Charlottetown call to misterAllan is up before the presbytery, said
missus Bell. That means will belosing him soon. I suppose they're not
going before September, said missus Sloane. It will be a great loss to
the community. Though I always didthink that Missus Allen dressed rather too gay
for a minister's But we are noneof us perfect. Did you notice how
neat and snug mister Harrison looked today? I never saw such a changed

(06:32:07):
man. He goes to church everySunday and has subscribed to the salary.
Hasn't that Paul Irving grown to bea big boy, said Missus Andrews.
He was such a mite for hisage when he came here, I declare
I hardly knew him to day.He's getting to look a lot like his
father. He's a smart boy,said missus Bell. He's smart enough,
But Missus Andrews lowered her voice.I believe he tells queer stories. Gracie

(06:32:30):
came home from school one day lastweek with the greatest rigmarole. He had
told her about people who lived downat the shore. Stories. There couldn't
be a word of truth in,you know. I told Gracie not to
believe them, and she said Pauldidn't intend her to. But if he
didn't, what did he tell themto her? For Anne says, Paul
is a genius, said Missus Sloane, He may be. You never know

(06:32:51):
what to expect of them Americans,said Missus Andrews. Missus Andrews's only acquaintance
with the word genius was derived froma colloquial fashion of calling any eccentric individual
a queer genius. She probably thoughtwith Mary Joe that it meant a person
with something wrong in his upper story. Back in the schoolroom, Anne was
sitting alone at her desk as shehad sat on the first day of school

(06:33:11):
two years before, her face leaningon her hand, her dewy eyes looking
wistfully out the window to the lakeof shining waters. Her heart was so
wrung over the parting with her pupilsthat for a moment college had lost all
its charm. She still felt theclasp of Annetta Bell's arms about her neck
and heard the childish wail, I'llnever love any teacher as much as you,
Miss Shirley. Never. Never.For two years she had worked earnestly

(06:33:36):
and faithfully, making many mistakes andlearning from them. She had had her
reward. She had taught her scholarssomething, But she felt that they had
taught her much more lessons of tenderness, self control, innocent wisdom, lore
of childish hearts. Perhaps she hadnot succeeded in inspiring any wonderful ambitions in
her pupils, but she had taughtthem more by her own sweet personality than

(06:33:59):
by all her careful precepts. Thatit was good and necessary, in the
years that were before them, tolive their lives finely and graciously, holding
fast to truth and courtesy and kindness, keeping aloof from all that savored of
falsehood and meanness and vulgarity. Theywere perhaps all unconscious of having learned such
lessons, but they would remember andpractice them long after they had forgotten.

(06:34:21):
The capital of Afghanistan and the datesof the Wars of the Roses. Another
chapter in my life is closed,said Anne Aloud as she locked her desk.
She really felt very sad over it, but the romance of the idea
of that closed chapter did comfort hera little. Anne spent a fortnight at
Echo Lodge early in her vacation,and everybody concerned had a good time.
She took Miss Lavendar on a shoppingexpedition to town and persuaded her to buy

(06:34:45):
a new organdy dress. Then camethe excitement of cutting and making it together,
while the happy Karlotta the Fourth bastedand swept up clippings. Miss Lavendar
had complained that she could not feelmuch interest in anything, but the sparkle
came back to her eyes over thepretty dress. What a foolish, frivolous
person I must be, she sighed. I am wholesomely ashamed to think that
a new dress, even if itis forget me not Organdy, should exhilarate

(06:35:08):
me. So when a good conscienceand an extra contribution to foreign missions couldn't
do it. Midway in her visit, Anne went home to Green Gables for
a day to mend the twins stockingsand settle up Davy's accumulated store of questions.
In the evening, she went downto the shore road to see Paul
irving. As she passed by thelow square window of the Irving sitting room,
she caught a glimpse of Paul onsomebody's lap. But the next moment

(06:35:30):
he came flying through the hall.Oh, Miss Shirley, he cried excitedly.
You can't think what has happened?Something so splendid, Father is here.
Just think of that. Father ishere. Come right in, Father,
This is my beautiful teacher, youknow. Father Stephen Irving came forward
to meet Anne with a smile.He was a tall, handsome man of
middle age, with iron gray hair, deep set, dark blue eyes,

(06:35:53):
and a strong, sad face splendidlymodeled about the chin and brow. Just
the face for a hero of romance. Anne thought, with a thrill of
intense satisfaction. It was so disappointingto meet someone who ought to be a
hero and find him bald, orstooped, or otherwise lacking in manly beauty.
Anne would have thought it dreadful ifthe object of Miss Lavender's romance had
not looked the part. So thisis my little son's beautiful teacher, of

(06:36:15):
whom I have heard so much,said mister Irving with a hearty handshake.
Paul's letters have been so full ofyou, Miss Shirley, that I feel
as if I were pretty well acquaintedwith you already. I want to thank
you for what you have done forPaul. I think that your influence has
been just what he needed. Motheris one of the best and dearest of
women, but her robust matter offact Scotch. Common sense could not always

(06:36:37):
understand a temperament like my laddie's.What was lacking in her? You have
supplied between you. I think Paul'straining in these two past years has been
as nearly ideal as a motherless boy'scould be. Everybody likes to be appreciated
under mister Irving's praise. Anne's faceburst flowerlike into rosy bloom, and the
busy, weary man of the world, looking at her, thought he had
never seen a fairer, sweeter slipof girlhood than this little down East school

(06:37:02):
teacher, with her red hair andwonderful eyes. Paul sat between them blissfully.
I never dreamed Father was coming,he said radiantly. Even Grandma didn't
know it. It was a greatsurprise. As a general thing. Paul
shook his brown curls gravely. Idon't like to be surprised. You lose
all the fun of expecting things whenyou're surprised. But in a case like
this, it is all right.Father came last night, after I had

(06:37:25):
gone to bed, and after Grandmaand Mary Joe had stopped being surprised.
He and Grandma came upstairs to lookat me, not meaning to wake me
up till morning. But I wokeright up and saw father. I tell
you, I just sprang at himwith a hug like a bear's, said
mister Irving, putting his arms aroundPaul's shoulders, smilingly. I hardly knew
my boy. He had grown sobig and brown and sturdy. I don't

(06:37:45):
know which was the most pleased tosee father, Grandma or I, continued
Paul. Grandma's been in the kitchenall day, making the things father likes
to eat. She wouldn't trust themto marry Joe, she says, that's
her way of showing gladness. Ilike best just to sit and talk to
father. But I'm going to leaveyou for a little while now, if
you'll excuse me, I must getthe cows for Mary Joe. That is
one of my daily duties. WhenPaul had scampered away to do his daily

(06:38:07):
duty, mister Irving talked round ofvarious matters, but Anne felt that he
was thinking of something else underneath allthe time. Presently it came to the
surface. In Paul's last letter,he spoke of going with you to visit
an old friend of mine, MissLewis at the Stone house in Grafton.
Do you know her well? Yes, indeed she has a very dear friend
of mine, was Anne's demure reply, which gave no hint of the sudden

(06:38:32):
thrill that tingled over her from headto foot at mister Irving's question, Anne
felt instinctively that Romance was peeping ather. Round a corner, Mister Irving
rose and went to the window,looking out on a great golden, billowing
sea, where a wild wind washarping. For a few moments, there
was silence in the little, darkwalled room. Then he turned and looked

(06:38:52):
down into Anne's sympathetic face with asmile, half whimsical, half tender.
I wonder how much you know,he said, I know all about it,
Anne replied promptly. You see,she explained hastily. Miss Lavender and
I are very intimate. She wouldn'ttell things of such a sacred nature to
everybody. We are kindred spirits.Yes, I believe you are well.

(06:39:12):
I am going to ask a favorof you. I would like to go
and see miss Lavendar if she willlet me. Will you ask her if
I may come? Would she not, Oh? Indeed she would. Yes,
This was Romance. The very thereal thing, with all the charm
of rhyme and story and dream.It was a little belated, perhaps like
a rose blooming in October, whichshould have bloomed in June, but none

(06:39:34):
the less arose all sweetness and fragrancewith a gleam of gold in its heart.
Never did Anne's feet bear her ona more willing errand than on that
walk through the beech woods to Grafton. The Next morning she found Miss Lavendar
in the garden. Anne was fearfullyexcited. Her hands grew cold, and
her voice trembled. Miss Lavendar,I have something to tell you, something

(06:39:55):
very important. Can you guess whatit is? Anne never supposed that Miss
Lavendar could get. But Miss Lavender'sface grew very pale, and Miss Lavendar
said in a quiet, still voice, from which all the color and sparkle
that Miss Lavender's voice usually suggested hadfaded. Stephen Herving is home. How
did you know who told you?Cried Anne, disappointedly vexed that her great

(06:40:15):
revelation had been anticipated. Nobody.I knew that must be it, just
from the way you spoke. Hewants to come and see you, said
Anne. May I send him wordthat he may. Yes, of course,
fluttered Miss Lavendar. There's no reasonwhy he shouldn't. He is only
coming as any old friend might.Anne had her own opinion about that,
as she hastened into the house towrite a note at Miss Lavendar's desk.

(06:40:37):
Oh, it's delightful to be livingin a story book, she thought,
gaily. It will come out allright, of course it must, and
Paul will have a mother after hisown heart, and everybody will be happy.
But mister Irving will take Miss Lavenderaway, and dear knows what will
happen to the little stone house.And so there are two sides to it,
as there seems to be to everythingin this world. The important note
was written, and Anne herself carriedit to the grond In post office,

(06:41:00):
where she waylaid the mail carrier andasked him to leave it at the Avonlea
office. It's so very important,Anne assured him anxiously. The mail carrier
was a rather grumpy old personage whodid not at all look the part of
a messenger of Cupid, and Annewas none too certain that his memory was
to be trusted. But he saidhe would do his best to remember,
and she had to be contented withthat. Carlotta the fourth felt that some

(06:41:22):
mystery pervaded the stone house that afternoon, a mystery from which she was excluded.
Miss Lavendar roamed about the garden ina distracted fashion. Anne too,
seemed possessed by a demon of unrest, and walked to and fro and went
up and down. Carlotta the Fourthendured it till patience ceased to be a
virtue. Then she confronted Anne onthe occasion of that romantic young person's third
aimless peregrination through the kitchen. Please, Miss Shirley, ma'am, said Carlotta

(06:41:45):
the fourth, with an indignant tossof her very blue bows. It's plain
to be seen you and Miss Lavendarhave got a secret. And I think,
begging your pardon if i'm too forward, Miss Shirley, ma'am, that
it's real mean not to tell mewhen we've all been such chums. Oh,
Carlotta, I'd have told you allabout it if it were my secret,
but it's Miss Lavender's, you see. However, I'll tell you this

(06:42:06):
much, and if nothing comes ofit, you must never breathe a word
about it to a living soul.You see, Prince Charming is coming to
night. He came long ago,but in a foolish moment, went away
and wondered afar and forgot the secretof the magic pathway to the enchanted castle,
where the princess was weeping her faithfulheart out for him. But at
last he remembered it again. Andthe princess is waiting still because nobody but

(06:42:27):
her own dear prince could carry heroff. Oh, Miss Shirley, ma'am,
what is that in prose, gaspedthe mystified Carlotta. Anne laughed in
prose, an old friend of MissLavender's is coming to see her to night.
Do you mean an old beau ofhers? Demanded the literal Carlotta,
That is probably what I do meanin prose, answered Anne gravely. It

(06:42:48):
is Paul's father, Stephen Irving,and goodness knows what will come of it,
but let us hope for the best, Carlotta, I hope that he'll
marry Miss Lavendar, was Krlota's unequivocalresponse. Some women's intended from the start
to be old maids, and I'mafraid I'm one of them, Miss Shirley,
ma'am, because I've awful little patiencewith the men, But Miss Lavendar
never was, and I've been awfulworried thinking what on earth she'd do when

(06:43:11):
I got so big, I'd haveto go to Boston. There ain't any
more girls in our family, Anddear knows what she'd do if she got
some stranger that might laugh at herpretendings and leave things lying round out of
their place, and not be willingto be called Carlotta the fifth. She
might get some one who wouldn't beas unlucky as me in breaking dishes,
but she'd never get any one who'dlove her better. And the faithful little
handmaiden dashed off to the oven doorwith a sniff. They went through the

(06:43:34):
form of having tea as usual thatnight at Echo Lodge, but nobody really
ate anything. After tea, MissLavendar went to her room and put on
her new Forget Me Not Organdy,while Anne did her hair for her.
Both were dreadfully excited, but MissLavendar pretended to be very calm and indifferent.
I must really mend that rent andthe curtain tomorrow, she said,
anxiously, inspecting it as if herewere the only thing of any importance.

(06:43:56):
Just then, those curtains have notworn as well well as they should,
considering the price I paid. Dearme, Karlotta has forgotten to dust the
stair railing again. I really mustspeak to her about it. Anne was
sitting on the porch steps when StephenIrving came down the lane and across the
garden. This is the only placewhere time stands still, he said,

(06:44:17):
looking around him with delighted eyes.There is nothing changed about this house or
garden since I was here twenty fiveyears ago. It makes me feel young
again. You know, time alwaysdoes stand still in an enchanted palace,
said Anne seriously. It is onlywhen the Prince comes that things begin to
happen. Mister Irvings smiled a littlesadly into her uplifted face, all the

(06:44:37):
star with its youth and promise.Sometimes the Prince comes too late, he
said. He did not ask Anneto translate her remark into prose. Like
all kindred spirits, he understood.Oh no, not if he is the
real Prince. Coming to the truePrincess, said Anne, shaking her red
head decidedly as she opened the parlordoor. When he had gone in,
she shut it tightly behind him andturned to confront Karlotta the fourth, who

(06:44:59):
was in the all nods and becksand wreathed smiles. Oh, Miss Shurley,
ma'am, she breathed. I peekedfrom the kitchen window, and he's
awful handsome, had just the rightage for Miss Lavender. And oh,
Miss Shurley, ma'am. Do youthink it would be much harm to listen
at the door? It would bedreadful, Carlotta said Anne firmly. So
just you come away with me,out of the reach of temptation. I

(06:45:19):
can't do anything, and it's awfulto hang round just waiting, sighed Carlotta.
What if you don't propose? Afterall? Miss Shirley, ma'am,
you can never be sure of themmen. My older sister, Carlotta the
first thought she was engaged to oneonce, but it turned out he had
a different opinion, And she saysshe'll never trust one of them again.
And I heard of another case wherea man thought he wanted one girl awful

(06:45:41):
bad, when it was really hersister he wanted all the time. When
a man don't know his own mind, Miss Shurley, ma'am, how's a
poor woman going to be sure ofit? We'll go to the kitchen and
clean the silver spoons, said Anne. That's a task which won't require much
thinking, fortunately, for I couldn'tthink to night, and it will pass
the time. It passed an hour. Then, just as Anne laid down
the last shining spoon, they heardthe front door shut. Both sought comfort

(06:46:04):
fearfully in each other's eyes. Oh, Miss Shirley, ma'am, gasped Carlotta.
If he's going away this surly,there's nothing into it, never will
be. They flew to the window. Mister Irving had no intention of going
away. He and Miss Lavendar werestrolling slowly down the middle path to the
stone bench. Oh, miss Shirley, ma'am, he's got his arm around
her waist, whispered Karlotta the Fourth, delightedly. He must have proposed to

(06:46:26):
her, or she'd never allow it. Anne caught Karlotta the Fourth by her
own plump waist and danced her aroundthe kitchen until they were both out of
breath. Oh, Carlotta, shecried gaily. I am neither a prophetess
nor the daughter of a prophetess,but I'm going to make a prediction.
There'll be a wedding in this oldstone house before the maple leaves are red.
Do you want that translated into prose, Carlotta, No, I can

(06:46:48):
understand that, said Carlotta. Awedding ain't poetry. Why Miss Shirley,
ma'am, you're crying? What for? Oh? Because it's all so beautiful
and story bookish and romantic and sad, said Anne, winking the tears out
of her eyes. It's all perfectlylovely. But there's a little sadness mixed
up in it too, somehow.Oh, of course, there's a risk
in marrying anybody, conceded Carlotta theFourth. But when all said and done,

(06:47:11):
Miss Shirley, ma'am, there's manya worse thing than a husband.
End of Chapter twenty eight, Chaptertwenty nine, Poetry and prose. For
the next month, Anne lived inwhat for Avonlea might be called a world
of excitement. The preparation of herown modest outfit for Redmond was of secondary
importance. Miss Lavendar was getting readyto be married, and the stone house

(06:47:33):
was the scene of endless consultations andplannings and discussions, with Carlotta the Fourth,
hovering on the outskirts of things inagitated delight and wonder. Then the
dressmaker came, and there was therapture and wretchedness of choosing fashions and being
fitted. Anne and Diana spent halftheir time at Echo Lodge, and there
were nights when Anne could not sleepfor wondering whether she had done right in
advising Miss Lavender to select brown ratherthan navy blue for her traveling dress and

(06:47:57):
to have her gray silk made.Prince says everybody concerned in Miss Lavendar's story
was very happy. Paul Irving rushedto Green Gables to talk the news over
with Anne as soon as his fatherhad told him. I knew I could
trust father to pick me out anice little second mother, he said,
proudly. It's a fine thing tohave a father you can depend on.
Teacher, I just love Miss Lavendar. Grandma's pleased too, She says she's

(06:48:19):
real glad father didn't pick out anAmerican for his second wife, because although
it turned out all right the firsttime, such a thing wouldn't be likely
to happen twice. Missus Lynde saysshe thoroughly approves of the match and thinks
it's likely Miss Lavendar will give upher queer notions and be like other people
now that she's going to be married. But I hope she won't give up
her queer notions, teacher, becauseI like them and I don't want her

(06:48:40):
to be like other people. Thereare too many other people around as it
is, you know, Teacher,Krlotta the Fourth was another radiant person.
Oh, Miss Shirley, ma'am,it is all turned out so beautiful.
When mister Irving and Miss Lavender comeback from their tower, I'm to go
up to Boston and live with them, and me only fifteen, and the
other girls never went till they weresixteen. Hank, Miss mister Irving splendid.
He just worships the ground she treadson, and it makes me feel

(06:49:03):
so queer sometimes to see the lookin his eyes when he's watching her.
It beggars description. Miss Shirley,ma'am. I'm awful, thankful they're so
fond of each other. It's thebest way when all's said and done,
though some folks can get along withoutit. I've got an aunt who has
been married three times and says shemarried the first time for love and the
last two times for strictly business,and was happy with all three, except
at the times of the funerals.But I think she took a resk Miss

(06:49:26):
Shirley. Ma'am oh, it's allso romantic, breathed Anne to Marilla that
night. If I hadn't taken thewrong path that day we went to mister
Kimball's, I'd never have known MissLavendar. And if I hadn't met her,
I'd never have taken Paul there,and he'd never have written to his
father about visiting Miss Lavendar, justas mister Irving was starting for San Francisco.
Mister Irving says, whenever he gotthat letter, he made up his

(06:49:47):
mind to send his partner to SanFrancisco and come here instead. He hadn't
heard anything of Miss Lavendar for fifteenyears. Somebody had told him that she
was to be married, and hethought she was and never asked anybody anything
about her. And now everything hascome right, and I had a hand
in bringing it about. Perhaps,as missus Lynde says, everything is foreordained
and it was bound to happen anyway. But even so, it's nice to

(06:50:07):
think one was an instrument used bypredestination. Yes, indeed, it's very
romantic. I can't see that it'sso terribly romantic at all, said Marilla,
rather crisply. Marilla thought Anne wastoo worked up about it and had
plenty to do with getting ready forcollege without trapsing to Echo Lodge two days
out of three helping miss Lavendar inthe first place, two young fools quarrel
and turn sulky. Then Steve Irvinggoes to the States and after a spell,

(06:50:30):
gets married up there and is perfectlyhappy from all accounts. Then his
wife dies, and after a decentinterval, he thinks, you'll come home
and see if his first fancy you'llhave him. Meanwhile, she's been living
single, probably because nobody nice enoughcame along to want her, and they
meet and agree to be married afterall, Now where is the romance in
all that? Oh, there isn'tany when you put it that way,
gasped Anne, rather if somebody hadthrown cold water over her. I suppose

(06:50:52):
that's how it looks in prose.But it's very different if you look at
it through poetry, and I thinkit's nicer. Anne recovered herself, and
her eyes shone and her cheeks flushed. To look at it through poetry,
Marilla glanced at the radiant young faceand refrained from further sarcastic comments. Perhaps
some realization came to her that,after all, it was better to have

(06:51:12):
like Anne, the vision and thefaculty divine that gift which the world cannot
bestow or take away, of lookingat life through some transfiguring or revealing medium,
whereby everything seemed apperiled in celestial light, worrying a glory and a freshness
not visible to those who, likeherself and Carlotta the Fourth looked at things
only through prose. When's the weddingto be, she asked, after a

(06:51:36):
pause, the last Wednesday in August. They are to be married in the
garden under the honeysuckle trellis the veryspot where mister Irving proposed to her twenty
five years ago. Marilla, thatis romantic, even in prose. There's
to be nobody there except missus Irvingand Paul and Gilbert and Diana and I
and miss Lavender's cousins. And theywill leave on the six o'clock train for
a trip to the Pacific Coast.When they come back in the fall,

(06:51:57):
Paul and Karlotta the Fourth are togo up to Boston to live with them.
But Echo Lodge is to be leftjust as it is, only,
of course they'll sell the hens andcow and board up the windows, and
every summer they're coming down to livein it. I'm so glad. It
would have hurt me dreadfully next winterat Redmond to think of that dear stone
house all stripped and deserted with emptyrooms, or far worse still, with

(06:52:18):
other people living in it. ButI can think of it now just as
I've always seen it, waiting happilyfor the summer to bring life and laughter
back to it again. There wasmore romance in the world than that which
had fallen to the share of themiddle aged lovers of the stone House.
Anne stumbled suddenly on it one eveningwhen she went over to orchard slope by
the wood cut and came out intothe Barry garden. Diana Barry and Fred

(06:52:38):
Wright were standing together under the bigwillow. Diana was leaning against the gray
trunk, her lashes cast down onvery crimson cheeks. One hand was held
by Fred, who stood with hisface bent toward her, stammering something in
low, earnest tones. There wereno other people in the world except their
two cells at that magic moment,so neither of them saw Anne, who,

(06:52:59):
after one gazed glance of comprehension,turned and sped noiselessly back through the
spruce wood, never stopping till shegained her own gable room, where she
sat breathlessly down by her window andtried to collect her scattered wits. Diana
and Fred are in love with eachother, she gasped, Oh, it
does seem so so so hopelessly.Grown up, Anne of late had not

(06:53:22):
been without her suspicions that Diana wasproving false to the melancholy, byronic hero
of her early dreams. But asthings seen are mightier than things heard or
suspected, the realization that it wasactually so came to her with almost the
shock of perfect surprise. This wassucceeded by a queer, little, lonely
feeling, as if somehow Diana hadgone forward into a new world, shutting

(06:53:44):
a gate behind her, leaving Anneon the outside. Things are changing so
fast it almost frightens me, Annethought, a little sadly, and I'm
afraid that this can't help making somedifference between Diana and me. I'm sure
I can't tell her all my secrets. After this, she might tell Fred,
And what can she see in Fred? He's very nice and jolly,
but he's just Fred Wright. Itis always a very puzzling question, what

(06:54:08):
can somebody see in somebody else?But how fortunate after all that it is
so, for if everybody saw alike, well, in that case, as
the old Indian said, everybody wouldwant my squaw. It was plain that
Diana did see something in Fred Wright. However, Anne's eyes might be holden.
Diana came to Green Gables the nextevening, a pensive, shy young
lady, and told Anne the wholestory. In the dusky seclusion of the

(06:54:30):
East Gable, both girls cried andkissed and laughed. I'm so happy,
said Diana, But it does seemridiculous to think of me being engaged.
What is it really like to beengaged, asked Anne curiously. Well,
that all depends on who you're engagedto, answered Diana, with that maddening
air of superior wisdom always assumed bythose who are engaged over those who are

(06:54:52):
not. It's perfectly lovely to beengaged to Fred, But I think it
would be simply horrid to be engagedto any one else. There's not much
comfort for the rest of us inthat, seeing that there is only one
Fred laughed. Anne. Oh,Anne, you don't understand, said Diana
in vexation. I didn't mean that. It's so hard to explain. Never
mind, you'll understand some time whenyour own turn comes. Bless you,

(06:55:15):
dearest of Diana's. I understand nowwhat is an imagination for if not to
enable you to peep at life throughother people's eyes. You must be my
bridesmaid, you know. Anne.Promise me that wherever you may be when
I'm married, I'll come from theends of the earth if necessary, promised
Anne solemnly. Of course, itwon't be for ever so long yet,
said Diana, blushing. Three yearsat the very least, for I'm only

(06:55:37):
eighteen, and mother says no daughterof hers shall be married before she's twenty
one. Besides, Fred's father isgoing to buy the Abraham Fletcher farm for
him, and he says he's gotto have it two thirds paid for before
he'll give it to him in hisown name. But three years isn't any
too much time to get ready forhousekeeping, for I haven't a speck of
fancy work made yet. But I'mgoing to begin crochetting doylies tomorrow. Myra
Gillis had thirty seven doilies when shewas married, and I'm determined I shall

(06:56:00):
have as many as she had.I suppose it would be perfectly impossible to
keep house with only thirty six doilies, conceited Anne with a solemn face but
dancing eyes. Diana looked hurt.I didn't think you'd make fun of me,
Anne, she said, reproachfully.Dearest, I wasn't making fun of
you, cried Anne, repentantly.I was only teasing you a bit.
I think you'll make the sweetest littlehousekeeper in the world, and I think

(06:56:23):
it's perfectly lovely of you to beplanning already for your home of dreams.
Anne had no sooner uttered the phrasehome o'dreams than it captivated her fancy,
and she immediately began the erection ofone of her own. It was,
of course, tenanted by an idealmaster, dark, proud and melancholy,
but oddly enough, Gilbert Blythe persistedin hanging about too, helping her arranged

(06:56:44):
pictures, lay out gardens, andaccomplish sundry other tasks which a proud and
melancholy hero evidently considered beneath his dignity. Anne tried to banish Gilbert's image from
her castle in Spain, but somehowhe went on being there, so Anne,
being in a hurry, gave upthe attempt and pursued her aerial architecture
with such success that her home o'dreamswas built and furnished before Diana spoke again.

(06:57:06):
I suppose Anne, you must thinkit's funny I should like Fred so
well when he's so different from thekind of man. I've always said I
would marry the tall, slender kind. But somehow I wouldn't want Fred to
be tall and slender, because don'tyou see he wouldn't be Fred. Then,
of course, added Diana rather dolefully. We will be a dreadfully pudgy
couple, but after all, that'sbetter than one of us being short and
fat and the other tall and lean, like Morgan Sloane and his wife,

(06:57:30):
missus Lynde says, it always makesher think of the long and the short
of it when she sees them together. Well, said Anne to herself that
night, as she brushed her hairbefore her gilt framed mirror. I am
glad Diana is so happy and satisfied. But when my turn comes, if
it ever does, I do hopethere'll be something a little more thrilling about
it. But then Diana thought sotoo. Once I've heard her say time

(06:57:52):
and again she'd never get engaged inany poky, commonplace way. He'd have
to do something splendid to win her. But she's changed. Perhaps I'll change
too, but I won't, andI'm determined I won't. Oh, I
think these engagements are dreadfully unsettling thingswhen they happen to your intimate friends.
End of Chapter twenty nine, Chapterthirty. A wedding at the stone House

(06:58:15):
the last week in August came.Miss Lavendar was to be married in it.
Two weeks later, Anne and Gilbertwould leave for Redmond College. In
a week's time, missus Rachel Lyndewould move to Green Gables and set up
her lairs and pennants in the erstwhilespare room, which was already prepared for
her coming. She had sold allher superfluous household plenishings by auction and was
at present reveling in the congenial occupationof helping the Allans pack up. Mister

(06:58:38):
Allan was to preach his farewell sermonthe next Sunday. The old order was
changing rapidly to give place to thenew, as Anne felt with a little
sadness threading all her excitement and happiness. Changes ain't totally pleasant, but they're
excellent things, said mister Harrison philosophically. Two years is about long enough for
things to stay exactly the same.If they stayed put any longer, they

(06:59:00):
might grow mossy. Mister Harrison wassmoking on his veranda. His wife had
self sacrificingly told that he might smokein the house if he took care to
sit by an open window. MisterHarrison rewarded this concession by going outdoors altogether
to smoke in fine weather, andso mutual goodwill reigned. Anne had come
over to ask Missus Harrison for someof her yellow dahlias. She and Diana

(06:59:21):
were going through to Echo Lodge thatevening to help Miss Lavender and Karlotta the
Fourth with their final preparations for themorrow's bridle. Miss Lavender herself never had
dahlia's. She did not like them, and they would not have suited the
fine retirement of her old fashioned garden. But flowers of any kind were rather
scarce in Avonlea and the neighboring districtsthat summer thanks to Uncle Abe's storm,
and Anne and Diana thought that acertain old cream colored stone jug usually kept

(06:59:42):
sagretd to doughnuts brimmed over with yellowdahlias, would be just the thing to
set in a dim angle of thestone house stairs against the dark background of
red hall paper. I suppose you'llbe starting off for college in a fortnight's
time, continued mister Harrison. Well, we're going to miss you an awful
lot. Emily and me to bes sure, Missus Lynde'll be over there
in your place. There ain't nobodybut a substitute can be found for them.

(07:00:04):
The irony of mister Harrison's tone isquite untransferable to paper. In spite
of his wife's intimacy with Missus Lynde, the best that could be said of
the relationship between her and mister Harrison, even under the new regime, was
that they preserved an armed neutrality.Yes, I'm going, said Anne.
I'm very glad with my head andvery sorry with my heart. I suppose
you'll be scooping up all the honorsthat are lying round loose at Redmond.

(07:00:27):
I may try for one or twoof them, confessed Anne. But I
don't care so much for things likethat as I did two years ago.
What I want to get out ofmy college course is some knowledge of the
best way of living life and doingthe most and best with it. I
want to learn to understand and helpother people and myself. Mister Harrison nodded.
That's the idea exactly. That's whatcollege ought to be for, instead

(07:00:48):
of for turning out a lot ofba so chalk full of book learning and
vanity that there ain't room for anythingelse. You're all right, college won't
be able to do you much harm, I reckon. Diana and Anne drove
over to Echo Lodge after tea,taking with them all the flowery spoil that
several predatory expeditions and their own andtheir neighbor's gardens had yielded. They found
the Stone House agog with excitement.Carlotta the Fourth was flying around with such

(07:01:11):
vim and briskness that her blue bowsseemed really to possess the power of being
everywhere at once, Like the helmetof Navarre. Carlotta's blue bows waved ever
in the thickest of the frame.Praise Peter goodness you've come, she said
devoutly, for there's heaps of thingsto do when the frosting on that cake
won't harden, and there's all thesilver to be rubbed up yet, and

(07:01:32):
the horse hair trunk to be packed, and the roosters for the chicken salad
are running out there beyond the henhouse yet crowing. Miss Shirley, ma'am,
and Miss Lavendar ain't to be trustedto do a thing. I was
thankful when mister Irving came a fewminutes ago and took her off for a
walk in the woods. Corning's allright in its place, Miss Shirley,
ma'am. But if you try tomix it up with cooking and scouring,
everything's spoiled. That's my opinion,Miss Shirley, ma'am. Anne and Diana

(07:01:52):
worked so heartily that by ten o'clockeven Carlotta the Fourth was satisfied. She
braided her hair in innumerable plats andtook her weary little bones off to bed.
But I'm sure I shan't sleep ablessed wink, Miss Shirley, ma'am,
for fear that something will go wrong, at the last minute, the
cream won't whip, or mister Irving'llhave a stroke and not be able to
come. He isn't in the habitof having strokes, is he asked Diana.

(07:02:15):
The dimp oled corners of her mouth. Twitching to Diana, Carlotta the
Fourth was, if not exactly athing of beauty, certainly a joy forever.
They're not things that go by habit, said Carlotta the Fourth with dignity.
They just happen, and there youare. Anybody can have a stroke.
You don't have to learn how.Mister Irving looks a lot like an
uncle of mine that had one once, just as he was sitting down to

(07:02:37):
dinner one day. But maybe everything'llgo all right in this world. You've
just got to hope for the bestand prepare for the worst, and take
whatever God sends. The only thingI'm worried about is that it won't be
fine tomorrow, said Diana. UncleLay predicted rain for the middle of the
week, and ever since that bigstorm, I can't help believing there's a
good deal in what Uncle Abe,says Anne, who knew better than Diana
just how much Uncle Laid had todo with the storm was not much disturbed

(07:03:00):
by this. She slept the sleepof the just and weary, and was
roused at an unearthly hour by Krlottathe Fourth. Oh miss Shirley, ma'am,
it's awful to call you so early, came wailing through the keyhole.
But there's so much to do yet. And oh, miss Shirley, ma'am,
I'm scared it's going to rain,and I wish you'd get up and
tell me you think it ain't.Anne flew to the window, hoping against
hope that Carlotta the Fourth was sayingthis merely by way of rousing her effectually.

(07:03:22):
But alas the morning did look unpropitious. Below the window, Miss Lavender's
garden, which should have been aglory of pale, virgin sunshine, lay
dim and windless, and the skyover the Firs was dark with moody clouds.
Isn't it too mean? Said Diana. We must hope for the best,
said Anne, determinedly. If itonly doesn't actually rain, a cool,

(07:03:44):
pearly gray day like this would reallybe nicer than hot sunshine. But
it will rain, mourned Carlotta,creeping into the room a figure of fun
with her many braids wound around herhead, the ends tied up with white
threads sticking out in all directions.It'll hold off till the last minute,
and then four cats and dogs andall the folks would get sopping and track
mud all over the house, andthey won't be able to get married under

(07:04:06):
the honeysuckle. And it's awful unluckyfor no sun to shine on a bride.
Say what you will, Miss Shirley, ma'am. I knew things were
going too well to last. Carlottathe Fourth seemed certainly to have borrowed a
leaf out of Miss Eliza Andrews's book. It did not rain, though it
kept on looking as if it meantto. By noon, the rooms were
decorated, the table beautifully laid,and upstairs was waiting a bride adorned for

(07:04:27):
her husband. You do look sweet, said Anne. Rapturously lovely, echoed
Diana. Everything's ready, miss Shirley, ma'am. And nothing dreadful has happened
yet, was Carlotta's cheerful statement.As she betook herself to her little back
room to dress out. Came allthe braids. The resultant rampant crinkliness was
platted into two tails, and tiednot with two bows alone, but with

(07:04:48):
four of brand new ribbon brightly blue. The two upper bows rather gave the
impression of overgrown wings sprouting from Carlotta'sneck, somewhat after the fashion of Raphael's
cherubs. But Carlotta the fourth thoughtthem very beautiful, And after she had
rustled into a white dress so stifflystarched that it could stand alone, she
surveyed herself in her glass with greatsatisfaction, a satisfaction which lasted until she

(07:05:11):
went out in the hall and caughta glimpse through the spare room door of
a tall girl in some softly clinginggown, pinning white star like flowers on
the smooth ripples of her ruddy hair. Oh, I'll never be able to
look like miss Shirley, thought poorCarlotta despairingly. You'd just have to be
born, so I guess. Don'tseem as if any amount of practice could
give you that air. By oneo'clock the guests had come, including mister

(07:05:34):
and missus Allen. For mister Allanwas to perform the ceremony in the absence
of the Grafton Minister on his vacationThere was no formality about the marriage.
Miss Lavendar came down the stairs tomeet her bridegroom at the foot, and
as he took her hand, shelifted her big brown eyes to his with
a look that made Carlotta the Fourth, who intercepted it, feel queerer than
ever. They went out to theHoneysuckle arbor, where mister Allan was awaiting

(07:05:56):
them. The guests grouped themselves asthey pleas. Anne and Diana stood by
the old stone bench, with Carlottathe Fourth between them, desperately clutching their
hands in her cold, tremulous littlepaws. Mister Allan opened his blue book
and the ceremony proceeded. Just asMiss Lavender and Stephen Irving were pronounced man
and wife, a very beautiful andsymbolic thing happened. The sun suddenly burst

(07:06:19):
through the gray and poured a floodof radiance on the happy bride. Instantly
the garden was alive with dancing shadowsand flickering lights. What a lovely omen,
thought Anne, as she ran tokiss the bride. Then the three
girls left the rest of the guestslaughing around the bridal pair while they flew
into the house to see that allwas in readiness for the feast. Thanks
be to goodness, it's over,Miss Shirley, ma'am, breathed Carlota the

(07:06:41):
fourth, and there married safe andsound. No matter what happens now.
The bags of rice are in thepantry, ma'am, and the old shoes
are behind the door, and thecream for whipping is on the sullar steps.
At half past two, mister andMissus Irving left, and everybody went
to Bright River to see them offon the afternoon train. As Miss lavendar
I beg her pardon, Missus Irvingstepped from the door of her old home,

(07:07:03):
Gilbert and the girls through the rice, and Carlotta the Fourth hurled an
old shoe with such excellent aim thatshe struck mister Allan squarely on the head.
But it was reserved for Paul togive the prettiest send off. He
popped out of the porch, ringingfuriously a huge old brass dinner bell,
which had adorned the dining room mantle. Paul's only motive was to make a
joyful noise. But as the clangordied away from point and curve and hill

(07:07:26):
across the river, came the chimeof fairy wedding bells ringing clearly, sweetly,
faintly and more faint, as ifMiss Lavender's beloved echoes were bidding her
greeting and farewell, And so amidthis benediction of sweet sounds, Miss Lavender
drove away from the old life ofdreams and make believes, to a fuller
life of realities in the busy worldbeyond. Two hours later, Anne and

(07:07:48):
Carlotta the Fourth came down the laneagain. Gilbert had gone to West Grafton
on an errand, and Diana hadto keep an engagement at home. Anne
and Carlotta had come back to putthings in order and lock up the little
stone house. The garden was apool of late golden sunshine, with butterflies
hovering and bees booming. But thelittle house had already that indefinable lair of
desolation which always follows a festivity.Oh dear me, don't it look lonesome?

(07:08:11):
Sniffed Carlotta the Fourth, who hadbeen crying all the way home from
the station. A wedding ain't muchcheerfuler than a funeral, after all,
when it's all over, Miss Shirley, ma'am a busy evening followed. The
decorations had to be removed, thedishes washed, the uneaten delicacies packed into
a basket for the delectation of Carlottathe Fourth's young brothers. At home.
Anne would not rest until everything wasin apple pie order. After Carlotta had

(07:08:34):
gone home with her plunder, Annewent over the still rooms, feeling like
one who trod alone some banquet halldeserted and closed the blinds. Then she
locked the door and sat down underthe silver poplar to wait for Gilbert,
feeling very tired but still unweariedly thinkinglong, long thoughts. What are you
thinking of? Anne asked Gilbert,coming down the walk. He had left

(07:08:56):
his horse and buggy out of theroad of Miss Lavender and missus Irving,
answered Anne dreamily. Isn't it beautifulto think how everything has turned out,
how they have come together again afterall the years of separation and misunderstanding.
Yes, it's beautiful, said Gilbert, looking steadily down into Anne's uplifted face.
But wouldn't it have been more beautifulstill, Anne, if there had

(07:09:17):
been no separation or misunderstanding, ifthey had come hand in hand all the
way through life with no memories behindthem, but those which belonged to each
other. For a moment, Anne'sheart fluttered queerly, and for the first
time her eyes faltered under Gilbert's gaze, and a rosy flush stained the paleness
of her face. It was asif a veil that it hung before her

(07:09:37):
inner consciousness had been lifted, givingto her view a revelation of unsuspected feelings
and realities. Perhaps, after all, romance did not come into one's life
with pomp and blare, like agay night riding down. Perhaps it crept
to one's side like an old friend, through quiet ways. Perhaps it revealed
itself in seeming prose, until somesudden shaft of illumination flung athwart its pages,

(07:10:00):
betrayed the rhythm and the music.Perhaps perhaps love unfolded naturally out of
a beautiful friendship, as a goldenhearted rose slipping from its green sheath.
Then the veil dropped again. Butthe Anne who walked up the dark lane
was not quite the same Ann whohad driven gaily down at the evening before
the page of girlhood had been turnedas by an unseen finger, and the

(07:10:22):
page of womanhood was before her,with all its charm and mystery, its
pain and gladness. Gilbert widely saidnothing more, but in his silence he
read the history of the next fouryears in the light of Anne's remembered blush.
Four years of earnest, happy work, and then the garden of a
useful knowledge gained and a sweet heartwon. Behind them in the garden,
the little stone House brooded among theshadows. It was lonely, but not

(07:10:47):
forsaken. It had not yet donewith dreams and laughter and the joy of
life. There were to be futuresummers for the Little Stone House. Meanwhile,
it could wait, and over theriver in purple Durrance, the echoes
bided their time. End of Chapterthirty

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