Pollyanna Eleanor H. Porter (classic english novels txt) đ
- Author: Eleanor H. Porter
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Minute by minute the time passed. The sun dropped lower in the west and the shadows grew deeper under the trees. Pollyanna sat so still she hardly seemed to breathe. A bird alighted fearlessly within reach of her hand, and a squirrel whisked his bushy tail on a tree-branch almost under her noseâ âyet with his bright little eyes all the while on the motionless dog.
At last the dog pricked up his cars and whined softly; then he gave a short, sharp bark. The next moment Pollyanna heard voices, and very soon their owners appeared three men carrying a stretcher and various other articles.
The tallest of the partyâ âa smooth-shaven, kind-eyed man whom Pollyanna knew by sight as âDr. Chiltonââ âadvanced cheerily.
âWell, my little lady, playing nurse?â
âOh, no, sir,â smiled Pollyanna. âIâve only held his headâ âI havenât given him a mite of medicine. But Iâm glad I was here.â
âSo am I,â nodded the doctor, as he turned his absorbed attention to the injured man.
XIV Just a Matter of JellyPollyanna was a little late for supper on the night of the accident to John Pendleton; but, as it happened, she escaped without reproof.
Nancy met her at the door.
âWell, if I ainât glad ter be settinâ my two eyes on you,â she sighed in obvious relief. âItâs half-past six!â
âI know it,â admitted Pollyanna anxiously; âbut Iâm not to blameâ âtruly Iâm not. And I donât think even Aunt Polly will say I am, either.â
âShe wonât have the chance,â retorted Nancy, with huge satisfaction. âSheâs gone.â
âGone!â gasped Pollyanna. âYou donât mean that Iâve driven her away?â Through Pollyannaâs mind at the moment trooped remorseful memories of the morning with its unwanted boy, cat, and dog, and its unwelcome âgladâ and forbidden âfatherâ that would spring to her forgetful little tongue. âOh, I didnât drive her away?â
âNot much you did,â scoffed Nancy. âHer cousin died suddenly down to Boston, and she had ter go. She had one oâ them yeller telegram letters after you went away this afternoon, and she wonât be back for three days. Now I guess weâre glad all right. Weâll be keepinâ house tergether, jest you and me, all that time. We will, we will!â
Pollyanna looked shocked.
âGlad! Oh, Nancy, when itâs a funeral?â
âOh, but âtwaânât the funeral I was glad for, Miss Pollyanna. It wasâ ââ Nancy stopped abruptly. A shrewd twinkle came into her eyes. âWhy, Miss Pollyanna, as if it waânât yerself that was teachinâ me ter play the game,â she reproached her gravely.
Pollyanna puckered her forehead into a troubled frown.
âI canât help it, Nancy,â she argued with a shake of her head. âIt must be that there are some things that âtisnât right to play the game onâ âand Iâm sure funerals is one of them. Thereâs nothing in a funeral to be glad about.â
Nancy chuckled.
âWe can be glad âtainât ourân,â she observed demurely. But Pollyanna did not hear. She had begun to tell of the accident; and in a moment Nancy, open-mouthed, was listening.
At the appointed place the next afternoon, Pollyanna met Jimmy Bean according to agreement. As was to be expected, of course, Jimmy showed keen disappointment that the Ladiesâ Aid preferred a little India boy to himself.
âWell, maybe âtis natural,â he sighed. âOf course things you donât know about are always nicerân things you do, same as the pertater on tâother side of the plate is always the biggest. But I wish I looked that way ter somebody âway off. Wouldnât it be jest great, now, if only somebody over in India wanted me?â
Pollyanna clapped her hands.
âWhy, of course! Thatâs the very thing, Jimmy! Iâll write to my Ladiesâ Aiders about you. They arenât over in India; theyâre only out Westâ âbut thatâs awful far away, just the same. I reckon youâd think so if youâd come all the way here as I did!â
Jimmyâs face brightened.
âDo you think they wouldâ âtrulyâ âtake me?â he asked.
âOf course they would! Donât they take little boys in India to bring up? Well, they can just play you are the little India boy this time. I reckon youâre far enough away to make a report, all right. You wait. Iâll write âem. Iâll write Mrs. White. No, Iâll write Mrs. Jones. Mrs. White has got the most money, but Mrs. Jones gives the mostâ âwhich is kind of funny, isnât it?â âwhen you think of it. But I reckon some of the Aiders will take you.â
âAll rightâ âbut donât furgit ter say Iâll work fur my board anâ keep,â put in Jimmy. âI ainât no beggar, anâ bizâness is bizâness, even with Ladiesâ Aiders, Iâm thinkinâ.â He hesitated, then added: âAnâ I sâpose I better stay where I be fur a spell yetâ âtill you hear.â
âOf course,â nodded Pollyanna emphatically. âThen Iâll know just where to find you. And theyâll take youâ âIâm sure youâre far enough away for that. Didnât Aunt Polly takeâ âSay!â she broke off, suddenly, âDo you suppose I was Aunt Pollyâs little girl from India?â
âWell, if you ainât the queerest kid,â grinned Jimmy, as he turned away.
It was about a week after the accident in Pendleton Woods that Pollyanna said to her aunt one morning:
âAunt Polly, please would you mind very much if I took Mrs. Snowâs calfâs-foot jelly this week to someone else? Iâm sure Mrs. Snow wouldnâtâ âthis once.â
âDear me, Pollyanna, what are you up to now?â sighed her aunt. âYou are the most extraordinary child!â
Pollyanna frowned a little anxiously.
âAunt Polly, please, what is extraordinary? If youâre extraordinary you canât be ordinary, can you?â
âYou certainly can not.â
âOh, thatâs all right, then. Iâm glad Iâm extraordinary,â sighed Pollyanna, her face clearing. âYou see, Mrs. White used to say Mrs. Rawson was a very ordinary womanâ âand she disliked Mrs. Rawson something awful. They were always fightâ âI mean, father hadâ âthat is, I mean, we had more trouble keeping peace between them than we did between any of the rest of
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