Pollyanna Eleanor H. Porter (classic english novels txt) đ
- Author: Eleanor H. Porter
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The doctor shook his head.
âI donât know. As near as I can find out it is an overwhelming, unquenchable gladness for everything that has happened or is going to happen. At any rate, her quaint speeches are constantly being repeated to me, and, as near as I can make out, âjust being gladâ is the tenor of most of them. All is,â he added, with another whimsical smile, as he stepped out on to the porch, âI wish I could prescribe herâ âand buy herâ âas I would a box of pills;â âthough if there gets to be many of her in the world, you and I might as well go to ribbon-selling and ditch-digging for all the money weâd get out of nursing and doctoring,â he laughed, picking up the reins and stepping into the gig.
Pollyanna, meanwhile, in accordance with the doctorâs orders, was being escorted to John Pendletonâs rooms.
Her way led through the great library at the end of the hall, and, rapid as was her progress through it, Pollyanna saw at once that great changes had taken place. The book-lined walls and the crimson curtains were the same; but there was no litter on the floor, no untidiness on the desk, and not so much as a grain of dust in sight. The telephone card hung in its proper place, and the brass andirons had been polished. One of the mysterious doors was open, and it was toward this that the maid led the way. A moment later Pollyanna found herself in a sumptuously furnished bedroom while the maid was saying in a frightened voice:
âIf you please, sir, hereâ âhereâs a little girl with some jelly. The doctor said I was toâ âto bring her in.â
The next moment Pollyanna found herself alone with a very cross-looking man lying flat on his back in bed.
âSee here, didnât I sayâ ââ began an angry voice. âOh, itâs you!â it broke off not very graciously, as Pollyanna advanced toward the bed.
âYes, sir,â smiled Pollyanna. âOh, Iâm so glad they let me in! You see, at first the lady âmost took my jelly, and I was so afraid I wasnât going to see you at all. Then the doctor came, and he said I might. Wasnât he lovely to let me see you?â
In spite of himself the manâs lips twitched into a smile; but all he said was âHumph!â
âAnd Iâve brought you some jelly,â resumed Pollyanna; ââ âcalfâs-foot. I hope you like it?â There was a rising inflection in her voice.
âNever ate it.â The fleeting smile had gone, and the scowl had come back to the manâs face.
For a brief instant Pollyannaâs countenance showed disappointment; but it cleared as she set the bowl of jelly down.
âDidnât you? Well, if you didnât, then you canât know you donât like it, anyhow, can you? So I reckon Iâm glad you havenât, after all. Now, if you knewâ ââ
âYes, yes; well, thereâs one thing I know all right, and that is that Iâm flat on my back right here this minute, and that Iâm liable to stay hereâ âtill doomsday, I guess.â
Pollyanna looked shocked.
âOh, no! It couldnât be till doomsday, you know, when the angel Gabriel blows his trumpet, unless it should come quicker than we think it willâ âoh, of course, I know the Bible says it may come quicker than we think, but I donât think it willâ âthat is, of course I believe the Bible; but I mean I donât think it will come as much quicker as it would if it should come now, andâ ââ
John Pendleton laughed suddenlyâ âand aloud. The nurse, coming in at that moment, heard the laugh, and beat a hurriedâ âbut a very silentâ âretreat. He had the air of a frightened cook who, seeing the danger of a breath of cold air striking a half-done cake, hastily shuts the oven door.
âArenât you getting a little mixed?â asked John Pendleton of Pollyanna.
The little girl laughed.
âMaybe. But what I mean is, that legs donât lastâ âbroken ones, you knowâ âlike lifelong invalids, same as Mrs. Snow has got. So yours wonât last till doomsday at all. I should think you could be glad of that.â
âOh, I am,â retorted the man grimly.
âAnd you didnât break but one. You can be glad âtwasnât two.â Pollyanna was warming to her task.
âOf course! So fortunate,â sniffed the man, with uplifted eyebrows; âlooking at it from that standpoint, I suppose I might be glad I wasnât a centipede and didnât break fifty!â
Pollyanna chuckled.
âOh, thatâs the best yet,â she crowed. âI know what a centipede is; theyâve got lots of legs. And you can be gladâ ââ
âOh, of course,â interrupted the man, sharply, all the old bitterness coming back to his voice; âI can be glad, too, for all the rest, I supposeâ âthe nurse, and the doctor, and that confounded woman in the kitchen!â
âWhy, yes, sirâ âonly think how bad âtwould be if you didnât have them!â
âWell, Iâ âeh?â he demanded sharply.
âWhy, I say, only think how bad it would be if you didnât have âemâ âand you lying here like this!â
âAs if that wasnât the very thing that was at the bottom of the whole matter,â retorted the man, testily, âbecause I am lying here like this! And yet you expect me to say Iâm glad because of a fool woman who disarranges the whole house and calls it âregulating,â and a man who aids and abets her in it, and calls it ânursing,â to say nothing of the doctor who eggs âem both onâ âand the whole bunch of them, meanwhile, expecting me to pay them for it, and pay them well, too!â
Pollyanna frowned sympathetically.
âYes, I know. That part is too badâ âabout the moneyâ âwhen youâve been saving it, too, all this time.â
âWhenâ âeh?â
âSaving itâ âbuying beans and fish balls, you know. Say, do you like beans?â âor do you like turkey better, only on account of the sixty cents?â
âLook a-here, child, what are you talking about?â
Pollyanna smiled radiantly.
âAbout your money, you knowâ âdenying yourself, and saving it for the heathen. You see, I found out about it. Why, Mr. Pendleton, thatâs one of the ways I
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