Pollyanna Eleanor H. Porter (classic english novels txt) đ
- Author: Eleanor H. Porter
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Pollyanna found her aunt in the sitting room.
âWho was that manâ âthe one who drove into the yard, Pollyanna?â questioned the lady a little sharply.
âWhy, Aunt Polly, that was Dr. Chilton! Donât you know him?â
âDr. Chilton! What was he doingâ âhere?â
âHe drove me home. Oh, and I gave the jelly to Mr. Pendleton, andâ ââ
Miss Polly lifted her head quickly.
âPollyanna, he did not think I sent it?â
âOh, no, Aunt Polly. I told him you didnât.â
Miss Polly grew a sudden vivid pink.
âYou told him I didnât!â
Pollyanna opened wide her eyes at the remonstrative dismay in her auntâs voice.
âWhy, Aunt Polly, you said to!â
Aunt Polly sighed.
âI said, Pollyanna, that I did not send it, and for you to be very sure that he did not think I did!â âwhich is a very different matter from telling him outright that I did not send it.â And she turned vexedly away.
âDear me! Well, I donât see where the difference is,â sighed Pollyanna, as she went to hang her hat on the one particular hook in the house upon which Aunt Polly had said that it must be hung.
XVI A Red Rose and a Lace ShawlIt was on a rainy day about a week after Pollyannaâs visit to Mr. John Pendleton, that Miss Polly was driven by Timothy to an early afternoon committee meeting of the Ladiesâ Aid Society. When she returned at three oâclock, her cheeks were a bright, pretty pink, and her hair, blown by the damp wind, had fluffed into kinks and curls wherever the loosened pins had given leave.
Pollyanna had never before seen her aunt look like this.
âOhâ âohâ âoh! Why, Aunt Polly, youâve got âem, too,â she cried rapturously, dancing round and round her aunt, as that lady entered the sitting room.
âGot what, you impossible child?â
Pollyanna was still revolving round and round her aunt.
âAnd I never knew you had âem! Can folks have âem when you donât know theyâve got âem? Do you suppose I could?â ââfore I get to Heaven, I mean,â she cried, pulling out with eager fingers the straight locks above her ears. âBut then, they wouldnât be black, if they did come. You canât hide the black part.â
âPollyanna, what does all this mean?â demanded Aunt Polly, hurriedly removing her hat, and trying to smooth back her disordered hair.
âNo, noâ âplease, Aunt Polly!â Pollyannaâs jubilant voice turned to one of distressed appeal. âDonât smooth âem out! Itâs those that Iâm talking aboutâ âthose darling little black curls. Oh, Aunt Polly, theyâre so pretty!â
âNonsense! What do you mean, Pollyanna, by going to the Ladiesâ Aid the other day in that absurd fashion about that beggar boy?â
âBut it isnât nonsense,â urged Pollyanna, answering only the first of her auntâs remarks. âYou donât know how pretty you look with your hair like that! Oh, Aunt Polly, please, maynât I do your hair like I did Mrs. Snowâs, and put in a flower? Iâd so love to see you that way! Why, youâd be ever so much prettier than she was!â
âPollyanna!â (Miss Polly spoke very sharplyâ âall the more sharply because Pollyannaâs words had given her an odd throb of joy: when before had anybody cared how she, or her hair looked? When before had anybody âlovedâ to see her âprettyâ?) âPollyanna, you did not answer my question. Why did you go to the Ladiesâ Aid in that absurd fashion?â
âYesâm, I know; but, please, I didnât know it was absurd until I went and found out theyâd rather see their report grow than Jimmy. So then I wrote to my Ladiesâ Aidersâ ââcause Jimmy is far away from them, you know; and I thought maybe he could be their little India boy same asâ âAunt Polly, was I your little India girl? And, Aunt Polly, you will let me do your hair, wonât you?â
Aunt Polly put her hand to her throatâ âthe old, helpless feeling was upon her, she knew.
âBut, Pollyanna, when the ladies told me this afternoon how you came to them, I was so ashamed! Iâ ââ
Pollyanna began to dance up and down lightly on her toes.
âYou didnât!â âYou didnât say I couldnât do your hair,â she crowed triumphantly; âand so Iâm sure it means just the other way âround, sort ofâ âlike it did the other day about Mr. Pendletonâs jelly that you didnât send, but didnât want me to say you didnât send, you know. Now wait just where you are. Iâll get a comb.â
âBut Pollyanna, Pollyanna,â remonstrated Aunt Polly, following the little girl from the room and panting upstairs after her.
âOh, did you come up here?â Pollyanna greeted her at the door of Miss Pollyâs own room. âThatâll be nicer yet! Iâve got the comb. Now sit down, please, right here. Oh, Iâm so glad you let me do it!â
âBut, Pollyanna, Iâ âIâ ââ
Miss Polly did not finish her sentence. To her helpless amazement she found herself in the low chair before the dressing table, with her hair already tumbling about her ears under ten eager, but very gentle fingers.
âOh, my! what pretty hair youâve got,â prattled Pollyanna; âand thereâs so much more of it than Mrs. Snow has, too! But, of course, you need more, anyhow, because youâre well and can go to places where folks can see it. My! I reckon folksâll be glad when they do see itâ âand surprised, too, âcause youâve hid it so long. Why, Aunt Polly, Iâll make you so pretty everybodyâll just love to look at you!â
âPollyanna!â gasped a stifled but shocked voice from a veil of hair. âIâ âIâm sure I donât know why Iâm letting you do this silly thing.â
âWhy, Aunt Polly, I should think youâd be glad to have folks like to look at you! Donât you like to look at pretty things? Iâm ever so much happier when I look at pretty folks, âcause when I look at the other kind Iâm so sorry for them.â
âButâ âbutâ ââ
âAnd I just love to do folksâ hair,â purred Pollyanna, contentedly. âI did quite a lot of the Ladiesâ Aidersââ âbut
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