Pollyanna Grows Up Eleanor H. Porter (booksvooks .TXT) š
- Author: Eleanor H. Porter
Book online Ā«Pollyanna Grows Up Eleanor H. Porter (booksvooks .TXT) šĀ». Author Eleanor H. Porter
āSell it! Oh, auntie, you wouldnātā āthis beautiful house full of lovely things!ā
āI may have to, Pollyanna. We have to eatā āunfortunately.ā
āI know it; and Iām always so hungry,ā mourned Pollyanna, with a rueful laugh. āStill, I suppose I ought to be glad my appetite is so good.ā
āVery likely. Youād find something to be glad about, of course. But what shall we do, child? I do wish youād be serious for a minute.ā
A quick change came to Pollyannaās face.
āI am serious, Aunt Polly. Iāve been thinking. Iā āI wish I could earn some money.ā
āOh, child, child, to think of my ever living to hear you say that!ā moaned the woman; āā āa daughter of the Harringtons having to earn her bread!ā
āOh, but that isnāt the way to look at it,ā laughed Pollyanna. āYou ought to be glad if a daughter of the Harringtons is smart enough to earn her bread! That isnāt any disgrace, Aunt Polly.ā
āPerhaps not; but it isnāt very pleasant to oneās pride, after the position weāve always occupied in Beldingsville, Pollyanna.ā
Pollyanna did not seem to have heard. Her eyes were musingly fixed on space.
āIf only I had some talent! If only I could do something better than anybody else in the world,ā she sighed at last. āI can sing a little, play a little, embroider a little, and darn a little; but I canāt do any of them wellā ānot well enough to be paid for it.
āI think Iād like best to cook,ā she resumed, after a minuteās silence, āand keep house. You know I loved that in Germany winters, when Gretchen used to bother us so much by not coming when we wanted her. But I donāt exactly want to go into other peopleās kitchens to do it.ā
āAs if Iād let you! Pollyanna!ā shuddered Mrs. Chilton again.
āAnd of course, to just work in our own kitchen here doesnāt bring in anything,ā bemoaned Pollyanna, āā ānot any money, I mean. And itās money we need.ā
āIt most emphatically is,ā sighed Aunt Polly.
There was a long silence, broken at last by Pollyanna.
āTo think that after all youāve done for me, auntieā āto think that now, if I only could, Iād have such a splendid chance to help! And yetā āI canāt do it. Oh, why wasnāt I born with something thatās worth money?ā
āThere, there, child, donāt, donāt! Of course, if the doctorā āā The words choked into silence.
Pollyanna looked up quickly, and sprang to her feet.
āDear, dear, this will never do!ā she exclaimed, with a complete change of manner. āDonāt you fret, auntie. Whatāll you wager that I donāt develop the most marvelous talent going, one of these days? Besides, I think itās real excitingā āall this. Thereās so much uncertainty in it. Thereās a lot of fun in wanting thingsā āand then watching for them to come. Just living along and knowing youāre going to have everything you want is soā āso humdrum, you know,ā she finished, with a gay little laugh.
Mrs. Chilton, however, did not laugh. She only sighed and said:
āDear me, Pollyanna, what a child you are!ā
XVIII A Matter of AdjustmentThe first few days at Beldingsville were not easy either for Mrs. Chilton or for Pollyanna. They were days of adjustment; and days of adjustment are seldom easy.
From travel and excitement it was not easy to put oneās mind to the consideration of the price of butter and the delinquencies of the butcher. From having all oneās time for oneās own, it was not easy to find always the next task clamoring to be done. Friends and neighbors called, too, and although Pollyanna welcomed them with glad cordiality, Mrs. Chilton, when possible, excused herself; and always she said bitterly to Pollyanna:
āCuriosity, I suppose, to see how Polly Harrington likes being poor.ā
Of the doctor Mrs. Chilton seldom spoke, yet Pollyanna knew very well that almost never was he absent from her thoughts; and that more than half her taciturnity was but her usual cloak for a deeper emotion which she did not care to show.
Jimmy Pendleton Pollyanna saw several times during that first month. He came first with John Pendleton for a somewhat stiff and ceremonious callā ānot that it was either stiff or ceremonious until after Aunt Polly came into the room; then it was both. For some reason Aunt Polly had not excused herself on this occasion. After that Jimmy had come by himself, once with flowers, once with a book for Aunt Polly, twice with no excuse at all. Pollyanna welcomed him with frank pleasure always. Aunt Polly, after that first time, did not see him at all.
To the most of their friends and acquaintances Pollyanna said little about the change in their circumstances. To Jimmy, however, she talked freely, and always her constant cry was: āIf only I could do something to bring in some money!ā
āIām getting to be the most mercenary little creature you ever saw,ā she laughed dolefully. āIāve got so I measure everything with a dollar bill, and I actually think in quarters and dimes. You see, Aunt Polly does feel so poor!ā
āItās a shame!ā stormed Jimmy.
āI know it. But, honestly, I think she feels a little poorer than she needs toā āsheās brooded over it so. But I do wish I could help!ā
Jimmy looked down at the wistful, eager face with its luminous eyes, and his own eyes softened.
āWhat do you want to doā āif you could do it?ā he asked.
āOh, I want to cook and keep house,ā smiled Pollyanna, with a pensive sigh. āI just love to beat eggs and sugar, and hear the soda gurgle its little tune in the cup of sour milk. Iām happy if Iāve got a dayās baking before me. But there
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