Pollyanna Grows Up Eleanor H. Porter (booksvooks .TXT) đ
- Author: Eleanor H. Porter
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Pollyanna smiled appreciatively.
âThat makes me think of what I told a poor old lady once. She was one of my Ladiesâ Aiders out West, and was one of the kind of people that really enjoys being miserable and telling over her causes for unhappiness. I was perhaps ten years old, and was trying to teach her the game. I reckon I wasnât having very good success, and evidently I at last dimly realized the reason, for I said to her triumphantly: âWell, anyhow, you can be glad youâve got such a lot of things to make you miserable, for you love to be miserable so well!âââ
âWell, if that wasnât a good one on her,â chuckled Jimmy.
Pollyanna raised her eyebrows.
âIâm afraid she didnât enjoy it any more than the man in Germany would have if Iâd told him the same thing.â
âBut they ought to be told, and you ought to tellâ ââ Pendleton stopped short with so queer an expression on his face that Pollyanna looked at him in surprise.
âWhy, Jimmy, what is it?â
âOh, nothing. I was only thinking,â he answered, puckering his lips. âHere I am urging you to do the very thing I was afraid you would do before I saw you, you know. That is, I was afraid before I saw you, thatâ âthatâ ââ He floundered into a helpless pause, looking very red indeed.
âWell, Jimmy Pendleton,â bridled the girl, âyou neednât think you can stop there, sir. Now just what do you mean by all that, please?â
âOh, erâ ân-nothing, much.â
âIâm waiting,â murmured Pollyanna. Voice and manner were calm and confident, though the eyes twinkled mischievously.
The young fellow hesitated, glanced at her smiling face, and capitulated.
âOh, well, have it your own way,â he shrugged. âItâs only that I was worryingâ âa littleâ âabout that game, for fear you would talk it just as you used to, you know, andâ ââ But a merry peal of laughter interrupted him.
âThere, what did I tell you? Even you were worried, it seems, lest I should be at twenty just what I was at ten!â
âN-no, I didnât meanâ âPollyanna, honestly, I thoughtâ âof course I knewâ ââ But Pollyanna only put her hands to her ears and went off into another peal of laughter.
XIX Two LettersIt was toward the latter part of June that the letter came to Pollyanna from Della Wetherby.
âI am writing to ask you a favor,â Miss Wetherby wrote. âI am hoping you can tell me of some quiet private family in Beldingsville that will be willing to take my sister to board for the summer. There would be three of them, Mrs. Carew, her secretary, and her adopted son, Jamie. (You remember Jamie, donât you?) They do not like to go to an ordinary hotel or boarding house. My sister is very tired, and the doctor has advised her to go into the country for a complete rest and change. He suggested Vermont or New Hampshire. We immediately thought of Beldingsville and you; and we wondered if you couldnât recommend just the right place to us. I told Ruth I would write you. They would like to go right away, early in July, if possible. Would it be asking too much to request you to let us know as soon as you conveniently can if you do know of a place? Please address me here. My sister is with us here at the Sanatorium for a few weeksâ treatment.
âHoping for a favorable reply, I am,
âMost cordially yours,
âDella Wetherby.â
For the first few minutes after the letter was finished, Pollyanna sat with frowning brow, mentally searching the homes of Beldingsville for a possible boarding house for her old friends. Then a sudden something gave her thoughts a new turn, and with a joyous exclamation she hurried to her aunt in the living-room.
âAuntie, auntie,â she panted; âIâve got just the loveliest idea. I told you something would happen, and that Iâd develop that wonderful talent sometime. Well, I have. I have right now. Listen! Iâve had a letter from Miss Wetherby, Mrs. Carewâs sisterâ âwhere I stayed that winter in Boston, you knowâ âand they want to come into the country to board for the summer, and Miss Wetherbyâs written to see if I didnât know a place for them. They donât want a hotel or an ordinary boarding house, you see. And at first I didnât know of one; but now I do. I do, Aunt Polly! Just guess where âtis.â
âDear me, child,â ejaculated Mrs. Chilton, âhow you do run on! I should think you were a dozen years old instead of a woman grown. Now what are you talking about?â
âAbout a boarding place for Mrs. Carew and Jamie. Iâve found it,â babbled Pollyanna.
âIndeed! Well, what of it? Of what possible interest can that be to me, child?â murmured Mrs. Chilton, drearily.
âBecause itâs here. Iâm going to have them here, auntie.â
âPollyanna!â Mrs. Chilton was sitting erect in horror.
âNow, auntie, please donât say noâ âplease donât,â begged Pollyanna, eagerly. âDonât you see? This is my chance, the chance Iâve been waiting for; and itâs just dropped right into my hands. We can do it lovely. We have plenty of room, and you know I can cook and keep house. And now thereâd be money in it, for theyâd pay well, I know; and theyâd love to come, Iâm sure. Thereâd be three of themâ âthereâs a secretary with them.â
âBut, Pollyanna, I canât! Turn this house into a boarding house?â âthe Harrington homestead a common boarding
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