Pollyanna Eleanor H. Porter (classic english novels txt) đ
- Author: Eleanor H. Porter
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âWell, she ainât goinâ ter Heaven that way ter-nightâ ânot if I has my say,â declared Nancy, doggedly. âIf the mistress asks, tell her I ainât furgettinâ the dishes, but I gone on a stroll,â she flung back over her shoulder, as she sped toward the path that led through the open field.
V The GameâFor the landâs sake, Miss Pollyanna, what a scare you did give me,â panted Nancy, hurrying up to the big rock, down which Pollyanna had just regretfully slid.
âScare? Oh, Iâm so sorry; but you mustnât, really, ever get scared about me, Nancy. Father and the Ladiesâ Aid used to do it, too, till they found I always came back all right.â
âBut I didnât even know youâd went,â cried Nancy, tucking the little girlâs hand under her arm and hurrying her down the hill. âI didnât see you go, and nobody didnât. I guess you flew right up through the roof; I do, I do.â
Pollyanna skipped gleefully.
âI did, âmostâ âonly I flew down instead of up. I came down the tree.â
Nancy stopped short.
âYou didâ âwhat?â
âCame down the tree, outside my window.â
âMy stars and stockings!â gasped Nancy, hurrying on again. âIâd like ter know what yer aunt would say ter that!â
âWould you? Well, Iâll tell her, then, so you can find out,â promised the little girl, cheerfully.
âMercy!â gasped Nancy. âNoâ âno!â
âWhy, you donât mean sheâd care!â cried Pollyanna, plainly disturbed.
âNoâ âerâ âyesâ âwell, never mind. Iâ âI ainât so very particular about knowinâ what sheâd say, truly,â stammered Nancy, determined to keep one scolding from Pollyanna, if nothing more. âBut, say, we better hurry. Iâve got ter get them dishes done, ye know.â
âIâll help,â promised Pollyanna, promptly.
âOh, Miss Pollyanna!â demurred Nancy.
For a moment there was silence. The sky was darkening fast. Pollyanna took a firmer hold of her friendâs arm.
âI reckon Iâm glad, after all, that you did get scaredâ âa little, âcause then you came after me,â she shivered.
âPoor little lamb! And you must be hungry, too. Iâ âIâm afraid youâll have ter have bread and milk in the kitchen with me. Yer aunt didnât like itâ âbecause you didnât come down ter supper, ye know.â
âBut I couldnât. I was up here.â
âYes; butâ âshe didnât know that, you see!â observed Nancy, dryly, stifling a chuckle. âIâm sorry about the bread and milk; I am, I am.â
âOh, Iâm not. Iâm glad.â
âGlad! Why?â
âWhy, I like bread and milk, and Iâd like to eat with you. I donât see any trouble about being glad about that.â
âYou donât seem ter see any trouble beinâ glad about everythinâ,â retorted Nancy, choking a little over her remembrance of Pollyannaâs brave attempts to like the bare little attic room.
Pollyanna laughed softly.
âWell, thatâs the game, you know, anyway.â
âTheâ âGame?â
âYes; the âjust being gladâ game.â
âWhatever in the world are you talkinâ about?â
âWhy, itâs a game. Father told it to me, and itâs lovely,â rejoined Pollyanna. âWeâve played it always, ever since I was a little, little girl. I told the Ladiesâ Aid, and they played itâ âsome of them.â
âWhat is it? I ainât much on games, though.â
Pollyanna laughed again, but she sighed, too; and in the gathering twilight her face looked thin and wistful.
âWhy, we began it on some crutches that came in a missionary barrel.â
âCrutches!â
âYes. You see Iâd wanted a doll, and father had written them so; but when the barrel came the lady wrote that there hadnât any dolls come in, but the little crutches had. So she sent âem along as they might come in handy for some child, sometime. And thatâs when we began it.â
âWell, I must say I canât see any game about that, about that,â declared Nancy, almost irritably.
âOh, yes; the game was to just find something about everything to be glad aboutâ âno matter what âtwas,â rejoined Pollyanna, earnestly. âAnd we began right thenâ âon the crutches.â
âWell, goodness me! I canât see anythinâ ter be glad aboutâ âgettinâ a pair of crutches when you wanted a doll!â
Pollyanna clapped her hands.
âThere isâ âthere is,â she crowed. âBut I couldnât see it, either, Nancy, at first,â she added, with quick honesty. âFather had to tell it to me.â
âWell, then, suppose you tell me,â almost snapped Nancy.
âGoosey! Why, just be glad because you donâtâ âneedâ ââem!â exulted Pollyanna, triumphantly. âYou see itâs just as easyâ âwhen you know how!â
âWell, of all the queer doinâs!â breathed Nancy, regarding Pollyanna with almost fearful eyes.
âOh, but it isnât queerâ âitâs lovely,â maintained Pollyanna enthusiastically. âAnd weâve played it ever since. And the harder âtis, the more fun âtis to get âem out; onlyâ âonly sometimes itâs almost too hardâ âlike when your father goes to Heaven, and there isnât anybody but a Ladiesâ Aid left.â
âYes, or when youâre put in a snippy little room âway at the top of the house with nothinâ in it,â growled Nancy.
Pollyanna sighed.
âThat was a hard one, at first,â she admitted, âspecially when I was so kind of lonesome. I just didnât feel like playing the game, anyway, and I had been wanting pretty things, so! Then I happened to think how I hated to see my freckles in the looking-glass, and I saw that lovely picture out the window, too; so then I knew Iâd found the things to be glad about. You see, when youâre hunting for the glad things, you sort of forget the other kindâ âlike the doll you wanted, you know.â
âHumph!â choked Nancy, trying to swallow the lump in her throat.
âMost generally it doesnât take so long,â sighed Pollyanna; âand lots of times now I just think of them without thinking, you know. Iâve got so used to playing it. Itâs a lovely game. F-father and I used to like it so much,â she faltered. âI suppose, though, itâ âitâll be a little harder now, as long as I havenât anybody to play it with. Maybe Aunt Polly will play it, though,â she added, as an afterthought.
âMy stars and stockings!â âher!â
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