href="#note_45" type="note">45 her children among her relatives and went to the United States. I went to the children’s house because nobody wanted to take me. They didn’t want to take me either46, they said there were too many children in the children’s house. But they had to take me and I lived there four months before Mrs. Spencer came.”
Anne finished her story.
“Did you go to school?” asked Marilla.
“Not much. I went a little last year when I lived with Mrs. Thomas. But they lived so far away from school and I couldn’t go there in winter. But I can read pretty well and I know a lot of poems by heart.”
“Were those women, Mrs. Thomas and Mrs. Hammond good to you?” asked Marilla, looking at Anne out of the corner of her eye.
“O-o-h,” said Anne. “I’m sure they wanted to be, but it’s hard sometimes when you have to work so much and have so many children. But I’m sure they wanted to be good.”
Marilla didn’t ask questions anymore and they drove in silence. Suddenly, Marilla felt such a pity47 for the child. Poor unloved child, she thought. No wonder the girl wanted a real home. Maybe they could have her, thought the woman again.
She talked too much, thought Marilla. But we can train her out of that. She’s ladylike48.
“What is that big house ahead of us?” asked the girl.
“Hotel. A lot of Americans come here. But the season hasn’t started yet,” said Marilla.
“I was afraid it might be Mrs. Spencer’s house,” said Anne sadly. “I don’t want to go there.”
Exercise: What are these words?
to sigh
might
to divide
to imagine
tiny
Chapter 6
Mrs. Spencer lived in a big yellow house, and she came to the door with surprise.
“Mrs. Spencer, there was a mistake somewhere and I’ve come to see where. We sent a word, Matthew and I, we told your brother to bring us a boy,” said Marilla.
“But my brother said you wanted a girl. It wasn’t my fault49, you see,” said Mrs. Spencer.
“Anyway, the mistake was made. Can we send the child back?” asked Marilla.
“I think so, but there’s no need sending her back as Mrs. Blewett was here yesterday and asked for a little girl from the children’s house.”
Marilla knew Mrs. Blewett only a little. A thin and very greedy50 woman with a bad temper51.
The doorbell rang and in came Mrs. Bewett. Mrs. Spencer was glad they could decide everything right there. Mrs. Spencer told her that if she still wanted a girl, she could take her.
Mrs. Blewett said that the girl had to earn52 her living, be smart and respect53 her. She was ready to take Anne.
Marilla looked at Anne’s face, so pale and sad. She understood that the girl would again go to the family where she wouldn’t be treated54 right. She also thought that if she left the child right there, she would never forgive55 herself.
“You know, I didn’t come here to send the child back, I just wanted to know how the mistake was made. Anyway, I need to talk with Matthew, I can’t do things without talking to him. I’ll take the child home and if Matthew says he doesn’t want to take the girl, I will send you a note and you can take her,” said Marilla.
Anne smiled when she heard this.
They came back home and Marilla told Matthew that she decided to let the girl stay. “I wouldn’t give a dog to that Blewett woman,” Matthew said.
Exercise: What are these words?
fault
greedy
to decide
to earn
to forgive
Exercise: Answer the questions.
1. What did Marilla feel when she heard Anne’s story?
2. Why did Marilla say she needed to talk with Metthew because she couldn’t decide without him?
Chapter 7
“Now, Anne, I saw that you threw your clothes all over the floor last night. That’s not the right thing to do. You need to fold56 them.”
“I understand. I was so sad that I couldn’t think about it. I’ll fold them nicely tonight.”
“Now, say your prayers57 and go to bed,” said Marilla.
“But I never say prayers.”
“Don’t you know it’s bad when you don’t say prayers before going to bed?” asked Marilla. “Anne, if you leave under my roof, you need to say the prayers.”
“If you want me to, I will,” said Anne. “But I don’t understand why people say their prayers on their knees. If I wanted to say prayers, I would go into the field or into the forest and look at the blue-blue sky.”
When praying, Anne said thank you for what she had and also asked to stay here at Green Gables.
Marilla closed the door and went away to the kitchen. She told Matthew that they needed to teach the child a lot of things and send her to a Sunday school.
Exercise: What are these words?
knees
roof
prayer
to throw
to fold
Chapter 8
Marilla didn’t tell Anne she was going to stay at Green Gables until the next afternoon. She gave her different tasks and watched how she did them. Marilla understood that Anne was smart and didn’t mind the work. Her only problem was daydreaming58 and imagining things.
Anne
[ˈaɪðə] – тоже
[ˈpɪti] – жалость
с манерами леди
[fɔːlt] – вина
[ˈɡriːdi] – жадная
[ˈtempə] – нрав, характер
[ɜːn] – заработать, заслужить
[rɪˈspekt] – уважать
[tri:t] – обращаться с
[fəˈɡɪv] – прощать
[fəʊld] – складывать
[preə] – молитва
daydream [ˈdeɪdriːm] – витать в облаках
