Anne had made good use of every waking moment of that fortnight. Already she was acquainted with every tree and shrub3 about the place. She had discovered that a lane opened out below the apple orchard4 and ran up through a belt of woodland; and she had explored it to its furthest end in all its delicious vagaries5 of brook6 and bridge, fir coppice and wild cherry arch, corners thick with fern, and branching byways of maple7 and mountain ash.
She had made friends with the spring down in the hollow—that wonderful deep, clear icy-cold spring; it was set about with smooth red sandstones and rimmed8 in by great palm-like clumps9 of water fern; and beyond it was a log bridge over the brook.
That bridge led Anne’s dancing feet up over a wooded hill beyond, where perpetual twilight10 reigned11 under the straight, thick-growing firs and spruces; the only flowers there were myriads12 of delicate “June bells,” those shyest and sweetest of woodland blooms, and a few pale, aerial starflowers, like the spirits of last year’s blossoms. Gossamers glimmered13 like threads of silver among the trees and the fir boughs14 and tassels15 seemed to utter friendly speech.
All these raptured16 voyages of exploration were made in the odd half hours which she was allowed for play, and Anne talked Matthew and Marilla half-deaf over her discoveries. Not that Matthew complained, to be sure; he listened to it all with a wordless smile of enjoyment17 on his face; Marilla permitted the “chatter” until she found herself becoming too interested in it, whereupon she always promptly18 quenched19 Anne by a curt20 command to hold her tongue.
Anne was out in the orchard when Mrs. Rachel came, wandering at her own sweet will through the lush, tremulous grasses splashed with ruddy evening sunshine; so that good lady had an excellent chance to talk her illness fully21 over, describing every ache and pulse beat with such evident enjoyment that Marilla thought even grippe must bring its compensations. When details were exhausted22 Mrs. Rachel introduced the real reason of her call.
“I’ve been hearing some surprising things about you and Matthew.”
“I don’t suppose you are any more surprised than I am myself,” said Marilla. “I’m getting over my surprise now.”
“It was too bad there was such a mistake,” said Mrs. Rachel sympathetically. “Couldn’t you have sent her back?”
“I suppose we could, but we decided23 not to. Matthew took a fancy to her. And I must say I like her myself—although I admit she has her faults. The house seems a different place already. She’s a real bright little thing.”
Marilla said more than she had intended to say when she began, for she read disapproval24 in Mrs. Rachel’s expression.
“It’s a great responsibility you’ve taken on yourself,” said that lady gloomily, “especially when you’ve never had any experience with children. You don’t know much about her or her real disposition25, I suppose, and there’s no guessing how a child like that will turn out. But I don’t want to discourage you I’m sure, Marilla.”
“I’m not feeling discouraged,” was Marilla’s dry response, “when I make up my mind to do a thing it stays made up. I suppose you’d like to see Anne. I’ll call her in.”
Anne came running in presently, her face sparkling with the delight of her orchard rovings; but, abashed26 at finding the delight herself in the unexpected presence of a stranger, she halted confusedly inside the door. She certainly was an odd-looking little creature in the short tight wincey dress she had worn from the asylum27, below which her thin legs seemed ungracefully long. Her freckles28 were more numerous and obtrusive29 than ever; the wind had ruffled30 her hatless hair into over-brilliant disorder31; it had never looked redder than at that moment.
“Well, they didn’t pick you for your looks, that’s sure and certain,” was Mrs. Rachel Lynde’s emphatic32 comment. Mrs. Rachel was one of those delightful33 and popular people who pride themselves on speaking their mind without fear or favor. “She’s terrible skinny and homely34, Marilla. Come here, child, and let me have a look at you. Lawful35 heart, did any one ever see such freckles? And hair as red as carrots! Come here, child, I say.”
Anne “came there,” but not exactly as Mrs. Rachel expected. With one bound she crossed the kitchen floor and stood before Mrs. Rachel, her face scarlet36 with anger, her lips quivering, and her whole slender form trembling from head to foot.
“I hate you,” she cried in a choked voice, stamping her foot on the floor. “I hate you—I hate you—I hate you—” a louder stamp with each assertion of hatred37. “How dare you call me skinny and ugly? How dare you say I’m freckled38 and redheaded? You are a rude, impolite, unfeeling woman!”
“Anne!” exclaimed Marilla in consternation39.
But Anne continued to face Mrs. Rachel undauntedly, head up, eyes blazing, hands clenched40, passionate41 indignation exhaling42 from her like an atmosphere.
“How dare you say such things about me?” she repeated vehemently43. “How would you like to have such things said about you? How would you like to be told that you are fat and clumsy and probably hadn’t a spark of imagination in you? I don’t care if I do hurt your feelings by saying so! I hope I hurt them. You have hurt mine worse than they were ever hurt before even by Mrs. Thomas’ intoxicated44 husband. And I’ll never forgive you for it, never, never!”
Stamp! Stamp!
“Anne go to your room and stay there until I come up,” said Marilla, recovering her powers of speech with difficulty.
Anne, bursting into tears, rushed to the hall door, slammed it until the tins on the porch wall outside rattled46 in sympathy, and fled through the hall and up the stairs like a whirlwind. A subdued47 slam above told that the door of the east gable had been shut with equal vehemence48.
“Well, I don’t envy you your job bringing that up, Marilla,” said Mrs. Rachel with unspeakable solemnity.
Marilla opened her lips to say she knew not what of apology or deprecation. What she did say was a surprise to herself then and ever afterwards.
“You shouldn’t have twitted her about her looks, Rachel.”
“Marilla Cuthbert, you don’t mean to say that you are upholding her in such a terrible display of temper as we’ve just seen?” demanded Mrs. Rachel indignantly.
“No,” said Marilla slowly, “I’m not trying to excuse her. She’s been very naughty and I’ll have to give her a talking to about it. But we must make allowances for her. She’s never been taught what is right. And you were too hard on her, Rachel.”
Marilla could not help tacking49 on that last sentence, although she was again surprised at herself for doing it. Mrs. Rachel got up with an air of offended dignity.
“Well, I see that I’ll have to be very careful what I say after this, Marilla, since the fine feelings of orphans50, brought from goodness knows where, have to be considered before anything else. Oh, no, I’m not vexed51—don’t worry yourself. I’m too sorry for you to leave any room for anger in my mind. You’ll have your own troubles with that child. But if you’ll take my advice—which I suppose you won’t do, although I’ve brought up ten children and buried two—you’ll do that ‘talking to’ you mention with a fair-sized birch switch. I should think that would be the most effective language for that kind of a child. Her temper matches her hair I guess. Well, good evening, Marilla. I hope you’ll come down to see me often as usual. But you can’t expect me to visit here again in a hurry, if I’m liable to be flown at and insulted in such a fashion. It’s something new in my experience.”
Whereat Mrs. Rachel swept out and away—if a fat woman who always waddled52 could be said to sweep away—and Marilla with a very solemn face betook herself to the east gable.
On the way upstairs she pondered uneasily as to what she ought to do. She felt no little dismay over the scene that had just been enacted53. How unfortunate that Anne should have displayed such temper before Mrs. Rachel Lynde, of all people! Then Marilla suddenly became aware of an uncomfortable and rebuking54 consciousness that she felt more humiliation55 over this than sorrow over the discovery of such a serious defect in Anne’s disposition. And how was she to punish her? The amiable56 suggestion of the birch switch—to the efficiency of which all of Mrs. Rachel’s own children could have borne smarting testimony—did not appeal to Marilla. She did not believe she could whip a child. No, some other method of punishment must be found to bring Anne to a proper realization57 of the enormity of her offense58.
Marilla found Anne face downward on her bed, crying bitterly, quite oblivious59 of muddy boots on a clean counterpane.
“Anne,” she said not ungently.
No answer.
“Anne,” with greater severity, “get off that bed this minute and listen to what I have to say to you.”
Anne squirmed off the bed and sat rigidly60 on a chair beside it, her face swollen61 and tear-stained and her eyes fixed62 stubbornly on the floor.
“This is a nice way for you to behave. Anne! Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?”
“You hadn’t any right to fly into such a fury and talk the way you did to her, Anne. I was ashamed of you—thoroughly ashamed of you. I wanted you to behave nicely to Mrs. Lynde, and instead of that you have disgraced me. I’m sure I don’t know why you should lose your temper like that just because Mrs. Lynde said you were red-haired and homely. You say it yourself often enough.”
“Oh, but there’s such a difference between saying a thing yourself and hearing other people say it,” wailed64 Anne. “You may know a thing is so, but you can’t help hoping other people don’t quite think it is. I suppose you think I have an awful temper, but I couldn’t help it. When she said those things something just rose right up in me and choked me. I had to fly out at her.”
“Well, you made a fine exhibition of yourself I must say. Mrs. Lynde will have a nice story to tell about you everywhere—and she’ll tell it, too. It was a dreadful thing for you to lose your temper like that, Anne.”
“Just imagine how you would feel if somebody told you to your face that you were skinny and ugly,” pleaded Anne tearfully.
An old remembrance suddenly rose up before Marilla. She had been a very small child when she had heard one aunt say of her to another, “What a pity she is such a dark, homely little thing.” Marilla was every day of fifty before the sting had gone out of that memory.
“I don’t say that I think Mrs. Lynde was exactly right in saying what she did to you, Anne,” she admitted in a softer tone. “Rachel is too outspoken65. But that is no excuse for such behavior on your part. She was a stranger and an elderly person and my visitor—all three very good reasons why you should have been respectful to her. You were rude and saucy66 and”—Marilla had a saving inspiration of punishment—“you must go to her and tell her you are very sorry for your bad temper and ask her to forgive you.”
“I can never do that,” said Anne determinedly67 and darkly. “You can punish me in any way you like, Marilla. You can shut me up in a dark, damp dungeon68 inhabited by snakes and toads69 and feed me only on bread and water and I shall not complain. But I cannot ask Mrs. Lynde to forgive me.”
“We’re not in the habit of shutting people up in dark damp dungeons,” said Marilla drily, “especially as they’re rather scarce in Avonlea. But apologize to Mrs. Lynde you must and shall and you’ll stay here in your room until you can tell me you’re willing to do it.”
“I shall have to stay here forever then,” said Anne mournfully, “because I can’t tell Mrs. Lynde I’m sorry I said those things to her. How can I? I’m not sorry. I’m sorry I’ve vexed you; but I’m glad I told her just what I did. It was a great satisfaction. I can’t say I’m sorry when I’m not, can I? I can’t even imagine I’m sorry.”
“Perhaps your imagination will be in better working order by the morning,” said Marilla, rising to depart. “You’ll have the night to think over your conduct in and come to a better frame of mind. You said you would try to be a very good girl if we kept you at Green Gables, but I must say it hasn’t seemed very much like it this evening.”
Leaving this Parthian shaft70 to rankle71 in Anne’s stormy bosom72, Marilla descended73 to the kitchen, grievously troubled in mind and vexed in soul. She was as angry with herself as with Anne, because, whenever she recalled Mrs. Rachel’s dumbfounded countenance74 her lips twitched75 with amusement and she felt a most reprehensible76 desire to laugh.
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1
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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2
orphan
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| n.孤儿；adj.无父母的 | |
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3
shrub
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| n.灌木，灌木丛 | |
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4
orchard
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| n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场 | |
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5
vagaries
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| n.奇想( vagary的名词复数 )；异想天开；异常行为；难以预测的情况 | |
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brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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maple
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| n.槭树，枫树，槭木 | |
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8
rimmed
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| adj.有边缘的，有框的v.沿…边缘滚动；给…镶边 | |
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clumps
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| n.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的名词复数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声 | |
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10
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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11
reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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12
myriads
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| n.无数，极大数量( myriad的名词复数 ) | |
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13
glimmered
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| v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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14
boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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15
tassels
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| n.穗( tassel的名词复数 )；流苏状物；（植物的）穗；玉蜀黍的穗状雄花v.抽穗， （玉米）长穗须( tassel的第三人称单数 )；使抽穗， （为了使作物茁壮生长）摘去穗状雄花；用流苏装饰 | |
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16
raptured
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| 欢天喜地的，狂喜的，销魂的 | |
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17
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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19
quenched
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| 解（渴）( quench的过去式和过去分词 )； 终止（某事物）； （用水）扑灭（火焰等）； 将（热物体）放入水中急速冷却 | |
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20
curt
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| adj.简短的，草率的 | |
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21
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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22
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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23
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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24
disapproval
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| n.反对，不赞成 | |
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25
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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26
abashed
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| adj.窘迫的，尴尬的v.使羞愧，使局促，使窘迫( abash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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27
asylum
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| n.避难所，庇护所，避难 | |
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28
freckles
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| n.雀斑，斑点( freckle的名词复数 ) | |
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29
obtrusive
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| adj.显眼的；冒失的 | |
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30
ruffled
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| adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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31
disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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32
emphatic
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| adj.强调的，着重的；无可置疑的，明显的 | |
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33
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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34
homely
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| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
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35
lawful
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| adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的 | |
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36
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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37
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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38
freckled
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| adj.雀斑；斑点；晒斑；（使）生雀斑v.雀斑，斑点( freckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39
consternation
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| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
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40
clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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41
passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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42
exhaling
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| v.呼出，发散出( exhale的现在分词 )；吐出（肺中的空气、烟等），呼气 | |
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43
vehemently
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| adv. 热烈地 | |
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44
intoxicated
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| 喝醉的，极其兴奋的 | |
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45
horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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46
rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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47
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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48
vehemence
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| n.热切；激烈；愤怒 | |
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49
tacking
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| （帆船）抢风行驶，定位焊[铆]紧钉 | |
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50
orphans
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| 孤儿( orphan的名词复数 ) | |
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51
vexed
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| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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52
waddled
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| v.（像鸭子一样）摇摇摆摆地走( waddle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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53
enacted
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| 制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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54
rebuking
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| 责难或指责( rebuke的现在分词 ) | |
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55
humiliation
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| n.羞辱 | |
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56
amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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57
realization
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| n.实现；认识到，深刻了解 | |
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58
offense
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| n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪 | |
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59
oblivious
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| adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的 | |
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60
rigidly
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| adv.刻板地，僵化地 | |
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61
swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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62
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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63
defiant
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| adj.无礼的，挑战的 | |
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64
wailed
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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65
outspoken
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| adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的 | |
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66
saucy
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| adj.无礼的；俊俏的；活泼的 | |
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67
determinedly
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| adv.决意地；坚决地，坚定地 | |
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68
dungeon
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| n.地牢，土牢 | |
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69
toads
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| n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆( toad的名词复数 ) | |
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70
shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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71
rankle
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| v.（怨恨，失望等）难以释怀 | |
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72
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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73
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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74
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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75
twitched
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| vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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reprehensible
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| adj.该受责备的 | |
参考例句： |
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