Pollyanna Grows Up, Eleanor H. Porter [best short novels of all time txt] 📗

Pollyanna, hurriedly. “Never mind, though. You’ll be glad I wasn’t when you find what I’ve been doing.”

“Well, I shan’t⁠—not this morning,” frowned Aunt Polly, perversely. “Nobody could be glad this morning. Look at it rain! That makes the third rainy day this week.”

“That’s so⁠—but you know the sun never seems quite so perfectly lovely as it does after a lot of rain like this,” smiled Pollyanna, deftly arranging a bit of lace and ribbon at her aunt’s throat. “Now come. Breakfast’s all ready. Just you wait till you see what I’ve got for you.”

Aunt Polly, however, was not to be diverted, even by corn muffins, this morning. Nothing was right, nothing was even endurable, as she felt; and Pollyanna’s patience was sorely taxed before the meal was over. To make matters worse, the roof over the east attic window was found to be leaking, and an unpleasant letter came in the mail. Pollyanna, true to her creed, laughingly declared that, for her part, she was glad they had a roof⁠—to leak; and that, as for the letter, she’d been expecting it for a week, anyway, and she was actually glad she wouldn’t have to worry any more for fear it would come. It couldn’t come now, because it had come; and ’twas over with.

All this, together with sundry other hindrances and annoyances, delayed the usual morning work until far into the afternoon⁠—something that was always particularly displeasing to methodical Aunt Polly, who ordered her own life, preferably, by the tick of the clock.

“But it’s half-past three, Pollyanna, already! Did you know it?” she fretted at last. “And you haven’t made the beds yet.”

“No, dearie, but I will. Don’t worry.”

“But, did you hear what I said? Look at the clock, child. It’s after three o’clock!”

“So ’tis, but never mind, Aunt Polly. We can be glad ’tisn’t after four.”

Aunt Polly sniffed her disdain.

“I suppose you can,” she observed tartly.

Pollyanna laughed.

“Well, you see, auntie, clocks are accommodating things, when you stop to think about it. I found that out long ago at the Sanatorium. When I was doing something that I liked, and I didn’t want the time to go fast, I’d just look at the hour hand, and I’d feel as if I had lots of time⁠—it went so slow. Then, other days, when I had to keep something that hurt on for an hour, maybe, I’d watch the little second hand; and you see then I felt as if Old Time was just humping himself to help me out by going as fast as ever he could. Now I’m watching the hour hand today, ’cause I don’t want Time to go fast. See?” she twinkled mischievously, as she hurried from the room, before Aunt Polly had time to answer.

It was certainly a hard day, and by night Pollyanna looked pale and worn out. This, too, was a source of worriment to Aunt Polly.

“Dear me, child, you look tired to death!” she fumed. “What we’re going to do I don’t know. I suppose you’ll be sick next!”

“Nonsense, auntie! I’m not sick a bit,” declared Pollyanna, dropping herself with a sigh on to the couch. “But I am tired. My! how good this couch feels! I’m glad I’m tired, after all⁠—it’s so nice to rest.”

Aunt Polly turned with an impatient gesture.

“Glad⁠—glad⁠—glad! Of course you’re glad, Pollyanna. You’re always glad for everything. I never saw such a girl. Oh, yes, I know it’s the game,” she went on, in answer to the look that came to Pollyanna’s face. “And it’s a very good game, too; but I think you carry it altogether too far. This eternal doctrine of ‘it might be worse’ has got on my nerves, Pollyanna. Honestly, it would be a real relief if you wouldn’t be glad for something, sometime!”

“Why, auntie!” Pollyanna pulled herself half erect.

“Well, it would. You just try it sometime, and see.”

“But, auntie, I⁠—” Pollyanna stopped and eyed her aunt reflectively. An odd look came to her eyes; a slow smile curved her lips. Mrs. Chilton, who had turned back to her work, paid no heed; and, after a minute, Pollyanna lay back on the couch without finishing her sentence, the curious smile still on her lips.

It was raining again when Pollyanna got up the next morning, and a northeast wind was still whistling down the chimney. Pollyanna at the window drew an involuntary sigh; but almost at once her face changed.

“Oh, well, I’m glad⁠—” She clapped her hands to her lips. “Dear me,” she chuckled softly, her eyes dancing, “I shall forget⁠—I know I shall; and that’ll spoil it all! I must just remember not to be glad for anything⁠—not anything today.”

Pollyanna did not make corn muffins that morning. She started the breakfast, then went to her aunt’s room.

Mrs. Chilton was still in bed.

“I see it rains, as usual,” she observed, by way of greeting.

“Yes, it’s horrid⁠—perfectly horrid,” scolded Pollyanna. “It’s rained ’most every day this week, too. I hate such weather.”

Aunt Polly turned with a faint surprise in her eyes; but Pollyanna was looking the other way.

“Are you going to get up now?” she asked a little wearily.

“Why, y-yes,” murmured Aunt Polly, still with that faint surprise in her eyes. “What’s the matter, Pollyanna? Are you especially tired?”

“Yes, I am tired this morning. I didn’t sleep well, either. I hate not to sleep. Things always plague so in the night, when you wake up.”

“I guess I know that,” fretted Aunt Polly. “I didn’t sleep a wink after two o’clock myself. And there’s that roof! How are we going to have it fixed, pray, if it never stops raining? Have you been up to empty the pans?”

“Oh, yes⁠—and took up some more. There’s a new leak now, further over.”

“A new one! Why, it’ll all be leaking yet!”

Pollyanna opened her lips. She had almost said, “Well, we can be glad to have it fixed all at once, then,” when she suddenly remembered, and substituted, in a tired voice:

“Very likely it will, auntie. It looks like it now, fast enough. Anyway,