Anne of Avonlea

It was a warm afternoon in late August on Prince Edward Island.Anne Shirley, now sixteen and a half, sat on the steps of Green Gables with a Latin book open on her knee.But she was not really reading. She was dreaming about September, when she would begin teaching at the Avonlea school.

Anne had grown tall and thoughtful, though her hair was still red and her imagination was still as large as ever.Suddenly a man marched into the yard. It was Mr. Harrison, the new neighbour, and he looked very angry.

“Your Jersey cow has been in my oats again,” he shouted. “That is the third time this week.”Anne stood up with as much dignity as she could manage and began to apologise.But Mr. Harrison would not stop complaining, and soon Anne’s quick temper caught fire.

He made a rude remark about her red hair. She made an equally rude remark about his bald head.For a moment they simply glared at each other, both ashamed and both too proud to say so.Then Anne took a breath. “I am truly sorry about the cow,” she said. “I give you my word of honour that it will not happen again.”

Mr. Harrison muttered something and stamped back down the lane to his own farm.Anne shut the cow safely in the milking pen and sat down again on the steps, cross with herself.She had meant to be calm and grown-up, and instead she had quarrelled like a child.

When Marilla came home, Anne told her the whole story.Marilla almost smiled. “Mr. Harrison keeps a parrot that says dreadful words,” she said. “Perhaps the two of them suit each other.”Anne laughed at last, and the warm evening settled quietly over Green Gables.