Anne of Green Gables: Anne with an E

When Matthew and the girl reached Green Gables, Marilla came to the door — and stopped, astonished.“Matthew Cuthbert, who is that?” she asked. “Where is the boy we asked for?”“There wasn’t any boy,” Matthew said unhappily. “There was only her.”

The girl had been listening, and suddenly she dropped her bag and began to cry.“You don’t want me because I’m not a boy!” she sobbed. “Nobody has ever wanted me.”Marilla and Matthew did not know what to say to a child who was crying so hard.

“There is no need to cry about it,” Marilla said, rather stiffly.“There IS need,” said the girl, lifting her wet face. “You would cry too, if you were an orphan who had come to a place you thought would be home, and found they didn’t want you.”“This is the most tragical thing that has ever happened to me.”

Marilla almost smiled, though she did not want to. “Well, don’t cry any more,” she said.“We won’t send you away tonight. You may stay here until we find out what went wrong. What is your name?”The girl hesitated. “Will you please call me Cordelia?” she asked.

“Is Cordelia your name?” asked Marilla. “No, but it is such a beautiful name, and I love to pretend it is mine.”“My real name is Anne Shirley,” she said sadly, “but if you must call me Anne, please call me Anne spelled with an E.”“What difference does the spelling make?” asked Marilla, with the ghost of a smile.

“Oh, it makes a great difference! A-n-n looks dreadful, but A-n-n-e looks so much more distinguished.”Marilla decided that supper could come first and the questions could wait: the next day they would drive to Mrs. Spencer’s and find out the truth.