Anne of Avonlea

  XI

  Facts and Fancies

  "Teaching is really very interesting work," wrote Anne to a Queen'sAcademy chum. "Jane says she thinks it is monotonous but I don't find itso. Something funny is almost sure to happen every day, and the childrensay such amusing things. Jane says she punishes her pupils whenthey make funny speeches, which is probably why she finds teachingmonotonous. This afternoon little Jimmy Andrews was trying to spell'speckled' and couldn't manage it. 'Well,' he said finally, 'I can'tspell it but I know what it means.'

  "'What?' I asked.

  "'St. Clair Donnell's face, miss.'

  "St. Clair is certainly very much freckled, although I try to preventthe others from commenting on it . . . for I was freckled once and well doI remember it. But I don't think St. Clair minds. It was because Jimmycalled him 'St. Clair' that St. Clair pounded him on the way home fromschool. I heard of the pounding, but not officially, so I don't thinkI'll take any notice of it.

  "Yesterday I was trying to teach Lottie Wright to do addition. I said,'If you had three candies in one hand and two in the other, how manywould you have altogether?' 'A mouthful,' said Lottie. And in thenature study class, when I asked them to give me a good reason why toadsshouldn't be killed, Benjie Sloane gravely answered, 'Because it wouldrain the next day.'

  "It's so hard not to laugh, Stella. I have to save up all my amusementuntil I get home, and Marilla says it makes her nervous to hear wildshrieks of mirth proceeding from the east gable without any apparentcause. She says a man in Grafton went insane once and that was how itbegan.

  "Did you know that Thomas a Becket was canonized as a SNAKE? Rose Bellsays he was . . . also that William Tyndale WROTE the New Testament.Claude White says a 'glacier' is a man who puts in window frames!

  "I think the most difficult thing in teaching, as well as the mostinteresting, is to get the children to tell you their real thoughtsabout things. One stormy day last week I gathered them around me atdinner hour and tried to get them to talk to me just as if I were one ofthemselves. I asked them to tell me the things they most wanted. Someof the answers were commonplace enough . . . dolls, ponies, and skates.Others were decidedly original. Hester Boulter wanted 'to wear herSunday dress every day and eat in the sitting room.' Hannah Bell wanted'to be good without having to take any trouble about it.' Marjory White,aged ten, wanted to be a WIDOW. Questioned why, she gravely said that ifyou weren't married people called you an old maid, and if you were yourhusband bossed you; but if you were a widow there'd be no dangerof either. The most remarkable wish was Sally Bell's. She wanted a'honeymoon.' I asked her if she knew what it was and she said shethought it was an extra nice kind of bicycle because her cousin inMontreal went on a honeymoon when he was married and he had always hadthe very latest in bicycles!

  "Another day I asked them all to tell me the naughtiest thing they hadever done. I couldn't get the older ones to do so, but the third classanswered quite freely. Eliza Bell had 'set fire to her aunt's cardedrolls.' Asked if she meant to do it she said, 'not altogether.' She justtried a little end to see how it would burn and the whole bundle blazedup in a jiffy. Emerson Gillis had spent ten cents for candy when heshould have put it in his missionary box. Annetta Bell's worst crime was'eating some blueberries that grew in the graveyard.' Willie White had'slid down the sheephouse roof a lot of times with his Sunday trouserson.' 'But I was punished for it 'cause I had to wear patched pants toSunday School all summer, and when you're punished for a thing you don'thave to repent of it,' declared Willie.

  "I wish you could see some of their compositions . . . so much do I wishit that I'll send you copies of some written recently. Last week I toldthe fourth class I wanted them to write me letters about anything theypleased, adding by way of suggestion that they might tell me of someplace they had visited or some interesting thing or person they hadseen. They were to write the letters on real note paper, seal them in anenvelope, and address them to me, all without any assistance from otherpeople. Last Friday morning I found a pile of letters on my desk andthat evening I realized afresh that teaching has its pleasures as wellas its pains. Those compositions would atone for much. Here is NedClay's, address, spelling, and grammar as originally penned.

  "'Miss teacher ShiRley

  Green gabels.

  p.e. Island can

  birds

  "'Dear teacher I think I will write you a composition about birds. birdsis very useful animals. my cat catches birds. His name is William but pacalls him tom. he is oll striped and he got one of his ears froz oflast winter. only for that he would be a good-looking cat. My unklehas adopted a cat. it come to his house one day and woudent go away andunkle says it has forgot more than most people ever knowed. he lets itsleep on his rocking chare and my aunt says he thinks more of it than hedoes of his children. that is not right. we ought to be kind to catsand give them new milk but we ought not be better to them than to ourchildren. this is oll I can think of so no more at present from

  edward blake ClaY.'"

  "St. Clair Donnell's is, as usual, short and to the point. St. Clairnever wastes words. I do not think he chose his subject or added thepostscript out of malice aforethought. It is just that he has not agreat deal of tact or imagination."

  "'Dear Miss Shirley

  "'You told us to describe something strange we have seen. I will describethe Avonlea Hall. It has two doors, an inside one and an outside one.It has six windows and a chimney. It has two ends and two sides. It ispainted blue. That is what makes it strange. It is built on the lowerCarmody road. It is the third most important building in Avonlea. Theothers are the church and the blacksmith shop. They hold debating clubsand lectures in it and concerts.

  "'Yours truly,

  "'Jacob Donnell.

  "'P.S. The hall is a very bright blue.'"

  "Annetta Bell's letter was quite long, which surprised me, for writingessays is not Annetta's forte, and hers are generally as brief as St.Clair's. Annetta is a quiet little puss and a model of good behavior,but there isn't a shadow of orginality in her. Here is her letter.--

  "'Dearest teacher,

  ""I think I will write you a letter to tell you how much I love you. Ilove you with my whole heart and soul and mind . . . with all there is ofme to love . . . and I want to serve you for ever. It would be my highestprivilege. That is why I try so hard to be good in school and learn mylessuns.

  "'You are so beautiful, my teacher. Your voice is like music and youreyes are like pansies when the dew is on them. You are like a tallstately queen. Your hair is like rippling gold. Anthony Pye says it isred, but you needn't pay any attention to Anthony.

  "'I have only known you for a few months but I cannot realize that therewas ever a time when I did not know you . . . when you had not come intomy life to bless and hallow it. I will always look back to this yearas the most wonderful in my life because it brought you to me. Besides,it's the year we moved to Avonlea from Newbridge. My love for you hasmade my life very rich and it has kept me from much of harm and evil. Iowe this all to you, my sweetest teacher.

  "'I shall never forget how sweet you looked the last time I saw you inthat black dress with flowers in your hair. I shall see you like thatfor ever, even when we are both old and gray. You will always be youngand fair to me, dearest teacher. I am thinking of you all the time. . .in the morning and at the noontide and at the twilight. I love you whenyou laugh and when you sigh . . . even when you look disdainful. I neversaw you look cross though Anthony Pye says you always look so but Idon't wonder you look cross at him for he deserves it. I love you inevery dress . . . you seem more adorable in each new dress than the last.

  "'Dearest teacher, good night. The sun has set and the stars areshining . . . stars that are as bright and beautiful as your eyes. I kissyour hands and face, my sweet. May God watch over you and protect youfrom all harm.

  ""Your afecksionate pupil,

  "'Annetta Bell.'"

  "This extraordinary letter puzzled me not a little. I knew Annettacouldn't h
ave composed it any more than she could fly. When I went toschool the next day I took her for a walk down to the brook at recessand asked her to tell me the truth about the letter. Annetta criedand 'fessed up freely. She said she had never written a letter and shedidn't know how to, or what to say, but there was bundle of love lettersin her mother's top bureau drawer which had been written to her by anold 'beau.'

  "'It wasn't father,' sobbed Annetta, 'it was someone who was studyingfor a minister, and so he could write lovely letters, but ma didn'tmarry him after all. She said she couldn't make out what he was drivingat half the time. But I thought the letters were sweet and that I'd justcopy things out of them here and there to write you. I put "teacher"where he put "lady" and I put in something of my own when I could thinkof it and I changed some words. I put "dress" in place of "mood." Ididn't know just what a "mood" was but I s'posed it was something towear. I didn't s'pose you'd know the difference. I don't see how youfound out it wasn't all mine. You must be awful clever, teacher.'

  "I told Annetta it was very wrong to copy another person's letter andpass it off as her own. But I'm afraid that all Annetta repented of wasbeing found out.

  "'And I do love you, teacher,' she sobbed. 'It was all true, even if theminister wrote it first. I do love you with all my heart.'

  "It's very difficult to scold anybody properly under such circumstances.

  "Here is Barbara Shaw's letter. I can't reproduce the blots of theoriginal.

  "'Dear teacher,

  ""You said we might write about a visit. I never visited but once. It wasat my Aunt Mary's last winter. My Aunt Mary is a very particular womanand a great housekeeper. The first night I was there we were at tea.I knocked over a jug and broke it. Aunt Mary said she had had that jugever since she was married and nobody had ever broken it before. When wegot up I stepped on her dress and all the gathers tore out of the skirt.The next morning when I got up I hit the pitcher against the basinand cracked them both and I upset a cup of tea on the tablecloth atbreakfast. When I was helping Aunt Mary with the dinner dishes Idropped a china plate and it smashed. That evening I fell downstairs andsprained my ankle and had to stay in bed for a week. I heard Aunt Marytell Uncle Joseph it was a mercy or I'd have broken everything in thehouse. When I got better it was time to go home. I don't like visitingvery much. I like going to school better, especially since I came toAvonlea.

  "'Yours respectfully,

  ""Barbara Shaw.'"

  "Willie White's began,

  ""Respected Miss,

  ""I want to tell you about my Very Brave Aunt. She lives in Ontario andone day she went out to the barn and saw a dog in the yard. The dog hadno business there so she got a stick and whacked him hard and drove himinto the barn and shut him up. Pretty soon a man came looking for aninaginary lion' (Query;--Did Willie mean a menagerie lion?) 'that hadrun away from a circus. And it turned out that the dog was a lion and myVery Brave Aunt had druv him into the barn with a stick. It was a wondershe was not et up but she was very brave. Emerson Gillis says if shethought it was a dog she wasn't any braver than if it really was adog. But Emerson is jealous because he hasn't got a Brave Aunt himself,nothing but uncles.'

  "'I have kept the best for the last. You laugh at me because I think Paulis a genius but I am sure his letter will convince you that he is a veryuncommon child. Paul lives away down near the shore with his grandmotherand he has no playmates . . . no real playmates. You remember our SchoolManagement professor told us that we must not have 'favorites' amongour pupils, but I can't help loving Paul Irving the best of all mine.I don't think it does any harm, though, for everybody loves Paul, evenMrs. Lynde, who says she could never have believed she'd get so fond ofa Yankee. The other boys in school like him too. There is nothing weakor girlish about him in spite of his dreams and fancies. He is verymanly and can hold his own in all games. He fought St. Clair Donnellrecently because St. Clair said the Union Jack was away ahead of theStars and Stripes as a flag. The result was a drawn battle and a mutualagreement to respect each other's patriotism henceforth. St. Clair sayshe can hit the HARDEST but Paul can hit the OFTENEST.'"

  "Paul's Letter.

  "'My dear teacher,

  "'You told us we might write you about some interesting people we knew. Ithink the most interesting people I know are my rock people and I meanto tell you about them. I have never told anybody about them exceptgrandma and father but I would like to have you know about thembecause you understand things. There are a great many people who do notunderstand things so there is no use in telling them.'

  "'My rock people live at the shore. I used to visit them almost everyevening before the winter came. Now I can't go till spring, but theywill be there, for people like that never change . . . that is thesplendid thing about them. Nora was the first one of them I gotacquainted with and so I think I love her the best. She lives inAndrews' Cove and she has black hair and black eyes, and she knows allabout the mermaids and the water kelpies. You ought to hear the storiesshe can tell. Then there are the Twin Sailors. They don't live anywhere,they sail all the time, but they often come ashore to talk to me. Theyare a pair of jolly tars and they have seen everything in the world. . .and more than what is in the world. Do you know what happened to theyoungest Twin Sailor once? He was sailing and he sailed right into amoonglade. A moonglade is the track the full moon makes on the waterwhen it is rising from the sea, you know, teacher. Well, the youngestTwin Sailor sailed along the moonglade till he came right up to themoon, and there was a little golden door in the moon and he opened itand sailed right through. He had some wonderful adventures in the moonbut it would make this letter too long to tell them.'

  "'Then there is the Golden Lady of the cave. One day I found a big cavedown on the shore and I went away in and after a while I found theGolden Lady. She has golden hair right down to her feet and her dressis all glittering and glistening like gold that is alive. And she has agolden harp and plays on it all day long . . . you can hear the music anytime along shore if you listen carefully but most people would think itwas only the wind among the rocks. I've never told Nora about the GoldenLady. I was afraid it might hurt her feelings. It even hurt her feelingsif I talked too long with the Twin Sailors.'

  "'I always met the Twin Sailors at the Striped Rocks. The youngestTwin Sailor is very good-tempered but the oldest Twin Sailor can lookdreadfully fierce at times. I have my suspicions about that oldest Twin.I believe he'd be a pirate if he dared. There's really something verymysterious about him. He swore once and I told him if he ever didit again he needn't come ashore to talk to me because I'd promisedgrandmother I'd never associate with anybody that swore. He was prettywell scared, I can tell you, and he said if I would forgive him he wouldtake me to the sunset. So the next evening when I was sitting on theStriped Rocks the oldest Twin came sailing over the sea in an enchantedboat and I got in her. The boat was all pearly and rainbowy, like theinside of the mussel shells, and her sail was like moonshine. Well, wesailed right across to the sunset. Think of that, teacher, I've beenin the sunset. And what do you suppose it is? The sunset is a landall flowers. We sailed into a great garden, and the clouds are beds offlowers. We sailed into a great harbor, all the color of gold, andI stepped right out of the boat on a big meadow all covered withbuttercups as big as roses. I stayed there for ever so long. It seemednearly a year but the Oldest Twin says it was only a few minutes. Yousee, in the sunset land the time is ever so much longer than it is here.'

  "'Your loving pupil Paul Irving.'

  "'P. S. of course, this letter isn't really true, teacher. P.I.'"