ANNE OF GREEN GABLES

By Lucy Maud Montgomery

Table of Contents

• CHAPTER I: Mrs. Rachel Lynde Is Surprised
• CHAPTER II: Matthew Cuthbert Is Surprised
• CHAPTER III: Marilla Cuthbert Is Surprised
• CHAPTER IV: Morning at Green Gables
• CHAPTER V: Anne's History
• CHAPTER VI: Marilla Makes Up Her Mind
• CHAPTER VII: Anne Says Her Prayers
• CHAPTER VIII: Anne's Bringing-up Is Begun
• CHAPTER IX: Mrs. Rachel Lynde Is Properly Horrified
• CHAPTER X: Anne's Apology
• CHAPTER XI: Anne's Impressions of Sunday-school
• CHAPTER XII: A Solemn Vow and Promise
• CHAPTER XIII: The Delights of Anticipation
• CHAPTER XIV: Anne's Confession
• CHAPTER XV: A Storm in the School Teapot
• CHAPTER XVI: Diana Is Invited to Tea, and Something Bad Happens
• CHAPTER XVII: A New Interest in Life
• CHAPTER XVIII: Anne to the Rescue
• CHAPTER XIX: A Concert, a Disaster, and a Confession
• CHAPTER XX: A Good Imagination Gone Wrong
• CHAPTER XXI: A New Kind of Flavoring
• CHAPTER XXII: Anne Is Invited Out to Tea
• CHAPTER XXIII: Anne Gets Hurt Defending Her Honor
• CHAPTER XXIV: Miss Stacy and Her Students Put On a Concert
• CHAPTER XXV: Matthew Insists on Puffed Sleeves
• CHAPTER XXVI: The Story Club Is Formed
• CHAPTER XXVII: Vanity and Feeling Upset
• CHAPTER XXVIII: An Unlucky Lily Maid
• CHAPTER XXIX: A Big Moment in Anne's Life
• CHAPTER XXX: The Queen's Class Begins
• CHAPTER XXXI: Where the Stream and River Meet
• CHAPTER XXXII: The Pass List Comes Out
• CHAPTER XXXIII: The Hotel Concert
• CHAPTER XXXIV: A Queen's Girl
• CHAPTER XXXV: The Winter at Queen's
• CHAPTER XXXVI: The Glory and the Dream
• CHAPTER XXXVII: Death Comes
• CHAPTER XXXVIII: The Bend in the Road

ANNE OF GREEN GABLES

CHAPTER I: Mrs. Rachel Lynde Is Surprised

Mrs. Rachel Lynde lived where the main road of Avonlea dipped down into a little valley. Bushes and small trees grew along the edges. A stream ran through it. The stream started way back in the woods of the old Cuthbert farm. Back in the woods, the stream was wild and fast, with deep pools and small waterfalls. But by the time it reached Mrs. Lynde's home, it was calm and quiet. Even a stream knew better than to misbehave near Mrs. Rachel's house! It probably sensed that she was always watching from her window.

Many people like to know about their neighbors' business instead of doing their own work. But Mrs. Rachel Lynde was not like that. She took care of her own home and kept track of everyone else's business too. She was an excellent homemaker. Her work was always done, and done well. She ran the sewing club, helped with Sunday school, and was a big helper for the church groups.

Even with all this work, Mrs. Rachel still found time to sit at her kitchen window for hours. She knitted blankets — she had made sixteen of them! While she knitted, she watched the road that crossed the valley and climbed the steep hill beyond. Avonlea sat on a point of land with water on two sides. So anyone entering or leaving town had to pass that hill road — right past Mrs. Rachel's watchful eyes.

One afternoon in early June, she was sitting there as usual. The sun shone in warm and bright. Below the house, the apple trees were covered in pink and white blossoms, buzzing with bees. Mrs. Rachel's husband, Thomas, was planting turnip seeds in a field nearby. Matthew Cuthbert should have been planting turnip seeds too, in his own field near Green Gables (that was the name of his farm). Mrs. Rachel knew this because she had heard him say so the evening before, at a store in the next town.

But here was Matthew Cuthbert, at half-past three in the afternoon on a busy day, calmly driving his horse and buggy over the valley and up the hill! What's more, he was wearing his white collar and his best suit — clear proof he was leaving Avonlea. And he had brought his best horse, which meant he was going pretty far. So where was Matthew Cuthbert going? And why?

If it had been any other man in Avonlea, Mrs. Rachel could have easily guessed the answer. But Matthew almost never left home. He was very shy and hated talking to strangers or going new places. Seeing him dressed up and driving off was very unusual. Mrs. Rachel thought and thought, but she could not figure it out. It ruined her whole afternoon!

"I'll just walk over to Green Gables after supper," she finally decided, "and ask Marilla where he went and why. He doesn't usually go to town this time of year, and he never visits people. If he needed more turnip seeds, he wouldn't dress up like that to go buy them. And he wasn't driving fast, so he's not going for a doctor. But something must have happened since last night to make him leave. I won't feel at peace until I find out!"

So after supper, Mrs. Rachel set off. It wasn't far — the big, rambling house with the orchard around it, where the Cuthberts lived, was just a short walk up the road. Matthew's father had built the house as far from the neighbors as he could, without actually living in the woods! You could barely see Green Gables from the main road, where all the other houses stood close together. Mrs. Rachel didn't think that counted as really living.

"It's just staying there, that's what," she said, walking up the grassy path lined with wild rose bushes. "No wonder Matthew and Marilla are a little odd, living out here all alone. Trees aren't much company! I'd rather look at people. But I suppose they're used to it. People can get used to almost anything."

Mrs. Rachel stepped into the backyard of Green Gables. It was neat and tidy, with tall trees on both sides. Not a stick or stone was out of place — because if there had been, Mrs. Rachel would have spotted it! She believed Marilla Cuthbert swept the yard just as often as she swept the house.

Mrs. Rachel knocked at the kitchen door and walked in when someone answered. The kitchen at Green Gables was clean and neat — so clean it almost looked unused! Sunlight poured in through one window. Through another window, covered with vines, you could see white cherry blossoms and thin birch trees down by the stream.

Marilla Cuthbert sat there knitting. Behind her, the table was set for supper. Mrs. Rachel noticed everything on that table right away. Three plates were set out — so Marilla must be expecting someone to come home with Matthew for tea. But the dishes were just everyday dishes, with only jam and one kind of cake. So the guest couldn't be anyone very special. Then why was Matthew wearing his white collar and taking the best horse? Mrs. Rachel felt very puzzled indeed!

"Good evening, Rachel," said Marilla cheerfully. "Isn't this a lovely evening? Please, sit down. How is your family?"

Marilla and Mrs. Rachel were something like friends, even though they were quite different from each other.

Marilla was tall and thin, with dark hair turning a little gray. She always wore it pulled back tightly. She looked strict and serious — and she was. But there was something about her mouth that hinted she might have a sense of humor, if she ever let it show.

"We're all doing well," said Mrs. Rachel. "But I got a little worried about you, when I saw Matthew leaving today. I thought maybe he was going to see the doctor."

Marilla's mouth twitched. She had expected Mrs. Rachel to come by — she knew that seeing Matthew leave so strangely would make her neighbor very curious.

"Oh, I'm just fine, though I did have a bad headache yesterday," she said. "Matthew went to Bright River. We're getting a little boy from an orphanage in Nova Scotia. He's coming on the train tonight."

If Marilla had said Matthew went to pick up a kangaroo from Australia, Mrs. Rachel could not have been more shocked! For five whole seconds, she couldn't say a word. Surely Marilla was joking — but Mrs. Rachel could tell she wasn't.

"Are you serious, Marilla?" she finally asked.

"Yes, of course," said Marilla, calmly, as if adopting boys from orphanages was just normal spring farm work.

Mrs. Rachel felt shaken. A boy! Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, adopting a boy! From an orphanage! The world was surely turning upside down! Nothing could surprise her after this — nothing!

"What on earth gave you that idea?" she asked, clearly not approving.

After all, no one had asked for her opinion about this plan — and that alone made her disapprove.

"Well, we've been thinking about it for a while now — all winter, actually," Marilla explained. "Mrs. Alexander Spencer came by before Christmas. She said she was going to adopt a little girl from an orphanage in the spring. Her cousin lives near there and knows all about it. So Matthew and I have been talking it over ever since. We decided to get a boy instead. Matthew is getting older, you know — he's sixty now — and he isn't as..."