Полліанна
A Surprise for Mrs. Snow
"AndnowI’lltellyouthegame,"proposedPollyanna,blithelyconfident. "It’llbejustlovelyforyoutoplay—it’llbesohard. Andthere’ssomuchmorefunwhenitishard! Yousee,it’slikethis." Andshebegantotellofthemissionarybarrel,thecrutches,andthedollthatdidnotcome.
ThestorywasjustfinishedwhenMillyappearedatthedoor.
"Yourauntiswantingyou,MissPollyanna,"shesaidwithdrearylistlessness. "ShetelephoneddowntotheHarlows’acrosstheway. Shesaysyou’retohurry—thatyou’vegotsomepractisingtomakeupbeforedark."
Pollyannarosereluctantly.
"Allright,"shesighed. "I’llhurry." Suddenlyshelaughed. "IsupposeIoughttobegladI’vegotlegstohurrywith,hadn’tI,Mrs.Snow?"
Therewasnoanswer. Mrs.Snow’seyeswereclosed. ButMilly,whoseeyeswerewideopenwithsurprise,sawthatthereweretearsonthewastedcheeks.
"Good-by,"flungPollyannaoverhershoulder,asshereachedthedoor. "I’mawfullysorryaboutthehair—Iwantedtodoit. ButmaybeIcannexttime!"
OnebyonetheJulydayspassed. ToPollyanna,theywerehappydays,indeed. Sheoftentoldheraunt,joyously,howveryhappytheywere. Whereuponherauntwouldusuallyreply,wearily:
"Verywell,Pollyanna. Iamgratified,ofcourse,thattheyarehappy; butItrustthattheyareprofitable,aswell—otherwiseIshouldhavefailedsignallyinmyduty."
