möbel wohnzimmerschrank

chapter xviia chapter of accidents anne woke three times in the night and madepilgrimages to her window to make sure that uncle abe's prediction was not coming true. finally the morning dawned pearly andlustrous in a sky full of silver sheen and radiance, and the wonderful day hadarrived. diana appeared soon after breakfast, with abasket of flowers over one arm and her muslin dress over the other...for it wouldnot do to don it until all the dinner preparations were completed. meanwhile she wore her afternoon pink printand a lawn apron fearfully and wonderfully

ruffled and frilled; and very neat andpretty and rosy she was. "you look simply sweet," said anneadmiringly. diana sighed."but i've had to let out every one of my dresses again. i weigh four pounds more than i did injuly. anne, where will this end?mrs. morgan's heroines are all tall and slender." "well, let's forget our troubles and thinkof our mercies," said anne gaily. "mrs. allan says that whenever we think ofanything that is a trial to us we should

also think of something nice that we canset over against it. if you are slightly too plump you've gotthe dearest dimples; and if i have a freckled nose the shape of it is all right.do you think the lemon juice did any good?" "yes, i really think it did," said dianacritically; and, much elated, anne led the way to the garden, which was full of airyshadows and wavering golden lights. "we'll decorate the parlor first. we have plenty of time, for priscilla saidthey'd be here about twelve or half past at the latest, so we'll have dinner at one." there may have been two happier and moreexcited girls somewhere in canada or the

united states at that moment, but i doubtit. every snip of the scissors, as rose andpeony and bluebell fell, seemed to chirp, "mrs. morgan is coming today." anne wondered how mr. harrison could go onplacidly mowing hay in the field across the lane, just as if nothing were going tohappen. the parlor at green gables was a rathersevere and gloomy apartment, with rigid horsehair furniture, stiff lace curtains,and white antimacassars that were always laid at a perfectly correct angle, except at such times as they clung to unfortunatepeople's buttons.

even anne had never been able to infusemuch grace into it, for marilla would not permit any alterations. but it is wonderful what flowers canaccomplish if you give them a fair chance; when anne and diana finished with the roomyou would not have recognized it. a great blue bowlful of snowballsoverflowed on the polished table. the shining black mantelpiece was heapedwith roses and ferns. every shelf of the what-not held a sheaf ofbluebells; the dark corners on either side of the grate were lighted up with jars fullof glowing crimson peonies, and the grate itself was aflame with yellow poppies.

all this splendor and color, mingled withthe sunshine falling through the honeysuckle vines at the windows in a leafyriot of dancing shadows over walls and floor, made of the usually dismal little room the veritable "bower" of anne'simagination, and even extorted a tribute of admiration from marilla, who came in tocriticize and remained to praise. "now, we must set the table," said anne, inthe tone of a priestess about to perform some sacred rite in honor of a divinity. "we'll have a big vaseful of wild roses inthe center and one single rose in front of everybody's plate--and a special bouquet ofrosebuds only by mrs. morgan's--an allusion

to 'the rosebud garden' you know." the table was set in the sitting room, withmarilla's finest linen and the best china, glass, and silver. you may be perfectly certain that everyarticle placed on it was polished or scoured to the highest possible perfectionof gloss and glitter. then the girls tripped out to the kitchen,which was filled with appetizing odors emanating from the oven, where the chickenswere already sizzling splendidly. anne prepared the potatoes and diana gotthe peas and beans ready. then, while diana shut herself into thepantry to compound the lettuce salad, anne,

whose cheeks were already beginning to glowcrimson, as much with excitement as from the heat of the fire, prepared the bread sauce for the chickens, minced her onionsfor the soup, and finally whipped the cream for her lemon pies.and what about davy all this time? was he redeeming his promise to be good? he was, indeed.to be sure, he insisted on remaining in the kitchen, for his curiosity wanted to seeall that went on. but as he sat quietly in a corner, busilyengaged in untying the knots in a piece of herring net he had brought home from hislast trip to the shore, nobody objected to

this. at half past eleven the lettuce salad wasmade, the golden circles of the pies were heaped with whipped cream, and everythingwas sizzling and bubbling that ought to sizzle and bubble. "we'd better go and dress now," said anne,"for they may be here by twelve. we must have dinner at sharp one, for thesoup must be served as soon as it's done." serious indeed were the toilet ritespresently performed in the east gable. anne peered anxiously at her nose andrejoiced to see that its freckles were not at all prominent, thanks either to thelemon juice or to the unusual flush on her

cheeks. when they were ready they looked quite assweet and trim and girlish as ever did any of "mrs. morgan's heroines." "i do hope i'll be able to say somethingonce in a while, and not sit like a mute," said diana anxiously."all mrs. morgan's heroines converse so beautifully. but i'm afraid i'll be tongue-tied andstupid. and i'll be sure to say 'i seen.' i haven't often said it since miss stacytaught here; but in moments of excitement

it's sure to pop out.anne, if i were to say 'i seen' before mrs. morgan i'd die of mortification. and it would be almost as bad to havenothing to say." "i'm nervous about a good many things,"said anne, "but i don't think there is much fear that i won't be able to talk." and, to do her justice, there wasn't.anne shrouded her muslin glories in a big apron and went down to concoct her soup. marilla had dressed herself and the twins,and looked more excited than she had ever been known to look before.at half past twelve the allans and miss

stacy came. everything was going well but anne wasbeginning to feel nervous. it was surely time for priscilla and mrs.morgan to arrive. she made frequent trips to the gate andlooked as anxiously down the lane as ever her namesake in the bluebeard story peeredfrom the tower casement. "suppose they don't come at all?" she saidpiteously. "don't suppose it. it would be too mean," said diana, who,however, was beginning to have uncomfortable misgivings on the subject.

"anne," said marilla, coming out from theparlor, "miss stacy wants to see miss barry's willowware platter."anne hastened to the sitting room closet to get the platter. she had, in accordance with her promise tomrs. lynde, written to miss barry of charlottetown, asking for the loan of it. miss barry was an old friend of anne's, andshe promptly sent the platter out, with a letter exhorting anne to be very careful ofit, for she had paid twenty dollars for it. the platter had served its purpose at theaid bazaar and had then been returned to the green gables closet, for anne would nottrust anybody but herself to take it back

to town. she carried the platter carefully to thefront door where her guests were enjoying the cool breeze that blew up from thebrook. it was examined and admired; then, just asanne had taken it back into her own hands, a terrific crash and clatter sounded fromthe kitchen pantry. marilla, diana, and anne fled out, thelatter pausing only long enough to set the precious platter hastily down on the secondstep of the stairs. when they reached the pantry a trulyharrowing spectacle met their eyes ...a guilty looking small boy scrambling downfrom the table, with his clean print blouse

liberally plastered with yellow filling, and on the table the shattered remnants ofwhat had been two brave, becreamed lemon pies.davy had finished ravelling out his herring net and had wound the twine into a ball. then he had gone into the pantry to put itup on the shelf above the table, where he already kept a score or so of similarballs, which, so far as could be discovered, served no useful purpose saveto yield the joy of possession. davy had to climb on the table and reachover to the shelf at a dangerous angle...something he had been forbidden bymarilla to do, as he had come to grief once

before in the experiment. the result in this instance was disastrous.davy slipped and came sprawling squarely down on the lemon pies.his clean blouse was ruined for that time and the pies for all time. it is, however, an ill wind that blowsnobody good, and the pig was eventually the gainer by davy's mischance. "davy keith," said marilla, shaking him bythe shoulder, "didn't i forbid you to climb up on that table again?didn't i?" "i forgot," whimpered davy.

"you've told me not to do such an awful lotof things that i can't remember them all." "well, you march upstairs and stay theretill after dinner. perhaps you'll get them sorted out in yourmemory by that time. no, anne, never you mind interceding forhim. i'm not punishing him because he spoiledyour pies...that was an accident. i'm punishing him for his disobedience.go, davy, i say." "ain't i to have any dinner?" wailed davy. "you can come down after dinner is over andhave yours in the kitchen." "oh, all right," said davy, somewhatcomforted.

"i know anne'll save some nice bones forme, won't you, anne? 'cause you know i didn't mean to fall onthe pies. say, anne, since they are spoiled can't itake some of the pieces upstairs with me?" "no, no lemon pie for you, master davy,"said marilla, pushing him toward the hall. "what shall we do for dessert?" asked anne,looking regretfully at the wreck and ruin. "get out a crock of strawberry preserves,"said marilla consolingly. "there's plenty of whipped cream left inthe bowl for it." one o'clock came...but no priscilla or mrs.morgan. anne was in an agony.

everything was done to a turn and the soupwas just what soup should be, but couldn't be depended on to remain so for any lengthof time. "i don't believe they're coming after all,"said marilla crossly. anne and diana sought comfort in eachother's eyes. at half past one marilla again emerged fromthe parlor. "girls, we must have dinner.everybody is hungry and it's no use waiting any longer. priscilla and mrs. morgan are not coming,that's plain, and nothing is being improved by waiting."

anne and diana set about lifting thedinner, with all the zest gone out of the performance."i don't believe i'll be able to eat a mouthful," said diana dolefully. "nor i.but i hope everything will be nice for miss stacy's and mr. and mrs. allan's sakes,"said anne listlessly. when diana dished the peas she tasted themand a very peculiar expression crossed her face."anne, did you put sugar in these peas?" "yes," said anne, mashing the potatoes withthe air of one expected to do her duty. "i put a spoonful of sugar in.we always do.

don't you like it?" "but i put a spoonful in too, when i setthem on the stove," said diana. anne dropped her masher and tasted the peasalso. then she made a grimace. "how awful!i never dreamed you had put sugar in, because i knew your mother never does.i happened to think of it, for a wonder... i'm always forgetting it...so i popped aspoonful in." "it's a case of too many cooks, i guess,"said marilla, who had listened to this dialogue with a rather guilty expression.

"i didn't think you'd remember about thesugar, anne, for i'm perfectly certain you never did before...so i put in a spoonful." the guests in the parlor heard peal afterpeal of laughter from the kitchen, but they never knew what the fun was about.there were no green peas on the dinner table that day, however. "well," said anne, sobering down again witha sigh of recollection, "we have the salad anyhow and i don't think anything hashappened to the beans. let's carry the things in and get it over." it cannot be said that that dinner was anotable success socially.

the allans and miss stacy exertedthemselves to save the situation and marilla's customary placidity was notnoticeably ruffled. but anne and diana, between theirdisappointment and the reaction from their excitement of the forenoon, could neithertalk nor eat. anne tried heroically to bear her part inthe conversation for the sake of her guests; but all the sparkle had beenquenched in her for the time being, and, in spite of her love for the allans and miss stacy, she couldn't help thinking how niceit would be when everybody had gone home and she could bury her weariness anddisappointment in the pillows of the east

gable. there is an old proverb that really seemsat times to be inspired ... "it never rains but it pours."the measure of that day's tribulations was not yet full. just as mr. allan had finished returningthanks there arose a strange, ominous sound on the stairs, as of some hard, heavyobject bounding from step to step, finishing up with a grand smash at thebottom. everybody ran out into the hall.anne gave a shriek of dismay. at the bottom of the stairs lay a big pinkconch shell amid the fragments of what had

been miss barry's platter; and at the topof the stairs knelt a terrified davy, gazing down with wide-open eyes at thehavoc. "davy," said marilla ominously, "did youthrow that conch down on purpose?" "no, i never did," whimpered davy. "i was just kneeling here, quiet as quiet,to watch you folks through the bannisters, and my foot struck that old thing andpushed it off...and i'm awful hungry...and i do wish you'd lick a fellow and have done with it, instead of always sending himupstairs to miss all the fun." "don't blame davy," said anne, gathering upthe fragments with trembling fingers.

"it was my fault. i set that platter there and forgot allabout it. i am properly punished for my carelessness;but oh, what will miss barry say?" "well, you know she only bought it, so itisn't the same as if it was an heirloom," said diana, trying to console. the guests went away soon after, feelingthat it was the most tactful thing to do, and anne and diana washed the dishes,talking less than they had ever been known to do before. then diana went home with a headache andanne went with another to the east gable,

where she stayed until marilla came homefrom the post office at sunset, with a letter from priscilla, written the daybefore. mrs. morgan had sprained her ankle soseverely that she could not leave her room. "and oh, anne dear," wrote priscilla, "i'mso sorry, but i'm afraid we won't get up to green gables at all now, for by the timeaunty's ankle is well she will have to go back to toronto. she has to be there by a certain date." "well," sighed anne, laying the letter downon the red sandstone step of the back porch, where she was sitting, while thetwilight rained down out of a dappled sky,

"i always thought it was too good to betrue that mrs. morgan should really come. but there...that speech sounds aspessimistic as miss eliza andrews and i'm ashamed of making it. after all, it was not too good to betrue...things just as good and far better are coming true for me all the time.and i suppose the events of today have a funny side too. perhaps when diana and i are old and graywe shall be able to laugh over them. but i feel that i can't expect to do itbefore then, for it has truly been a bitter disappointment."

"you'll probably have a good many more andworse disappointments than that before you get through life," said marilla, whohonestly thought she was making a comforting speech. "it seems to me, anne, that you are nevergoing to outgrow your fashion of setting your heart so on things and then crashingdown into despair because you don't get them." "i know i'm too much inclined that, way"agreed anne ruefully. "when i think something nice is going tohappen i seem to fly right up on the wings of anticipation; and then the first thing irealize i drop down to earth with a thud.

but really, marilla, the flying part isglorious as long as it lasts...it's like soaring through a sunset.i think it almost pays for the thud." "well, maybe it does," admitted marilla. "i'd rather walk calmly along and dowithout both flying and thud. but everybody has her own way of living...iused to think there was only one right way ...but since i've had you and the twins tobring up i don't feel so sure of it. what are you going to do about miss barry'splatter?" "pay her back the twenty dollars she paidfor it, i suppose. i'm so thankful it wasn't a cherishedheirloom because then no money could

replace it.""maybe you could find one like it somewhere and buy it for her." "i'm afraid not.platters as old as that are very scarce. mrs. lynde couldn't find one anywhere forthe supper. i only wish i could, for of course missbarry would just as soon have one platter as another, if both were equally old andgenuine. marilla, look at that big star over mr.harrison's maple grove, with all that holy hush of silvery sky about it.it gives me a feeling that is like a prayer.

after all, when one can see stars and skieslike that, little disappointments and accidents can't matter so much, can they?""where's davy?" said marilla, with an indifferent glance at the star. "in bed.i've promised to take him and dora to the shore for a picnic tomorrow.of course, the original agreement was that he must be good. but he tried to be good...and i hadn't theheart to disappoint him." "you'll drown yourself or the twins, rowingabout the pond in that flat," grumbled marilla.

"i've lived here for sixty years and i'venever been on the pond yet." "well, it's never too late to mend," saidanne roguishly. "suppose you come with us tomorrow. we'll shut green gables up and spend thewhole day at the shore, daffing the world aside.""no, thank you," said marilla, with indignant emphasis. "i'd be a nice sight, wouldn't i, rowingdown the pond in a flat? i think i hear rachel pronouncing on it.there's mr. harrison driving away somewhere.

do you suppose there is any truth in thegossip that mr. harrison is going to see isabella andrews?""no, i'm sure there isn't. he just called there one evening onbusiness with mr. harmon andrews and mrs. lynde saw him and said she knew he wascourting because he had a white collar on. i don't believe mr. harrison will evermarry. he seems to have a prejudice againstmarriage." "well, you can never tell about those oldbachelors. and if he had a white collar on i'd agreewith rachel that it looks suspicious, for i'm sure he never was seen with onebefore."

"i think he only put it on because hewanted to conclude a business deal with harmon andrews," said anne. "i've heard him say that's the only time aman needs to be particular about his appearance, because if he looks prosperousthe party of the second part won't be so likely to try to cheat him. i really feel sorry for mr. harrison; idon't believe he feels satisfied with his life. it must be very lonely to have no one tocare about except a parrot, don't you think?but i notice mr. harrison doesn't like to

be pitied. nobody does, i imagine.""there's gilbert coming up the lane," said marilla."if he wants you to go for a row on the pond mind you put on your coat and rubbers. there's a heavy dew tonight."

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