Энн из Зеленых Крыш. Уровень 1 / Anne of Green Gables

Her big eyes were fixed on the sky outside the window. This made Marilla more nervous than ever.

After the meal, Anne offered to wash the dishes.

"Take plenty of hot water,” said Marilla. "and be sure you dry them well. I'll drive over to White Sands in the afternoon and see Mrs. Spencer. You'll come with me.”

Anne washed the dishes deftly enough.

"What is the name of that geranium on the window-sill, please?”

"That's the apple-scented geranium.”

"Oh, I mean just a name you gave it yourself.

Didn't you give it a name? May I call it Bonny while I'm here?”

"Why do you name it?”

"Oh, I like that – when things have names. Even if they are only geraniums. I shall call the geranium Bonny. I named that cherry-tree outside my bedroom window this morning. I called it Snow Queen because it was so white.”

"She is interesting, indeed, as Matthew says,” muttered Marilla. Then she turned to her brother. "I suppose I can have the mare and buggy this afternoon, Matthew?” said Marilla.

Matthew nodded. Marilla said grimly:

"I'll drive over to White Sands. I'll take Anne with me and Mrs. Spencer will probably make arrangements to send her back to Nova Scotia at once.”

Chapter V

Anne's History

"Do you know,” said Anne confidentially, "I want to enjoy this drive. You can nearly always enjoy things if you want. I won't think about the asylum. I'll think about the drive. We will go across the Lake of Shining Waters today, won't we?”

"We won't go over Barry's pond, if that's what you mean by your Lake of Shining Waters.

We will go by the shore road[11 - shore road – прибрежная дорога].”

"Shore road sounds nice,” said Anne dreamily.

"Tell me what you know about yourself.”

"Oh, what I know about myself isn't really interesting,” said Anne eagerly. "I was eleven last March. And I was born in Bolingbroke, Nova Scotia. My father's name was Walter Shirley, and he was a teacher. My mother's name was Bertha Shirley.

My mother was a teacher in the High school. They went to live in a little yellow house in Bolingbroke. My mother died of fever[12 - died of fever – умерла от лихорадки] when I was just three months old. And my father died four days afterwards from fever too. Nobody wanted me even then. It is my fate. But Mrs. Thomas took me, though she was poor and had a drunken husband. I lived with them until I was eight years old.