XI Facts and Fancies XI Hechos y fantasías XI Factos e fantasias

"Teaching is really very interesting work," wrote Anne to a Queen's Academy chum. "Jane says she thinks it is monotonous but I don't find it so. Something funny is almost sure to happen every day, and the children say such amusing things. Jane says she punishes her pupils when they make funny speeches, which is probably why she finds teaching monotonous. This afternoon little Jimmy Andrews was trying to spell 'speckled' and couldn't manage it. 'Well,' he said finally, 'I can't spell 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 prevent the others from commenting on it . Clair a certainement beaucoup de taches de rousseur, même si j'essaie d'empêcher les autres de faire des commentaires à ce sujet... for I was freckled once and well do I remember it. J'ai déjà eu des taches de rousseur et je m'en souviens très bien. But I don't think St. Clair minds. It was because Jimmy called him 'St. C'était parce que Jimmy l'appelait 'St. Clair' that St. Clair pounded him on the way home from school. Clair l'a pilonné en rentrant de l'école. I heard of the pounding, but not officially, so I don't think I'll take any notice of it. J'ai entendu parler du martèlement, mais pas officiellement, donc je ne pense pas en tenir compte. "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 many would you have altogether?' 'A mouthful,' said Lottie. And in the nature study class, when I asked them to give me a good reason why toads shouldn't be killed, Benjie Sloane gravely answered, 'Because it would rain the next day.' "It's so hard not to laugh, Stella. I have to save up all my amusement until I get home, and Marilla says it makes her nervous to hear wild shrieks of mirth proceeding from the east gable without any apparent cause. Je dois économiser tout mon amusement jusqu'à ce que je rentre à la maison, et Marilla dit que cela la rend nerveuse d'entendre des cris de joie sauvages provenant du pignon est sans aucune cause apparente. She says a man in Grafton went insane once and that was how it began. Elle dit qu'un homme de Grafton est devenu fou une fois et c'est ainsi que tout a commencé.

"Did you know that Thomas a Becket was canonized as a SNAKE? "Saviez-vous que Thomas Becket a été canonisé en tant que SERPENT ? Rose Bell says he was . also that William Tyndale WROTE the New Testament. Claude White says a 'glacier' is a man who puts in window frames! Claude White dit qu'un "glacier" est un homme qui pose des cadres de fenêtre ! "I think the most difficult thing in teaching, as well as the most interesting, is to get the children to tell you their real thoughts about things. One stormy day last week I gathered them around me at dinner hour and tried to get them to talk to me just as if I were one of themselves. Un jour de tempête la semaine dernière, je les ai réunis autour de moi à l'heure du dîner et j'ai essayé de les amener à me parler comme si j'étais l'un d'eux. I asked them to tell me the things they most wanted. Some of the answers were commonplace enough . dolls, ponies, and skates. poupées, poneys et patins. Others were decidedly original. Hester Boulter wanted 'to wear her Sunday dress every day and eat in the sitting room.' Hannah Bell wanted 'to be good without having to take any trouble about it.' Hannah Bell voulait "être bonne sans avoir à se donner du mal". Marjory White, aged ten, wanted to be a WIDOW. Marjory White, âgée de dix ans, voulait être une veuve. Questioned why, she gravely said that if you weren't married people called you an old maid, and if you were your husband bossed you; but if you were a widow there'd be no danger of 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 she thought it was an extra nice kind of bicycle because her cousin in Montreal went on a honeymoon when he was married and he had always had the very latest in bicycles! Je lui ai demandé si elle savait ce que c'était et elle m'a dit qu'elle pensait que c'était un très beau type de vélo parce que son cousin à Montréal était parti en lune de miel quand il était marié et qu'il avait toujours eu les vélos les plus récents !

"Another day I asked them all to tell me the naughtiest thing they had ever done. I couldn't get the older ones to do so, but the third class answered quite freely. Je n'ai pas pu convaincre les plus grands de le faire, mais la troisième classe a répondu assez librement. Eliza Bell had 'set fire to her aunt's carded rolls.' Eliza Bell avait « mis le feu aux petits pains cardés de sa tante ». Asked if she meant to do it she said, 'not altogether.' Lorsqu'on lui a demandé si elle avait l'intention de le faire, elle a répondu "pas tout à fait". She just tried a little end to see how it would burn and the whole bundle blazed up in a jiffy. Elle a juste essayé un petit bout pour voir comment ça brûlerait et tout le paquet s'est enflammé en un tournemain. Emerson Gillis had spent ten cents for candy when he should have put it in his missionary box. Annetta Bell's worst crime was 'eating some blueberries that grew in the graveyard.' Le pire crime d'Annetta Bell a été de "manger des myrtilles qui poussaient dans le cimetière". Willie White had 'slid down the sheephouse roof a lot of times with his Sunday trousers on.' Willie White avait « souvent glissé sur le toit de la bergerie avec son pantalon du dimanche ». 'But I was punished for it 'cause I had to wear patched pants to Sunday School all summer, and when you're punished for a thing you don't have to repent of it,' declared Willie. "Mais j'ai été puni pour cela parce que j'ai dû porter des pantalons rapiécés à l'école du dimanche tout l'été, et quand vous êtes puni pour quelque chose, vous n'avez pas à vous en repentir", a déclaré Willie. "I wish you could see some of their compositions . so much do I wish it that I'll send you copies of some written recently. tant je le souhaite que je vous enverrai des copies de quelques écrits récemment. Last week I told the fourth class I wanted them to write me letters about anything they pleased, adding by way of suggestion that they might tell me of some place they had visited or some interesting thing or person they had seen. La semaine dernière, j'ai dit à la quatrième classe que je voulais qu'ils m'écrivent des lettres sur tout ce qui leur plairait, en ajoutant, à titre de suggestion, qu'ils pourraient me parler d'un endroit qu'ils avaient visité ou d'une chose ou d'une personne intéressante qu'ils avaient vue. They were to write the letters on real note paper, seal them in an envelope, and address them to me, all without any assistance from other people. Last Friday morning I found a pile of letters on my desk and that evening I realized afresh that teaching has its pleasures as well as its pains. Vendredi matin dernier, j'ai trouvé une pile de lettres sur mon bureau et ce soir-là, j'ai réalisé de nouveau que l'enseignement a ses plaisirs aussi bien que ses douleurs. Those compositions would atone for much. Ces compositions expieraient beaucoup. Here is Ned Clay's, address, spelling, and grammar as originally penned. Voici l'adresse, l'orthographe et la grammaire de Ned Clay telles qu'elles ont été écrites à l'origine. "'Miss teacher ShiRley Green gabels.

p.e. Island can

birds

"'Dear teacher I think I will write you a composition about birds. birds is very useful animals. Les oiseaux sont des animaux très utiles. my cat catches birds. His name is William but pa calls him tom. he is oll striped and he got one of his ears froz of last winter. il est tout rayé et il a eu une de ses oreilles gelées l'hiver dernier. only for that he would be a good-looking cat. seulement pour cela, il serait un beau chat. My unkle has adopted a cat. it come to his house one day and woudent go away and unkle says it has forgot more than most people ever knowed. Il est venu chez lui un jour et n'a pas voulu s'en aller. Unkle dit qu'il a oublié plus de choses que la plupart des gens n'en ont jamais su. he lets it sleep on his rocking chare and my aunt says he thinks more of it than he does of his children. Il le laisse dormir sur son berceau et ma tante dit qu'il pense plus à lui qu'à ses enfants. that is not right. we ought to be kind to cats and give them new milk but we ought not be better to them than to our children. 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. Celui de Clair Donnell est, comme d'habitude, court et précis. St. Clair never wastes words. I do not think he chose his subject or added the postscript out of malice aforethought. Je ne pense pas qu'il ait choisi son sujet ou ajouté le post-scriptum dans l'intention de nuire. It is just that he has not a great deal of tact or imagination." "'Dear Miss Shirley "'You told us to describe something strange we have seen. I will describe the 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. Il a deux extrémités et deux côtés. It is painted blue. That is what makes it strange. It is built on the lower Carmody road. It is the third most important building in Avonlea. The others are the church and the blacksmith shop. They hold debating clubs and 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 writing essays 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. I love you with my whole heart and soul and mind . with all there is of me to love . avec tout ce qu'il y a de moi à aimer. and I want to serve you for ever. It would be my highest privilege. That is why I try so hard to be good in school and learn my lessuns. C'est pourquoi je m'efforce de bien travailler à l'école et d'apprendre mes leçons.

"'You are so beautiful, my teacher. Your voice is like music and your eyes are like pansies when the dew is on them. Ta voix est comme de la musique et tes yeux sont comme des pensées quand la rosée est dessus. You are like a tall stately queen. Your hair is like rippling gold. Vos cheveux sont comme de l'or ondulant. Anthony Pye says it is red, but you needn't pay any attention to Anthony. "'I have only known you for a few months but I cannot realize that there was ever a time when I did not know you . "'Je ne te connais que depuis quelques mois mais je ne peux pas réaliser qu'il y a eu un moment où je ne t'ai pas connu. when you had not come into my life to bless and hallow it. quand tu n'étais pas entré dans ma vie pour la bénir et la sanctifier. I will always look back to this year as the most wonderful in my life because it brought you to me. Besides, it's the year we moved to Avonlea from Newbridge. En plus, c'est l'année où nous avons déménagé de Newbridge à Avonlea. My love for you has made my life very rich and it has kept me from much of harm and evil. Mon amour pour toi a rendu ma vie très riche et m'a préservé de beaucoup de mal et de mal. I owe this all to you, my sweetest teacher.

"'I shall never forget how sweet you looked the last time I saw you in that black dress with flowers in your hair. "Je n'oublierai jamais à quel point tu étais belle la dernière fois que je t'ai vue dans cette robe noire avec des fleurs dans les cheveux. I shall see you like that for ever, even when we are both old and gray. Je te verrai toujours comme ça, même quand nous serons tous les deux vieux et grisonnants. You will always be young and 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 when you laugh and when you sigh . even when you look disdainful. I never saw you look cross though Anthony Pye says you always look so but I don't wonder you look cross at him for he deserves it. Je ne t'ai jamais vu avoir l'air fâché, bien qu'Anthony Pye dise que tu as toujours l'air fâché, mais je ne m'étonne pas que tu l'aies fâché, car c'est lui qui l'a mérité. I love you in every dress . you seem more adorable in each new dress than the last.

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

""Your afecksionate pupil, "'Annetta Bell.'" "This extraordinary letter puzzled me not a little. "Cette lettre extraordinaire ne m'a pas peu intrigué. I knew Annetta couldn't have composed it any more than she could fly. Je savais qu'Annetta ne pouvait pas plus le composer qu'elle ne pouvait voler. When I went to school the next day I took her for a walk down to the brook at recess and asked her to tell me the truth about the letter. Annetta cried and 'fessed up freely. Annetta a pleuré et a avoué librement. She said she had never written a letter and she didn't know how to, or what to say, but there was bundle of love letters in her mother's top bureau drawer which had been written to her by an old 'beau.' Elle a dit qu'elle n'avait jamais écrit de lettre et qu'elle ne savait pas comment le faire, ni quoi dire, mais qu'il y avait une liasse de lettres d'amour dans le tiroir du bureau de sa mère, qui lui avaient été écrites par un ancien "beau". "'It wasn't father,' sobbed Annetta, 'it was someone who was studying for a minister, and so he could write lovely letters, but ma didn't marry him after all. "Ce n'était pas papa, sanglote Annetta, c'était quelqu'un qui étudiait pour devenir pasteur, et qui pouvait donc écrire de belles lettres, mais maman ne l'a pas épousé finalement. She said she couldn't make out what he was driving at half the time. Elle a dit qu'elle ne pouvait pas distinguer ce qu'il conduisait la moitié du temps. But I thought the letters were sweet and that I'd just copy 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 think of it and I changed some words. I put "dress" in place of "mood." J'ai mis "robe" à la place de "humeur". I didn't know just what a "mood" was but I s'posed it was something to wear. I didn't s'pose you'd know the difference. I don't see how you found out it wasn't all mine. You must be awful clever, teacher.' Vous devez être très intelligent, professeur". "I told Annetta it was very wrong to copy another person's letter and pass it off as her own. "J'ai dit à Annetta que c'était très mal de copier la lettre d'une autre personne et de la faire passer pour la sienne. But I'm afraid that all Annetta repented of was being found out. Mais je crains qu'Annetta ne se soit repentie que d'avoir été démasquée. "'And I do love you, teacher,' she sobbed. 'It was all true, even if the minister 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 the original. Je ne peux pas reproduire les taches de l'original. "'Dear teacher, ""You said we might write about a visit. "Vous avez dit que nous pourrions écrire sur une visite. I never visited but once. It was at my Aunt Mary's last winter. My Aunt Mary is a very particular woman and 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 jug ever since she was married and nobody had ever broken it before. Tante Mary a dit qu'elle avait cette cruche depuis qu'elle était mariée et que personne ne l'avait jamais cassée auparavant. When we got up I stepped on her dress and all the gathers tore out of the skirt. Quand nous nous sommes levés, j'ai marché sur sa robe et toutes les fronces se sont déchirées de la jupe. The next morning when I got up I hit the pitcher against the basin and cracked them both and I upset a cup of tea on the tablecloth at breakfast. Le lendemain matin, quand je me suis levé, j'ai frappé le pichet contre le bassin et les ai cassés tous les deux et j'ai renversé une tasse de thé sur la nappe au petit déjeuner. When I was helping Aunt Mary with the dinner dishes I dropped a china plate and it smashed. That evening I fell downstairs and sprained my ankle and had to stay in bed for a week. I heard Aunt Mary tell Uncle Joseph it was a mercy or I'd have broken everything in the house. J'ai entendu tante Mary dire à oncle Joseph que c'était une miséricorde sinon j'aurais tout cassé dans la maison. When I got better it was time to go home. I don't like visiting very much. I like going to school better, especially since I came to Avonlea.

"'Yours respectfully, ""Barbara Shaw.'" "Willie White's began, ""Respected Miss, ""I want to tell you about my Very Brave Aunt. She lives in Ontario and one day she went out to the barn and saw a dog in the yard. The dog had no business there so she got a stick and whacked him hard and drove him into the barn and shut him up. Pretty soon a man came looking for an inaginary lion' (Query;—Did Willie mean a menagerie lion?) 'that had run away from a circus. And it turned out that the dog was a lion and my Very Brave Aunt had druv him into the barn with a stick. Il s'est avéré que le chien était un lion et que ma très courageuse tante l'avait poussé dans la grange avec un bâton. It was a wonder she was not et up but she was very brave. Il est étonnant qu'elle n'ait pas été relevée, mais elle a été très courageuse. Emerson Gillis says if she thought it was a dog she wasn't any braver than if it really was a dog. Emerson Gillis dit que si elle pensait que c'était un chien, elle n'était pas plus courageuse que si c'était vraiment un chien. But Emerson is jealous because he hasn't got a Brave Aunt himself, nothing but uncles.' Mais Emerson est jaloux parce qu'il n'a pas de tante courageuse, il n'a que des oncles. "'I have kept the best for the last. You laugh at me because I think Paul is a genius but I am sure his letter will convince you that he is a very uncommon child. Paul lives away down near the shore with his grandmother and he has no playmates . no real playmates. You remember our School Management professor told us that we must not have 'favorites' among our 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, even Mrs. Lynde, who says she could never have believed she'd get so fond of a Yankee. The other boys in school like him too. There is nothing weak or girlish about him in spite of his dreams and fancies. Il n'y a rien de faible ou de jeune fille en lui malgré ses rêves et ses fantaisies. He is very manly and can hold his own in all games. Il est très viril et peut se défendre dans tous les jeux. He fought St. Il a combattu St. Clair Donnell recently because St. Clair said the Union Jack was away ahead of the Stars and Stripes as a flag. Clair a déclaré que l'Union Jack était loin devant le Stars and Stripes en tant que drapeau. The result was a drawn battle and a mutual agreement to respect each other's patriotism henceforth. Le résultat fut une bataille nulle et un accord mutuel pour respecter dorénavant le patriotisme de l'autre. St. Clair says he can hit the HARDEST but Paul can hit the OFTENEST.'" Clair dit qu'il peut frapper le plus fort, mais Paul peut frapper le plus souvent". "Paul's Letter. "'My dear teacher, "'You told us we might write you about some interesting people we knew. "'Vous nous avez dit que nous pourrions vous écrire sur des personnes intéressantes que nous connaissons. I think the most interesting people I know are my rock people and I mean to tell you about them. Je pense que les personnes les plus intéressantes que je connaisse sont mes rockers et j'ai l'intention de vous parler d'eux. I have never told anybody about them except grandma and father but I would like to have you know about them because you understand things. There are a great many people who do not understand things so there is no use in telling them.' "'My rock people live at the shore. I used to visit them almost every evening before the winter came. Je leur rendais visite presque tous les soirs avant l'arrivée de l'hiver. Now I can't go till spring, but they will be there, for people like that never change . that is the splendid thing about them. Nora was the first one of them I got acquainted with and so I think I love her the best. She lives in Andrews' Cove and she has black hair and black eyes, and she knows all about the mermaids and the water kelpies. You ought to hear the stories she 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. They are a pair of jolly tars and they have seen everything in the world. Ils sont une paire de goudron joyeux et ils ont tout vu dans le monde. and more than what is in the world. Do you know what happened to the youngest Twin Sailor once? He was sailing and he sailed right into a moonglade. A moonglade is the track the full moon makes on the water when it is rising from the sea, you know, teacher. Une moonglade est la trace que la pleine lune fait sur l'eau lorsqu'elle émerge de la mer, vous savez, professeur. Well, the youngest Twin Sailor sailed along the moonglade till he came right up to the moon, and there was a little golden door in the moon and he opened it and sailed right through. Le plus jeune des marins jumeaux navigua le long de la clairière de la lune jusqu'à ce qu'il arrive à la lune, où il y avait une petite porte dorée qu'il ouvrit et traversa. He had some wonderful adventures in the moon but it would make this letter too long to tell them.' "'Then there is the Golden Lady of the cave. "Ensuite, il y a la Dame d'or de la grotte. One day I found a big cave down on the shore and I went away in and after a while I found the Golden Lady. She has golden hair right down to her feet and her dress is all glittering and glistening like gold that is alive. And she has a golden harp and plays on it all day long . you can hear the music any time along shore if you listen carefully but most people would think it was only the wind among the rocks. I've never told Nora about the Golden Lady. I was afraid it might hurt her feelings. It even hurt her feelings if I talked too long with the Twin Sailors.' Elle a même été blessée si j'ai parlé trop longtemps avec les marins jumeaux. "'I always met the Twin Sailors at the Striped Rocks. The youngest Twin Sailor is very good-tempered but the oldest Twin Sailor can look dreadfully fierce at times. I have my suspicions about that oldest Twin. I believe he'd be a pirate if he dared. Je crois qu'il serait un pirate s'il osait. There's really something very mysterious about him. He swore once and I told him if he ever did it again he needn't come ashore to talk to me because I'd promised grandmother I'd never associate with anybody that swore. Il a juré une fois et je lui ai dit que s'il recommençait, il n'avait pas besoin de venir à terre pour me parler parce que j'avais promis à ma grand-mère de ne jamais fréquenter quelqu'un qui jurait. He was pretty well scared, I can tell you, and he said if I would forgive him he would take me to the sunset. Il était plutôt effrayé, je peux vous le dire, et il m'a dit que si je lui pardonnais, il m'emmènerait au coucher du soleil. So the next evening when I was sitting on the Striped Rocks the oldest Twin came sailing over the sea in an enchanted boat and I got in her. The boat was all pearly and rainbowy, like the inside of the mussel shells, and her sail was like moonshine. Le bateau était tout nacré et arc-en-ciel, comme l'intérieur des coquilles de moules, et sa voile était comme de l'alcool de lune. Well, we sailed right across to the sunset. Think of that, teacher, I've been in the sunset. And what do you suppose it is? The sunset is a land all flowers. We sailed into a great garden, and the clouds are beds of flowers. We sailed into a great harbor, all the color of gold, and I stepped right out of the boat on a big meadow all covered with buttercups as big as roses. I stayed there for ever so long. J'y suis resté très longtemps. It seemed nearly a year but the Oldest Twin says it was only a few minutes. You see, 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.'"