Chapter 1. Anne Arrives at Green Gables

Matthew Cuthbert lived with his sister Marilla. The name of their house was Green Gables. It was in a little town called Avonlea. Matthew was a farmer. He worked hard on his farm every day.

One afternoon, Matthew went out in his buggy. He had to do something important. His friend, Rachel Lynde, was very surprised to see him go out.

‘That's strange,' she said. ‘Matthew never goes out.'

Rachel went to speak to Marilla about this.

When Rachel arrived at Green Gables, she asked Marilla, ‘Where's Matthew going?'

‘He's going to Bright River Station,' said Marilla. He's meeting a little boy. The boy doesn't have a mother or a father. He's an orphan. The orphan boy is going to live with us. Our friend, Mrs. Spencer, helped us to find him. Matthew is 60 years old now and he needs some help on the farm.'

Rachel was not happy to hear this. ‘Why didn't they tell me about this before,' she thought. ‘It's a bad idea to invite a stranger to their house.' Matthew enjoyed his journey to Bright River Station. It was a beautiful road with lots of apple trees. When he arrived, he didn't see a boy at the station. There was just a girl. There was a man there. The man said, ‘That little girl is waiting for

you. She's from the orphanage.'

‘But that's not possible!' said Matthew. ‘I have to

meet a little boy, not a girl.'

Matthew didn't like speaking to people. But he

had to speak to the little girl. He did not speak first because the little girl spoke first. Her name was Anne Shirley. She had lots of red hair and lots of freckles on her face. She was very happy to see Matthew. She talked a lot. ‘Are you Matthew of Green Gables?' she asked. ‘I'm so happy to meet you. My name is Anne Shirley. But you can call me Anne.'

At first, Matthew didn't know what to do. Then he decided to take Anne home.‘Marilla will decide what to do,' thought Matthew.

On the way home, Anne chatted all the time. ‘I don't like my red hair and freckles. I want to have black hair. But it's red and I can't change the colour.' Anne enjoyed the journey. She thought the countryside was very beautiful. She saw a road called The Avenue. Anne had a lot of imagination. She called it, ‘The White Way of Delight.' Then she saw a pond. It was just a normal pond. But Anne used her imagination again. She called it ‘The

Lake of Shining Waters.'

Matthew was silent. He enjoyed listening to

Anne. He didn't have to say anything because Anne talked all the time.

When they were very near Green Gables, Anne saw a house and said, ‘That's it! That's Green Gables.' And she was right.

They arrived at Green Gables and Marilla opened the door. When she saw Anne, she said, ‘Where's the boy? There must be a boy! We asked for a boy!'

Anne listened in silence. Then she cried, ‘You don't want me because I'm not a boy. Nobody wants me!'

Marilla and Matthew didn't know what to do. They decided to wait until the morning. It was late. They couldn't do anything today. They had dinner, but Anne couldn't eat. She was very sad. Anne went to bed. Anne's bedroom was very empty. There was only a bed, a small table and a little mirror. Near the table, there was a window.

Later, Marilla spoke to Matthew about Anne. ‘We have to send her back to the orphanage. I want to take her to Mrs. Spencer's house tomorrow.'

Matthew didn't agree.

‘Why?' asked Marilla. ‘How can she be good for us?'

‘We can be good for her,' replied Matthew.

Early in the morning, Anne woke up. At first, she didn't remember anything. ‘Where am I?' she thought. Then she remembered. This was Green Gables and they didn't want her here. She wasn't a boy! Anne opened the bedroom window. It was a beautiful morning. There was a lovely garden and lots of trees. But Anne had to leave. Just then, Marilla came in, ‘We have to go soon,' she said.

After breakfast, Anne and Marilla went to Mrs. Spencer's house. They went in the buggy. Anne was very unhappy, but she wanted to enjoy the journey. Anne chatted a lot and Marilla said, ‘You enjoy talking. So, ... talk to me about your life.'

So Anne told Marilla her story.

‘I was eleven years old in March. I was born in Bolingbroke in Nova Scotia. My mother and father died when I was only three months old. Then I lived with different families. One day, I had to go to the orphanage. I was at the orphanage for four months, and now I'm here with you.'

Marilla listened to Anne's sad story. For the first time, she thought, ‘Maybe I'm wrong. Can she stay with us?'

Soon they arrived at Mrs. Spencer's big yellow house. Mrs. Spencer apologised to Marilla, ‘I'm sorry, I didn't know you wanted a boy, and not girl.'

‘Can Anne go back to the orphanage?' asked Marilla.

‘Yes,' said Mrs. Spencer, but Mrs. Blewett is looking for a little girl. Anne can live with her.'

Marilla didn't like this idea. She knew that Mrs. Blewett was unkind to children. And then, Mrs. Blewett arrived. ‘Mrs. Blewett, do you want to take this little girl home with you?' said Mrs. Spencer. Mrs. Blewett looked at Anne. Anne was frightened of her.

‘How old are you and what's your name?' asked Mrs. Blewett.

‘My name...My name's Anne and I'm,...I'm eleven years old,' said Anne.

‘Well, I can take her home now,' said Mrs. Blewett.

‘I don't know,' said Marilla, ‘I want to take her home again. I need to talk to Matthew about this.'

Then there was a big smile on Anne's face.

‘Oh Miss Cuthbert, can I stay?' said Anne.

‘We have to decide,' said Marilla.

Anne and Marilla returned to Green Gables.

Marilla didn't say anything to Matthew at first. When they were alone, Marilla told Matthew, ‘Anne can stay. We'll tell her tomorrow.'

Matthew was very happy. That evening Marilla told Anne to say a prayer. In her bedroom Anne said the prayer. Marilla listened to her. Anne thanked God for the ‘White Way of Delight', and the ‘Lake of Shining Waters'. And then she said, ‘Please can I stay at Green Gables?'