Chapter Four

The two bosom friends walked off to school on Monday, one strolling on ahead, the other tugging on her shorn curls, trudging behind.

"Really, Anne, it looks fine, and besides it'll grow back," Sara had tried in every way to comfort her redheaded friend, but nothing had consoled her humiliation.

"I don't care, it'll take years to grow back to the way it was.not that I care, my hair is forever red anyway."

Sara sighed and looked on up the Birch Path. It was another humid day, the heavy clouds threatened rain, and the birches swayed in the eastern wind. The path was scattered with still green leaves that had blown off their branches in the rough breeze. There was just a week left till summer break. Anne couldn't bear the thought of leaving school for three whole months a week ago, but yesterday she begged Marilla to let her skip the last week. But Marilla had not consented and to school went Anne with a heavy heart.

As they crossed over the bridge and passed the top of the hill, Anne got slower and slower. Sara, getting tired of this, said exasperated,

"Oh, come now, Anne, hold your head up, you know you'll get through this, you have before."

"I guess you're right, Sara, I'll hold my head up high and not care a bit what Josie Pye says. I think it's just worse IMAGINING what's going to happen and anticipating it."

Sara nodded as they walked through the little grove of pine trees and into the schoolyard.

Just as she said, Anne held her chin in the air and looked on straight ahead. Sara watched their peers as others started to notice Anne's hair cut. Jane and Ruby hurried over to Sara and Anne.

"Hello," they said, glancing over Anne.

"Hello Jane, hello Ruby," Anne said smiling as graciously as she could. Sara smiled with unease. This was too silly to get uncomfortable about!

Josie came over to join the group. She saw Anne and gasped.

"Why, Anne, what did you do? You know, you should really look in the mirror when you give your hair a trim. And you looked almost pretty with long hair. And that dress, it's just not right, I believe you wore it yesterday and the day before."

Anne looked straight into Josie's face and said, just as graciously as to Jane and Ruby, "Why, thank you, Josie. It was ever so kind of you. As for the dress, I don't really care about it. But then you're so fortunate, the only thing you've ever had to wear twice is a sour expression," Anne smiled with vengeance and victory shining in her eyes and walked into the schoolhouse with Sara, Jane, and Ruby trailing behind her, hands over their mouths. Sara looked back at Josie and she was standing there looking horrified.

The rest of the week went smoothly. Sara was quite surprised at Anne's sudden change of view. She looked on as Anne floored Josie every time sarcasm started to creep up.

On the afternoon after the last school hours of the year, Sara climbed up Green Gables stairs to Anne's east gable room. She saw Anne kneeling down by the window and smiling up at the tree outside and talking.

"I'll see you much often now that school's out, dear Snow Queen, I will try to think up a new poem for you tonight after I say my prayers, as I've forgotten the one I made last night. But then nothing is ever as good the next time you try to write it."

Anne looked over at Sara.

"Oh, hello, Sara, I've been spinning hopes and dreams this afternoon. You know, if you imagine a good deal it helps to pass the time."

Sara flopped down on Anne's bed and lay her warm, glistening cheek on the cool quilt. It was the hottest day yet and just walking over to Green Gables, Sara was quite exhausted. She propped her chin in her hands and her elbows on the bed.

"Who's Snow Queen?"

"You mean, what's Snow Queen. Snow Queen is this cherry tree outside my window. When I first came here last month (is it a month already?), it was all frothy pink blossoms. When I woke up on my first morning, even though I was miserable, I saw Snow Queen and brightened right up. I thought up a poem about it last night, but I can't remember a word. I'll have to think up another one, but it won't be as good."

"Hey, I know, let's go up to the Lake of Shining Waters and go for a swim," Sara exclaimed, "You can meet my brothers and sisters, they'll all be there."

"That's sounds swell, let me just get on my wincey dress, I don't mind getting that wet."

Anne finished changing and they set off, Marilla having given them a warning not to be back too late. They heard yelling before they reached the lake. As the two girls came out from behind a bush, a young blond boy jumped off the bridge into the sparkling water.

"Hey, everyone, come out, I want you to meet someone!"

The boys were rather reluctant to step out into the hot air, but the two girls ran right over.

"Everyone, this is Anne. She lives at Green Gables with Mr. and Miss Cuthbert."

"Hello," was the general answer.

"Hello," Anne smiled at them.

"Anne, this is Peter. He's one year younger than me and he's twelve." The blond-haired boy who had jumped off the bridge stuck out a hand, which Anne shook obligingly. Peter had curly locks of yellow like a mop on his head with the brightest blue eyes you ever saw and long eyelashes and rather stocky-looking.

"And this is Elizabeth. She's ten." Anne shook her hand as well, noticing that she was the only one with nut brown curls falling about her face and big hazel eyes, with long lashes that gave her face a rather wistful look. Anne thought she was very pretty.

"This is her twin, Katherine. We call her Katie though." They exchanged handshakes. Anne saw that, although Elizabeth was her twin, Katie looked nothing like her. She, like the others, had almost white-blond curls and blue, blue eyes. She was a good deal shorter than Elizabeth as well.

"This is Teddy. He's seven," Sara pointed to the second smallest boy on the end.

Anne saw that he, too, like his brothers and sister, had yellow hair, but a pale green shade in his eyes.

"And that's Danny. He's four."

Anne smiled down at the little boy clutching Elizabeth's hand. He looked like everyone else, blond hair and blue eyes. His eyes were bigger though, and still had that soft look about him from a baby.

Sara looked at Anne smiling at them all. Anne's eyes fell on Katie.

"What do you spell Katherine with?"

Confused at the question, Katie answered, "K."

"Oh good, I'm glad you spell it with a 'K,' a 'C' always looks so smug."

Katie grinned at this strange girl and they all ran into the Lake of Shining Waters.

"Well, what do you think of them all?" Sara asked eagerly, sitting down on the Dryad's Bubble to take her boots off.

"Oh, they're lovely. It seems I can't get away from twins though. When I was living with Mrs. Hammond before I went to the asylum, I had to take care of her two sets of twins. And Mrs. Thomas's pair before that. I seem to be cursed. But I like your sisters. I wish I had siblings. It seems like so much fun to be in such a large family."

Sara grinned and they ran off into the cool water.