It all started innocently enough. Matthew had to run some errands in Carmody and offered to give Anne and the Lynde children a lift to school as the road was muddy after the previous day's hard rain. Anne sat up the front with Matthew while the Lynde children crowded in the back all higgledy-piggledy, and they were chatting and singing joyfully, happy that they were out of the mud. In the hubbub no one noticed the little monkey that stowed away in the bottom of the cart.

Mid-morning Anne felt the familiar cramps which heralded her time of the month and she put her hand up to go to the privy which for obvious reasons was some way from the schoolhouse. That meant that Anne who had a bit of a job there did not hear the shrieks of laughter and screams of dismay which emanated from the classroom.

Mr Mustard wrote the lesson on the blackboard, his long white fingers clasping the chalk. As he did so nineteen pairs of eyes watched breathlessly as a red suited simian climbed down the window and across Dan Andrew's desk. Some of the girls had been introduced to Goliath but most of the class had not and as a result had no idea from whence the small creature had sprung.

The lesson was long, so Mr Mustard instructed the class to read from their books while he laboriously wrote out the notes. The only sound in the room was the staccato taps of chalk scraping across the board. Mr Mustard paid them no attention, but in the back of his mind he did think he had finally got their attention. Usually when his back was turned there were some murmurings, but on this morning, they were silently reading or so he assumed.

Just as Goliath was finishing his work Mr Mustard was too. Wiping the chalk dust off his fingers he turned around saying, "now students I wa…" but he was struck dumb by the sight before him. The children were not paying him any attention and were instead intently staring at the ceiling whereupon a small creature was graffitiing school property. Mr Mustard was dumbfounded momentarily, such a thing had never been known in his school, but one thing was sure he was not happy about it. "Whose creature is this?" he asked in a booming voice.

"I say," Mr Mustard raised his voice when there was no answer, "whose animal is that?"

Anne walked back in at that very moment expecting to find the classroom just as she had left it and shocked to find it in uproar. Recognising her, Goliath jumped from the roof into her arms so that even if she had wanted to there was no denying his ownership.

"Anne Shirley, is this that yours?" Mr Mustard roared.

Juggling Goliath who was trying to find a hiding spot under her dress she stammered, "er yes sir."

"Take it away, at once," he said firmly.

"Aww," a collective sigh rose up from the class and he looked at them thunderously. A calmer teacher might have used it as a teaching moment, but Mr Mustard was too incensed. Anne turned but as she did the monkey made a leap for the ceiling once more and the class watched as he walked across the rafters towards the front of the room. He leapt easily down onto the teacher's desk and crouched down with his tail waving behind him grinning at Mr Mustard who said, "shoo." Goliath chattered up at him but did not move. "Shoo," more forcibly this time.

Anne thought she had better take control of the situation but as she strode towards the desk the monkey decided to make a leap for it unfortunately landing on top of Mr Mustard's head where he balanced precariously. "Don't panic," Anne said to her teacher, feeling the power between them shift. He stood stock still trying to see the animal perched on his head and utterly failing. The class too were silent wondering what might happen next but not actually keen to see the teacher wounded by the monkey's sharp fingernails.

"Goliath," Anne called gently. "Goliath, come to me, there's a good boy." She held out her hand moving her thumb and two fingers in an imitation of food in the hopes that he might be interested enough to come to her. "Stay still," she hissed to Mr Mustard. Later she wondered at her audacity but separating him from the monkey was the aim, not impudence. "C'mon boy, come to me." Goliath sat on the unfamiliar head feeling the difference. The man's hair felt strange and he smelt odd. Goliath shifted his weight for a moment and jumped off but not into Anne's arms, instead he landed on the back of Mr Mustard's chair. He strained slightly and they watched as a small turd dropped from under his tail landing on the teacher's seat. No one moved even a muscle and you could have heard a pin drop. The students further at the back of the classroom craned their necks to see. They heaved a collective sigh of relief when Goliath sprang from the chair to the desk and into Anne's arms. She crooned to him comfortingly then turned and walked down the centre aisle and out the door into the sunshine feeling mortified as the sounds of laughter erupted behind her.

"It's mine!"

"Give it me!"

"No, I want it."

"No."

"It's my turn," Johnny wrestled the ball away from Jacob forcefully knocking his younger brother to the ground and ran off triumphant.

Marilla heard the wails and sighed. She found Jacob sitting up but sobbing. "What happened?"

"Jo-nny stole my ball, Mummy. An an he pushed me over."

"Are you much hurt?" Jacob pointed to his elbow and held it out. She thanked her lucky stars he was still young enough to believe in the restorative power of a kiss then went to find Johnny. "It was my turn," he said to her defiantly when she reached him. Marilla looked at him reproachfully with her arms folded. "It was," he said, sounding slightly less definite. Marilla sat down on a bench nearby and rubbed her forehead. When Mari appeared, she retreated to the cabin exhausted by his defiance.

"But Johnny lived Mar, I don't understand why you're still so upset?" John asked her that night when she failed to appear at the dinner table.

"I know, I know he did. But I keep thinking what if he hadn't. I can't get it out of my mind. I just can't" she said. "What if he, what if ... ? I lost little Rachel I can't bear to lose Johnny too. I just feel as if my world is collapsing. I know it could be worse, Isaiah has helped with that, but I just can't get it out of my head. I just can't."

John sighed as she turned away. "What do you want then?" he asked, worried that he already knew her answer.

"I don't think I can stay on board. I can't keep them safe anymore. I don't think I can stand it."

"I thought you loved it."

"I did, I do, but I can't do everything. Who's to say Jacob won't go up next or Susanna?"

"Accidents happen on land too," John reasoned.

"I s'pose so."

She could feel the mattress sink under his weight as he sat down next to her. "Come now love, how would a little break be? You and the children can stay at Avonlea, in the old place for a few months, what do you think? We have to pass by on the next leg anyway."

Marilla laid her head in his lap and felt comforted when he stroked her hair, "that sounds nice," she trailed off as though she meant to say more.

"What is it?"

"Nothing."

"You want me to stay with you on land, come to Avonlea." It was a statement, not a question.

"You hate farming," Marilla said.

"What I hate is being parted from you, my darling. I want us to be a family, all together – happy."

"I don't know if, if, if I can help you there," she replied quietly.

"Well I know you can't manage it here, can you?" She shook her head. "Right," he said. "It's fixed I'll resign my post and we'll sort out the farm. You and I are going to be farmers again, Marilla. It's time for a new adventure. Haven't seen snow for a long time, eh?" She twisted her head to look at him, amazed at his ability to make such a momentous decision so blithely.