forward to a dreadfully unpleasant experience when
I went over to Mr. Harrison’s tonight; and instead
he was quite kind and I had almost a nice time.
I think we’re going to be real good friends
if we make plenty of allowances for each other, and
everything has turned out for the best. But all
the same, Marilla, I shall certainly never again sell
a cow before making sure to whom she belongs.
And I do not like parrots!”
Different Opinions
One evening at sunset, Jane Andrews, Gilbert Blythe,
and Anne Shirley were lingering by a fence in the
shadow of gently swaying spruce boughs, where a wood
cut known as the Birch Path joined the main road.
Jane had been up to spend the afternoon with Anne,
who walked part of the way home with her; at the fence
they met Gilbert, and all three were now talking about
the fateful morrow; for that morrow was the first of
September and the schools would open. Jane would
go to Newbridge and Gilbert to White Sands.
“You both have the advantage of me,” sighed
Anne. “You’re going to teach children
who don’t know you, but I have to teach my own
old schoolmates, and Mrs. Lynde says she’s afraid
they won’t respect me as they would a stranger
unless I’m very cross from the first. But
I don’t believe a teacher should be cross.
Oh, it seems to me such a responsibility!”
“I guess we’ll get on all right,”
said Jane comfortably. Jane was not troubled
by any aspirations to be an influence for good.
She meant to earn her salary fairly, please the trustees,
and get her name on the School Inspector’s roll
of honor. Further ambitions Jane had none.
“The main thing will be to keep order and a
teacher has to be a little cross to do that.
If my pupils won’t do as I tell them I shall
punish them.”
“How?”
“Give them a good whipping, of course.”
“Oh, Jane, you wouldn’t,” cried
Anne, shocked. “Jane, you couldn’t!”
“Indeed, I could and would, if they deserved
it,” said Jane decidedly.
“I could never whip a child,” said
Anne with equal decision. “I don’t
believe in it at all. Miss Stacy never
whipped any of us and she had perfect order; and Mr.
Phillips was always whipping and he had no order at
all. No, if I can’t get along without whipping
I shall not try to teach school. There are better
ways of managing. I shall try to win my pupils’
affections and then they will want to do what
I tell them.”
“But suppose they don’t?” said practical
Jane.
“I wouldn’t whip them anyhow. I’m
sure it wouldn’t do any good. Oh, don’t
whip your pupils, Jane dear, no matter what they do.”
“What do you think about it, Gilbert?”
demanded Jane. “Don’t you think there
are some children who really need a whipping now and
then?”
“Don’t you think it’s a cruel, barbarous
thing to whip a child . . . Any child?”
exclaimed Anne, her face flushing with earnestness.
