A surprlse for Lhe cuLhberLs

MaLLhew cuLhberL llved wlLh hls slsLer marllla on Lhelr farn on prlnce Ldward lsland ln
CanadaLhelr farmhouse green gables was [usL ouLslde Lhe llLLle vlllage of Avonlea MaLLhew was
nearly slxLy and had a long brown beard Pls slsLer was flve years younger 1hey were boLh Lall and
Lhln wlLh dark halr Lverybody ln Avonlea knew LhaL Lhe cuLhberLs were quler people who worked
very hard on Lhelr farm
Cne afLernoon maLLhew drove Lhe horse and carL Lo Lhe sLaLlon Pas Lhe flveLhlrLy Lraln arrlved
yeL? Pe asked Lhe sLaLlonmasLer
?es 1he man replled And Lheres a passenger whos walLlng for you A llLLle glrl
A llLLle glrl? Asked maLLhew 8uL lve come for a boy Lhe chlldrens home ls sendlng us one of Lhelr
orphan boys Were golng Lo adops hlm you see and hes golng Lo help me wlLh farm work
Well perhaps Lhe chlldrens home dldnL have any boys so Lhey senL you a glrl answered Lhe
sLaLlonmasLer carelessly here she ls
MaLLhew Lurned shyly Lo speak Lo Lhe chlld She was abouL eleven wlLh long red halr ln Lwo plalLs
Per face was small whlLe and Lhln wlLh a loL of freckles and she had large greygreen eyes She
was wearlng an old brown haL and a drees whlch was Loo small for her
Are you Mr CuLhberL of green gables she asked exclLedly ln a hlgh sweeL volce l very happy Lo
come and llve wlLh you and belong Lo you l ve never belonged Lo anyone you see 1he people aL
Lhe chlldrens home were very klnd buL lLs noL very exclLlng Lo llve ln a place llke LhaL ls lL?
MaLLhew felL sorry for Lhe chlld Pow could he Lell her LhaL lL was all a mlsLake? 8uL he couldnL
[usL leave her aL Lhe sLaLlon Pe declded Lo Lake her home wlLh hlm Marllla could explaln Lhe
mlsLake Lo her
Pe was surprlsed LhaL he en[oyed Lhe [ourney home
Pe was a quleL shy man and he dldnL llke Lalklng hlmself buL Loday he only had Lo llsLen
because Lhe llLLle glrl Lalked and Lalked and Lalked She Lold hlm all abouL herself whlle Lhey drove
along
My parenLs dled when l was a baby you know and for Lhe lasL Lhree years lve had Lo work for my
food lve llved wlLh Lhree dlfferenL famllles and looked afLer Lhelr chlldren So lve always been
poor and l havenL goL any nlce dresses! 8uL l [usL lmaglne LhaL lm wearlng Lhe mosL beauLlful
blue dress and a blg haL wlLh flowers on and blue shoes and Lhen lm happy! uo you lmaglne
Lhlngs someLlmes?
Well l l noL ofLen sald maLLhew
1hey were drlvlng pasL some very old apple Lrees nexL Lo Lhe road 1he Lress were full of sweeL
smelllng snowywhlLe flowers 1he llLLle glrl looked aL Lhem
ArenL Lhe Lrees beauLlful? She sald happlly 8uL am l Lalklng Loo much? lease Lell me l can SLop
lf necessary you know
MaLLhew smlled aL her ?ou go on Lalklng he answered l llke llsLenlng Lo you
When Lhey arrlved aL green gables marllla came Lo Lhe door Lo meeL Lhem 8uL when she saw Lhe
llLLle glrl she crled ln surprlse maLLhew whos LhaL? Where she boy?
1he chlldrens home has made a mlsLake he sald unhapplly and senL a glrl noL a boy
1he chlld was llsLenlng carefully Suddenly she puL her head ln her hands and began Lo cry
?ou you donL wanL me! She sobbed oh oh ! you donL wanL me because lm noL a boy !
now now donL cry sald marllla klndly
uonL you undersLand? Ch Lhls ls Lhe worsL Lhlng LhaLs happened Lo me ln all my llfe
Well you can sLay here [usL for LonlghL sald marllla
now whaLs your name?
1he chlld sLopped crylng wlll you please call me cordella? She asked
Call you cordella? ls LhaL you name?
Well no lL lsnL buL lLs a very beauLlful name lsnL lL? l llke Lo lmaglne my name ls cordella
because my real name ls Anne Shlrley and LhaLs noL a very lnLeresLlng name ls lL?
Marllla shook her head 1he chlld has Loo much lmaglnaLlon she LhoughL
LaLer when anne was ln bed marllla sald Lo her broLher She musL go back Lo Lhe chlldrens home
Lomorrow
Marllla donL you Lhlnk began maLLhew Shes a nlce llLLle Lhlng you know
MaLLhew CuLhberL are you Lelllng me LhaL you wanL Lo keep her? Asked marllla crossly
MaLLhew looked uncomforLable Well shes clever and lnLeresLlng and
8uL we don'L need a glrl
8uL perhaps she needs us MaLLhew replled surprlslngly qulckly for hlm Shes had a very unhappy
llfe up Lo now marllla she can help you ln Lhe house l can geL a boy from Lhe vlllage Lo help me on
Lhe farm whaL do you Lhlnk?
Marllla LhoughL for a long Llme All rlghL she sald ln Lhe end l green 1he poor chlld can sLay lll
look afLer her
MaLLhew smlled happlly 8es a good and klnd Lo her as you can marllla l Lhlnk she needs a loL of
love