Which is somewhat surprising
PollyannaenteredschoolinSeptember. Preliminaryexaminationsshowedthatshewaswelladvancedforagirlofheryears,andshewassoonahappymemberofaclassofgirlsandboysherownage.
School,insomeways,wasasurprisetoPollyanna; andPollyanna,certainly,inmanyways,wasverymuchofasurprisetoschool. Theyweresoononthebestofterms,however,andtoherauntPollyannaconfessedthatgoingtoschoolWASliving,afterall—thoughshehadhadherdoubtsbefore.
Inspiteofherdelightinhernewwork,Pollyannadidnotforgetheroldfriends. True,shecouldnotgivethemquitesomuchtimenow,ofcourse; butshegavethemwhattimeshecould. PerhapsJohnPendleton,ofthemall,however,wasthemostdissatisfied.
OneSaturdayafternoonhespoketoheraboutit.
"Seehere,Pollyanna,howwouldyouliketocomeandlivewithme?"heasked,alittleimpatiently. "Idon’tseeanythingofyou,nowadays."
Pollyannalaughed—Mr.Pendletonwassuchafunnyman!
"Ithoughtyoudidn’tliketohavefolks‘round,"shesaid.
Hemadeawryface.
"Oh,butthatwasbeforeyoutaughtmetoplaythatwonderfulgameofyours. NowI’mgladtobewaitedon,handandfoot! Nevermind,I’llbeonmyowntwofeetyet,oneofthesedays; thenI’llseewhostepsaround,"hefinished,pickinguponeofthecrutchesathissideandshakingitplayfullyatthelittlegirl. Theyweresittinginthegreatlibraryto-day. "Oh,butyouaren’treallygladatallforthings; youjustSAYyouare,"poutedPollyanna,hereyesonthedog,dozingbeforethefire. "Youknowyoudon’tplaythegamerightEVER,Mr.Pendleton—youknowyoudon’t!"