Читать книгу Энн из Зеленых Крыш. Уровень 1 / Anne of Green Gables - Люси Мод Монтгомери, Kate Harper - Страница 6

"Do you know,” said Anne confidentially, "I want to enjoy this drive. You can nearly always enjoy things if you want. I won't think about the asylum. I'll think about the drive. We will go across the Lake of Shining Waters today, won't we?”

"We won't go over Barry's pond, if that's what you mean by your Lake of Shining Waters. We will go by the shore road[11].”

"Shore road sounds nice,” said Anne dreamily.

"Tell me what you know about yourself.”

"Oh, what I know about myself isn't really interesting,” said Anne eagerly. "I was eleven last March. And I was born in Bolingbroke, Nova Scotia. My father's name was Walter Shirley, and he was a teacher. My mother's name was Bertha Shirley. My mother was a teacher in the High school. They went to live in a little yellow house in Bolingbroke. My mother died of fever[12] when I was just three months old. And my father died four days afterwards from fever too. Nobody wanted me even then. It is my fate. But Mrs. Thomas took me, though she was poor and had a drunken husband. I lived with them until I was eight years old. I helped look after the children – there were four of them. Then Mr. Thomas fell under a train, and his mother offered to take Mrs. Thomas and the children, but she didn't want me. Then Mrs. Hammond took me. I lived with her in a little house among the stumps. It was a very lonesome place. Mrs. Hammond had eight children. She had twins three times. I lived with Mrs. Hammond for over two years, and then Mr. Hammond died. Mrs. Hammond divided her children among her relatives and went to the States. I went to the asylum at Hopeton, because nobody wanted to take me. I was there four months until Mrs. Spencer came.”

"Did you ever go to school?” demanded Marilla.

"Not much. I went a little the last year I stayed with Mrs. Thomas. And of course I went while I was at the asylum. I can read pretty well and I know many pieces of poetry by heart[13].”

"Were those women – Mrs. Thomas and Mrs. Hammond – good to you?” asked Marilla.

"Oh,” faltered Anne. "They wanted to be. But it's hard to have a drunken husband, you see and many children, don't you think?”

"Poor child!” thought Marilla. It was a pity to send her back.