Цитаты из книги «Pollyanna / Поллианна. Книга для чтения на английском языке»

Miss Polly’s voice was very stern now

she specially prided herself on her repose of manner.

“Well, anyhow, you can be glad of that,” she retorted; “for when I’m talking, YOU don’t have to!”

“I have to be,” retorted Pollyanna calmly, “else I couldn’t find out a thing about you. If you’d talk more I wouldn’t talk so much.”

“Oh, yes, I was,” nodded Pollyanna, triumphantly; “and I found it, too. But ’tWAS hard. It’s all the more fun, though, always, when ’tis hard. And I will own up, honest to true[74], that I couldn’t think of anything for a while. Then I got it.”

“Well, you can be glad of that, then, anyhow, can’t you?” nodded Pollyanna. “Mrs. White couldn’t. You can’t thrash when you have rheumatic fever – though you want to something awful, Mrs. White says. She told me afterwards she reckoned she’d have gone raving crazy if it hadn’t been for Mr. White’s sister’s ears – being deaf, so.”

“Why, what a funny woman,” laughed Pollyanna. “I think I shall like to go to see her. She must be so surprising and – and different. I love DIFFERENT folks.”

“Oh, but Aunt Polly, Aunt Polly, you haven’t left me any time at all just to – to live.”

“I know; that sounds like things father used to say,” faltered Pollyanna, blinking off the tears. “He said there was always something about everything that might be worse; but I reckon he’d never just heard he couldn’t ever walk again. I don’t see how there CAN be anything about that, that could be worse – do you?”

“The child’s presence,” stammered Pollyanna, hastily. “Mr. Pendleton told me once, you see, that only a woman’s hand and heart or a child’s presence could make a – a home. And now he’s got it – the child’s presence.”