Miss Polly Harrington walked into the kitchen. Nancy is washing up. Nancy started to worry. Miss Polly never walked into the kitchen!

“Nancy!”
“Yes, Miss Polly,” she answered, washing a large plate.
“When I'm talking to you, please stop what you're doing and listen to what I'm saying.”
Nancy went very red.
“Yes, Miss Polly, but you said I have to finish early today...”
“Nancy! Please listen! When you finish here, go to the little room under the roof. Clean it and make the bed.”

Roof

 

Miss Polly went to the kitchen door, then she stopped.
“My sister's child, Miss Pollyanna Whittier, is coming to live with me. She's eleven years old and will sleep in that room. Her mother died when she was five and now her father is dead too.”
Nancy's father died a few months before. She was only fifteen but she had to get money for her family. She found a job at the big house on the hill, with Miss Polly Harrington. Nancy didn't like the job very much. Miss Polly was a cold, difficult person, but now a little girl is coming! Nancy thought of her three sisters, brother and mother at home. She loved her sisters and brother very much. If a little girl was here, the house would be happier and her job would be nicer.

hill

 

“A little girl, Miss Harrington? Oh! That will be nice!” said Nancy.
“Nice? I don't think it will be nice!” said Miss Polly, and she left.

Nancy cleaned the room for the child, but when she finished she wasn't happy.“It's clean, but that's all. There's nothing in here for that poor little girl who doesn't have a mother or a father.”

When she shut the door, it made a lot of noise. Oh dear! Miss Polly didn't like noise. Nancy went outside to find Old Tom, who was in the garden.
“Mr. Tom,” said Nancy, “did you know a little girl is coming to live here?”
“A – what?” said the old man.
“A little girl is coming to live with Miss Polly. It's her sister's child.”
Then Old Tom looked sad. “That's Miss Jennie's daughter.”
“Who is Miss Jennie?” asked Nancy.
“She was Miss Polly's younger sister and the best girl in the world,” he answered. “There was a rich man in this town who wanted her for his wife, but she loved a poor man. Miss Polly and her family didn't like Miss Jennie's husband because he was poor. Miss Jennie and her husband moved to the south and the family didn't speak to her again.” He stopped to think. “Miss Polly's family are all dead now. It's a quiet house. I think Miss Polly will find it difficult to live with a child!”
“I think a child will find it difficult to live with Miss Polly!” said Nancy.
Old Tom thought this was funny.
“Miss Polly was pretty when she was young, you know,” he said. “There's a man in this town who was in love with her!”
“No! It's not possible for anyone to love that woman!” said Nancy.
“She's only forty years old, Nancy! She wears black now, but she had pretty clothes when she was young. She and the man she loved had problems after Miss Jennie left. Everything changed after that,” said Old Tom.

A few days later, Miss Polly called Nancy.“My niece will arrive tomorrow at four o'clock,” she said, “go with Timothy to the station and bring her back here.”

“Yes, Miss Polly, but...”
“I won't go with you. That is all.”
The next day at twenty to four, Nancy and Timothy, who was Old Tom's son, went to the station.

The train arrived and everyone got off and with them was a little girl with long hair and a hat on her head.
“Are you Miss Pollyanna?” Nancy asked.
“Yes, I'm Pollyanna! Oh! I'm glad, glad, GLAD to see you,” said the girl. “I'm glad you came to meet me Aunt Polly!”

“I'm not Aunt Polly,” said Nancy. “I'm very different from your Aunt Polly. You'll meet her soon.” Nancy thought about cold, difficult Miss Polly and this happy little girl, and she felt sad.
Timothy took Pollyanna's things and they drove back to the house. Pollyanna didn't stop talking. For her, everything was pretty.
“Father said Aunt Polly is very rich! Does she have ice cream on a Sunday?”
Timothy thought this was funny.
“No, Miss. Your aunt doesn't like ice cream,” answered Nancy.
“Does she have nice things in her house?”
“Yes,” said Nancy, but Pollyanna's little room under the roof didn't have any pretty things in it!

Poor little girl, thought Nancy.
“Father and I didn't have any money and we didn't have nice things. I hope there are nice things in my room. Maybe pictures? I love pictures.”
Nancy didn't say anything!

When Pollyanna and Nancy arrived at the house, Miss Polly Harrington was in her chair.

“Good afternoon, Pollyanna. I...” Pollyanna ran to her aunt and put her arms round her.
“Oh, Aunt Polly, Aunt Polly. I'm so glad! When father died I was so sad. Now I have you and Nancy, I'm so happy! Father said...”
“Pollyanna, I don't want you to talk about your father. Do you understand?”
“Oh, but Aunt Polly...” Pollyanna had tears in her eyes.

Tears

 

“I will show you your room,” said Aunt Polly.
Pollyanna followed her aunt, with Nancy after her. The house was full of beautiful things.
“Oh, Aunt Polly, Aunt Polly,” said the little girl, looking around. “It's a lovely, lovely house. You're very rich!”

“Pollyanna!” said her aunt. “We do not talk about money in this house!”
They went up and up, until they got to the little room under the roof. There were no nice things in it, only a bed, a chair and a small table.
“Dinner is at six o'clock, Pollyanna. Don't be late.” Miss Polly left.
Nancy helped Pollyanna put her clothes in the wardrobe. For the first time, the little girl looked sad. “You poor girl!” Nancy said.
“I think this will be a nice room, one day. Look Nancy, I can see the trees and houses from the window. It's so pretty. I don't need pictures if I can look out of this window!”
“Pollyanna, you're the best girl in the world!” said Nancy. Then she went to get dinner ready. Miss Polly always ate her dinner at six o'clock, not a minute before or a minute after!Pollyanna had two windows in her room.

Out of one she saw the houses and trees of the town, but out of the other was a big tree and it was very close to the house. Pollyanna opened the window and climbed down the tree into the garden. It was difficult but she didn't worry! She could see a lovely hill near the house. She ran into the garden, past an old man and up the hill.

It was six o'clock. Miss Polly sat at the table but Pollyanna didn't come. She sat for one, two, three minutes, then she said, “Nancy, my niece is late. When she comes down, she'll have no dinner, only bread and milk in the kitchen.”When dinner was finished, Nancy went to Pollyanna's room, but when she opened the door, Pollyanna wasn't there! She looked out of the window and saw Old Tom. He could help.
Nancy ran down to the old man in the garden.
“Don't worry Nancy! She's only gone up the hill,” Old Tom said.
Nancy went up the hill to find her.
“Pollyanna, Miss Polly is not happy!

Your Aunt says you can only have bread and milk in the kitchen! I'm very sorry!”
Pollyanna thought for a minute. “I'm not sorry,” she said. “I'm glad!”
“Glad?” asked Nancy, “Why?”
“I like bread and milk and I can eat it with you in the kitchen. It's easy to be glad about that!”
“You're always glad about everything!” said Nancy.
“Yes, that's the game, you see. Father and I played the 'glad game' when we were sad and it made us happy again. People gave us things because we didn't have money. I wanted a doll but I never got one. One day, we got a big box with a lot of things in it. I looked for a doll but I only found old clothes and some crutches to use when you have a broken leg.

Crutches

 

Broken leg

 

It was difficult to be glad about that! I was sad for a long time, then Father said, ”You can be glad because your legs are good and you don't need the crutches!' That was when we started the game. In the game, you always look for something you can be glad about.”
“It's difficult to be glad when you get a little room with only a bed, a chair and a table in it!” said Nancy.
“Yes, that was difficult at first,” said Pollyanna. “I was sad about Father too, but then I looked out of the window. I found the big tree outside my window. You see, I am glad.”
They went to the house, arm in arm. Pollyanna ate her bread and milk, then went to find her aunt.
“I'm sorry you only had bread and milk, but dinner is at six o'clock!” said Miss Polly.
“Don't be sorry, Aunt Polly! I was glad. I like bread and milk and I like Nancy. It's been a lovely day. I love being here with you! Goodnight Aunt Polly!” and she ran out of the room.
“I don't understand that child,” Miss Polly thought. “She was 'glad' I gave her bread and milk! She 'loves' being with me!” She picked up her book and started to read. But in her room, Pollyanna had tears in her eyes
“I'm sorry Father, I can't play the game. I can't be glad tonight!”
In the kitchen, Nancy washed the plates. “I'll help that dear girl,” she thought, “I'll play the game with her. I'll help her to be happy!”