Pollyanna

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Eleanor H. Porter
Pollyanna
Retold by Katarzyna Duda
w
o r y g i n a l e
Chapter I
© Mediasat Poland Bis 2005
Pollyanna’s Arrival
Mediasat Poland Bis sp. z o.o.
ul. Mikołajska 26
31-027 Kraków
www.czytamy.pl
czytamy@czytamy.pl
Projekt okładki i ilustracje: Małgorzata Flis
Skład: Marek Szwarnóg
ISBN 83 - 89652 - 28 - 5
Wszelkie prawa do książki przysługują Mediasat Poland Bis. Jakiekolwiek publiczne korzystanie w całości, jak i w
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One June morning Miss Polly Harrington
finished reading a letter and entered the
kitchen. Nancy, who was washing the
dishes, noticed that Miss Harrington was
not calm like her usual self, but seemed to
be in a hurry.
“Nancy…”
“Yes Ma’am,” Nancy replied automatically.
“Nancy, stop working when I’m talking to
you! When you are done with the washing,
go to the attic and prepare the small room
there. Clean it. It will be a room for my niece,
who is going to stay and live with me.”
“A little girl? Coming here, Miss
Harrington? It will be so nice!”
“Nice?” Miss Polly asked stiffly. “I have
just received a letter which says that her
father has died, so she has no one, and, as
a good person knowing my duties, I am
going to raise that child.”
Nancy knew for sure from that cold tone
of voice that Polly Harrington wasn’t
expecting her niece with an open heart.
A couple of hours later she finished preparing
the room, muttering to herself all the time
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5
about how inhuman and stiff Polly Harrington
was. Then she went to the garden to talk to
Old Tom, the gardener. Old Tom had worked
for the Harrington family for over thirty
years. He explained to Nancy that the small
girl must be a child of the oldest Harrington
daughter, Jane. Twenty-five years ago she fell
in love with a poor minister, and even though
her entire family was against this relationship,
she married him, and they moved to another
city. Later she died, and since that day Miss
Polly was the only living mistress of the
Harringtons’ big house. Polly Harrington was
only fifteen at the time of her sister’s marriage.
She didn’t marry, herself, and was living a
sad and lonely life, changing everything into
a duty. Tom and Nancy’s conversation was
interrupted by a sharp voice calling:
“Nancy, come here immediately!”
She ran and found Miss Polly in the room
in the attic. The room, though clean, was
poorly furnished. Apart from a bed, two
chairs, a table and a small desk, there wasn’t
anything else there. Due to the closed
windows, it was very hot inside.
“Nancy, there was a fly. The windows
must have been opened! Didn’t you know
that they cannot be opened when there are
no screens on them?”
“But it was hot, and I wanted to let some
fresh air in.”
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“I have ordered screens for this room,
but as they are not here yet, the windows
must remain closed. Do remember this.
Also, my niece arrives tomorrow. You and
Timothy will collect her from the station.
In the telegram it states that Pollyanna will
be wearing a red dress and a straw hat. She
has light hair. That should be enough for
you to recognise her among the crowd.”
Nancy looked puzzled. “But you...”
“No, I shall not go there myself. It’s not
necessary.” Then Miss Polly walked out of
the room leaving Nancy behind.
The next day at the station Nancy knew
on the spot that the slender girl with the
eager, freckled face was the one they had
come to collect.
“Miss Pollyanna?”
“I’m so glad to see you. I’m so glad you
came!” she said, and without waiting for
any reply, the girl embraced Nancy.
“You are?” Nancy asked surprised.
“Oh yes. I’ve been wondering what you
would look like, and what the house looks
like. It is so lovely that I will have my own
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