Country life -- Juvenile fiction; Girls -- Juvenile fiction; Grandparents as parents -- Juvenile fiction
All Fairfax rejoiced with the Judge and Judy, but only little Anne knew
what Judy really felt, for in the first moment that they were alone
together after that eventful morning at The Breakers, Judy, with her
eyes shining like stars, had thrown her arms around the neck of her
fair little friend, and had whispered, "Oh, Anne, _Anne_, I don't
deserve such happiness, but I am so thankful that I feel as if I should
be good for the rest of my life."
And no one but Anne knew why Judy put everything aside to be with her
father, to anticipate every desire of his, to cheer every solitary
minute.
"I must try to take mother's place," she confided to her sympathetic
listener in the watches of the night. "He misses her so--Anne."
Anne went back to the little gray house, where the plums were purple on
the tree in the orchard, and where Becky on her lookout limb was hidden
by the thickness of the foliage. The robins were gone, and so was
Belinda's occupation, but she had more important things on hand, and
after the first joy of greetings, the little grandmother led Anne to a
cozy corner of the little kitchen, where in a big basket, Belinda sang
lullabies to four happy, sleepy balls of down as white as herself.
"Oh, the dear little pussy cats," gurgled Anne, as Belinda welcomed her
with a gratified "Purr-up," "what does Becky think of them,
grandmother?"
"She takes care of them when Belinda goes out," said the little
grandmother. "It's too funny to see them cuddle under her black wings."
"I wonder if she will make friends with Terry, Judy's dog," chatted
Anne, as she cuddled the precious kittens. "He's the dearest thing,
and he took to Judy right away, and follows her around all the time."
The little grandmother sat down in an old rocker with a red cushion and
took off her spectacles with trembling hands. "Belinda will have to
get used to him, I guess," she said.
"Of course," said Anne, not looking up, "Judy will bring him here when
she comes."
"I don't mean that," said the little grandmother.
Something in the old voice made Anne look up.
"What's the matter, little grandmother?" she asked, anxiously.
"I mean that we are going to leave the little gray house, Anne, you and
I and Belinda and Becky," and with that the little grandmother put on
her spectacles again, to see how Anne took the news.
Anne stared. "Leave the little gray house," she said, slowly. "Why
what do you mean, grandmother?"
"We are going to live at the Judge's," and at that Anne's face changed
from dismay to happiness, and she turned the kittens over to Belinda
and flung her arms around the little old lady's neck.
"Oh, am I really going to live with Judy?" she shrieked joyfully, "and
you and Becky and Belinda--oh, it's too good to be true."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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