A tall, slim girl with long red hair sat on a farmhouse doorstep one sunny afternoon in August.
The girl's name was Anne, spelled with an "e."
She was sixteen and a half years old.
Anne Shirley had been living at Green Gables farm with her adoptive mother, Marilla, for the past five years.
They had been the happiest five years of Anne's life.
Soon Anne was going to start her first job, as a teacher at Avonlea Elementary School.
As she sat on the doorstep, she daydreamed about her influence upon her future students.
Anne thought some might grow up to be famous . . . a Canadian premier or an important scholar perhaps.
It might be unlikely, Anne thought, but an excellent teacher could make all the difference.
Anne's daydreaming was interrupted. A small cow was walking down the lane, followed by Mr. Harrison, the new neighbor.
Without waiting to open the gate, Mr. Harrison bounded over the fence and angrily confronted Anne.
She stood, looking at him in bewilderment.
Mr. Harrison had only lived in Avonlea for a month, but he already had the reputation of being a little odd.
He lived alone and had publicly stated he wanted no women around.
The women of Avonlea, especially Mrs. Lynde, took great offense to this.
Furthermore Mr. Harrison washed his dishes only once a week, on Sunday, and he ate his meals whenever it suited him!
Strangest of all, Mr. Harrison owned a parrot called Ginger.
Nobody in Avonlea had ever kept a parrot as a pet before, and apparently the parrot swore terribly.
All these things flashed through Anne's mind as Mr. Harrison stared angrily at her.
He was not a handsome man; he was short, fat, and bald.
He was the ugliest person Anne had ever seen.
"I'm not going to put up with this," Mr. Harrison shouted.
"This is the third time, miss. The third time!"
"Will you explain what the trouble is?" asked Anne, in her most dignified manner.
"I found your aunt's cow in my oat field again!
I found the cow there last Tuesday and yesterday as well!"
"If you mean Miss Marilla Cuthbert, she is not my aunt," Anne replied, "and she is not here.
The cow, whose name is Dolly, is mine.
I am very sorry Dolly left her pen and wandered into your oat field."
"You're sorry?" asked Mr. Harrison. "Sorry isn't going to help!
Your cow has caused a lot of damage. What about my oats?"
"I am very sorry," repeated Anne firmly, "but if you would repair your fence, Dolly wouldn't be able to get in."
"My fence is fine," snapped Mr. Harrison.
"A jail fence couldn't keep out that cow, you redheaded smarty-pants!"
The color of Anne's hair had always been a tender point with her, and very soon something else besides Anne's hair became red.
"I'd rather have red hair than no hair at all, except for a little fringe around my ears," Anne said.
Mr. Harrison was very sensitive about his bald head, and he glared speechlessly at Anne.
"Luckily I have an imagination," Anne continued in her best schoolteacher's voice,
"and I can imagine it would be very annoying to have a cow in your field.
So I will forgive you for making fun of my hair, and I promise you that Dolly will never go into your field again."
"Well, make sure she doesn't," muttered Mr. Harrison.
He stomped off angrily, still grumbling to himself.
Anne turned around, marched across the yard, and put the naughty cow back into her milking pen.
"She can't possibly get out now," Anne thought.
"I should have sold her to Mr. Shearer last week, but I thought it would be better to wait for the auction.
Well, what they say about Mr. Harrison is true.
He is an odd and disagreeable man!"
The next afternoon Anne and her best friend, Diana Barry, were driving home after shopping in town.
Suddenly Anne stopped the horse and stared.
A cow was right in the middle of Mr. Harrison's oat field!
Anne dropped the reins, jumped down, and leaped over Mr. Harrison's fence.
She had to get that cow before Mr. Harrison saw it!
"Anne, come back!" Diana shrieked. "You'll ruin your dress!"
Diana got off the buggy, tied the horse to a post, and ran into the field. "What are you doing, Anne?"
"I must get that cow out before Mr. Harrison sees her," gasped Anne.
"That way, Diana! Grab Dolly!" screamed Anne.
Twenty minutes later the cow was finally back in her pen.
As Diana and Anne trudged back to the road, they saw a buggy stopped beside Diana's buggy.
Mr. Shearer and his son had stopped to watch in amusement as Anne and Diana chased the cow.
Mr. Shearer chuckled and said, "You should have sold that cow to me, Anne!"
"I'll sell her to you right now," replied Anne, flushed and disheveled.
"All right," said Mr. Shearer. "I'll give you twenty dollars, the same as I offered before.
My son Jim can take her into town now."
Five minutes later Jim Shearer and the cow were marching up the road, and Anne was driving along the Green Gables lane with twenty dollars.
"What will Marilla say?" asked Diana.
"Oh, she won't care," said Anne. "Dolly was my cow."
Early that evening Marilla was in the kitchen of Green Gables when she heard a shriek outside.
Anne ran into the kitchen, looking distressed.
"Anne Shirley, what's the matter now?" asked Marilla.
"Oh, Marilla!" said Anne. "Whatever will I do?
This is terrible, and it's all my fault.
Mrs. Lynde said I would do something dreadful some day, and now I've done it!"