One afternoon Anne happily walked home from school.
"What a nice month November has been!" she said.
Anne had never quite stopped her childhood habit of talking to herself.
When she arrived at Green Gables, she found Marilla in the yard, looking very anxious.
"Anne, Dora is lost!" cried Marilla.
"Dora! Lost?" Anne looked at Davy, who was sitting on the yard gate, swinging his feet.
"Davy, do you know where she is?"
"No, I don't," replied Davy.
"When I left at one o'clock," said Marilla, "Dora was playing with her doll in the kitchen, and Davy was making mud pies in the yard."
"Dora must be somewhere," said Anne. "She would never wander far by herself. Perhaps she fell asleep inside."
Marilla shook her head. "I've looked in every room. But she might be somewhere nearby."
A thorough search of the yard, the barn, and the orchard followed.
Finally Anne and Marilla met again in the front yard.
"Where can she be?" said Anne, worried.
"Maybe she tumbled into the well," suggested Davy cheerfully.
Anne and Marilla looked fearfully into each other's eyes. "She . . . she might have," whispered Marilla.
The Green Gables' well was the deepest in Avonlea.
Feeling faint, Anne ran to the well and peered at the tiny glimmer of water far below.
She lowered a lantern into the well, but she did not see Dora.
Anne breathed a sigh of relief. "It's all right, Marilla," Anne called. "Dora didn't fall down the well!"
"Do you think Dora went to Mr. Harrison's house?" Marilla asked.
"He's on vacation now, and there's no one there.
Dora is always talking about his parrot."
"I'll go over and see," said Anne.
Just then Davy's smile disappeared and he quietly ran to the barn. Neither Marilla nor Anne noticed.
Mr. Harrison's house was locked, and the windows were all closed.
Anne stood on the veranda and called Dora loudly.
Ginger the parrot was in his cage in the kitchen. He shrieked and swore fiercely.
Between the parrot's outbursts Anne heard a small cry from the little wooden shed in the yard.
Anne ran to the shed door and opened it.
She saw Dora, sitting on a wooden box, her face wet with tears.
"Oh, Dora," said Anne. "We were so worried! What are you doing in here?"
"Davy and I came over to see Ginger," sobbed Dora, "but we couldn't see Ginger through the window.
Then Davy brought me here," Dora continued, "and he ran out and shut the door, and I couldn't get out!
Oh, I'm so hungry and cold, and I thought you'd never come, Anne."
"Davy?" Anne said, shocked. She carried Dora home with a heavy heart. Davy had lied to her.
Anne had grown to love Davy dearly, and it hurt her to discover that he had deliberately lied.
Once they were home, Anne gave Dora some dinner and put her to bed.
Marilla came grimly into the house with Davy, whom she had found hiding in the darkest corner of the barn.
Davy looked up at Anne, hopeful that she might forgive him.
But there was no trace of a smile in Anne's eyes.
"How could you do this, Davy?" Anne asked sorrowfully.
"I just did it for fun," said Davy.
"Things have been so quiet around here, I thought it would be fun to give you and Marilla a big scare."
"It wasn't fun, Davy," said Anne. "And you lied."
"Of course I did!" said Davy. "If I hadn't lied, you wouldn't have been scared. I had to lie."
"Oh, Davy, how could you?" Anne said. She had tears in her eyes.
"Don't you know how wrong it was?"
Davy was suddenly horrified. He had made Anne cry.
Marilla left the room, and Davy rushed to Anne and flung his arms around her neck.
"I didn't know it was wrong to tell lies," he sobbed.
"How could I know it was wrong?
Now you'll never love me . . . and I'm sure Paul Irving never tells lies.
I'm trying to be as good as him."
When Davy was convinced that Anne had finally forgiven him, he apologized to Marilla and went to bed.
Later Marilla exclaimed to Anne, "What will we do with him? He's so naughty!"
"Oh, don't say that, Marilla. Remember how bad I was when I first came here?" replied Anne.
Marilla smiled. Anne, of course, did have a point.