Anne Of Green Gables (Chapter 7 & 8 ) Cozy Bedtime Story

Welcome, and I’m glad you’re here.

Tonight’s session continues our calm chapter-book reading of the classic Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. I’ll be narrating Chapters 7 and 8, spending more time with Anne Shirley as her story unfolds in the gentle, familiar setting of Prince Edward Island.

This soothing bedtime audiobook narration is created to help you unwind, quiet the mind, and ease into rest, whether you’re listening as part of your nighttime routine or simply seeking a moment of calm.

Settle in, allow your body to relax, and let the steady rhythm of the story carry you along, with no need to stay awake or follow every detail.

Sweet dreams,
Joanne

Music in this episode is by Golden Peas, via Epidemic Sound.

Transcript

Welcome to Drift Off Bedtime Stories.

I'm your host Joanne,

And I'm so glad you've joined me.

Tonight,

We begin a new journey together as we dive into the timeless classic Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery.

Each Sunday,

I'll be narrating a few chapters,

Offering a gentle escape into the charming world of Anne Shirley and the beautiful landscapes of Prince Edward Island.

Now,

Before we begin,

Let's take a moment to relax and settle in.

Find a comfortable position,

Gently close your eyes,

And take a deep breath in,

And slowly exhale.

Feel your body beginning to unwind as you let go of any tension.

Imagine yourself in a peaceful,

Cozy space,

Ready to drift off into a world of imagination and rest.

And so,

My friend,

Let's step into the enchanting world now of Anne of Green Gables.

Chapter 7.

Anne Says Her Prayers When Marilla took Anne up to bed that night,

She said stiffly,

Now,

Anne,

I noticed last night that you threw your clothes all over the floor when you took them off.

That is a very untidy habit,

And I can't allow it at all.

As soon as you take off any article of clothing,

Fold it neatly and place it on the chair.

I have no use for little girls who aren't neat.

I was so upset last night that I didn't think about my clothes at all,

Said Anne.

I'll fold them nicely tonight.

They always made us do that at the asylum.

Half the time,

Though,

I'd forget,

Because I'd be in such a hurry to get into bed and imagine things.

You'll have to remember a little better if you stay here,

Admonished Marilla.

There,

That looks better.

Say your prayers now,

And get into bed.

I never say any prayers,

Announced Anne.

Marilla looked horrified.

Why,

Anne,

What do you mean?

Were you never taught to say your prayers?

God always wants little girls to say their prayers.

Don't you know who God is,

Anne?

God is a spirit,

Infinite,

Eternal,

And unchangeable,

And his being,

Wisdom,

Power,

Holiness,

Justice,

Goodness,

And truth,

Responded Anne promptly and glibly.

Marilla looked rather relieved.

So you do know something,

Thank goodness.

Where did you learn that?

Oh,

At the Asylum Sunday School.

They made us learn the whole catechism.

I liked it pretty well.

There's something splendid about some of the words.

Infinite,

Eternal,

And unchangeable.

Isn't that grand?

It has a role to it,

Just like a big organ playing.

You couldn't quite call it poetry,

I suppose,

But it sounds a lot like it,

Doesn't it?

We're not talking about poetry,

Anne.

We're talking about saying your prayers.

Don't you know it's a terribly wicked thing not to say your prayers every night?

I'm afraid you're a very bad little girl.

You'd find it easier to be bad than good if you had red hair,

Said Anne reproachfully.

People who haven't red hair don't know what trouble is.

Mrs.

Thomas told me that God made my hair red on purpose,

And I've never cared about him since.

And anyway,

I'd always be too tired at night to bother saying prayers.

People who have to look after twins can't be expected to say their prayers.

Now,

Do you honestly think they can?

Marilla decided that Anne's religious training must begin at once.

Clearly,

There was no time to be lost.

You must say your prayers while you're under my roof,

Anne.

Why,

Of course,

If you want me to,

Agreed Anne cheerfully.

I'd do anything to oblige you.

But you'll have to tell me what to say for this once.

After I get into bed,

I'll imagine a real nice prayer to say always.

I believe it will be quite interesting now that I think about it.

You must kneel down,

Said Marilla,

Feeling awkward.

Anne knelt at Marilla's knee and looked up gravely.

Why must people kneel down to pray?

If I really wanted to pray,

I'll tell you what I'd do.

I'd go out into a big field all alone or into the deep,

Deep woods,

And I'd look up into the sky,

Up,

Up,

Up,

Into that lovely blue sky that looks as if there was no end to its blueness.

And then I'd just feel a prayer.

Well,

I'm ready.

What am I to say?

Marilla felt more awkward than ever.

She'd intended to teach Anne the simple,

Now I lay me down to sleep.

But it suddenly occurred to her that this simple little prayer,

Sacred to white-robed childhood,

Was entirely unsuited to this freckled girl,

Who knew and cared nothing about God's love,

Since she had never experienced human love.

You're old enough to pray for yourself,

Anne,

She said finally.

Just thank God for your blessings and ask him humbly for the things you want.

Well,

I'll do my best,

Promised Anne,

Burying her face in Marilla's lap.

That's the way the ministers say it in church,

So I suppose it's all right in private prayer,

Isn't it?

She interjected,

Lifting her head for a moment.

Gracious Heavenly Father,

I thank Thee for the White Way of Delight and the Lake of Shining Waters and Bonnie and the Snow Queen.

I'm really extremely grateful for them.

And that's all the blessings I can think of just now to thank Thee for.

As for the things I want,

They're so numerous that it would take a great deal of time to name them all.

So I will only mention the two most important.

Please let me stay at Green Gables.

And please let me be good-looking when I grow up.

I remain yours respectfully,

Anne Shirley.

There,

Did I do all right,

She asked eagerly,

Getting up?

I could have made it much more flowery if I had a little more time to think it over.

Poor Marilla was only preserved from complete collapse by remembering that it was not a but simply spiritual ignorance on Anne's part that was responsible for this extraordinary petition.

She tucked the child up in bed,

Mentally vowing that she would teach her a proper prayer the very next day and was leaving the room with the light when Anne called her back.

I've just thought of it now.

I should have said amen instead of yours respectfully,

Shouldn't I?

The way the ministers do.

I'd forgotten it,

But I felt a prayer shouldn't be finished off in some way.

So I put in the other.

Do you suppose it will make any difference?

I don't suppose it will,

Said Marilla.

Go to sleep now like a good child.

Good night.

I can only say good night tonight with a clear conscience,

Said Anne,

Cuddling luxuriously down among her pillows.

Marilla retreated to the kitchen,

Set the candle firmly on the table and glared at Matthew.

Matthew Cuthbert,

It's about time somebody adopted that child and taught her something.

Will you believe that she never said a prayer in her life until tonight?

I'll send her to the manse tomorrow and borrow the peep of the day series.

That's what I'll do.

And she'll go to Sunday school just as soon as I can get some suitable clothes made for her.

I foresee that I shall have my hands full.

Well,

Well,

We can't get through this world without our share of trouble.

I've had a pretty easy life so far,

But my time has come at last and I suppose I'll just have to make the best of it.

For reasons best known to herself,

Marilla did not tell Anne that she was to stay at Green Gables until the next afternoon.

During the morning,

She kept the child busy with various tasks and watched over her with a keen eye while she did them.

By noon,

She had concluded that Anne was smart and obedient,

Willing to work and quick to learn.

Her most serious shortcoming seemed to be a tendency to fall into daydreams in the middle of a task and forget all about it until such time as she was sharply recalled to Earth by a reprimand or catastrophe.

When Anne had finished washing the dinner dishes,

She suddenly confronted Marilla with the error and expression of one desperately determined to learn the worst.

Her thin little body trembled from head to foot.

Her face flushed and her eyes dilated until they were almost black.

She clasped her hands tightly and said in an imploring voice,

Oh,

Please,

Miss Cuthbert,

Won't you tell me if you're going to send me away or not?

I've tried to be patient all morning,

But I really feel that I cannot bear not knowing any longer.

It's a dreadful feeling.

Please tell me.

You haven't scalded the dishcloth in clean hot water as I told you to do,

Said Marilla immovably.

Just go and do it before you ask any more questions,

Anne.

Anne went and attended to the dishcloth.

Then she returned to Marilla and fastened imploring eyes on the latter's face.

Well,

Said Marilla,

Unable to find any excuse for deferring her explanation longer.

I suppose I might as well tell you.

Matthew and I have decided to keep you.

That is,

If you will try to be a good girl and show yourself grateful.

Why,

Child,

Whatever is the matter?

I'm crying,

Said Anne in a tone of bewilderment.

I can't think why.

I'm glad as glad can be.

Oh,

Glad doesn't seem the right word at all.

I was glad about the white whey and the cherry blossoms,

But this?

Oh,

It's something more than glad.

I'm so happy.

I'll try to be so good.

It will be uphill work,

I expect,

For Mrs.

Thomas often told me I was desperately wicked.

However,

I'll do my very best.

But can you tell me why I'm crying?

I suppose it's because you're all excited and worked up,

Said Marilla disapprovingly.

Sit down on that chair and try to calm yourself.

I'm afraid you both cry and laugh far too easily.

Yes,

You can stay here,

And we will try to do right by you.

You must go to school,

But it's only a fortnight till vacation,

So it isn't worth starting before it opens again in September.

What am I to call you,

Asked Anne.

Shall I always say Miss Cuthbert?

Can I call you Aunt Marilla?

No,

You'll call me just plain Marilla.

I'm not used to being called Miss Cuthbert,

And it would make me nervous.

It sounds awfully disrespectful to just say Marilla,

Protested Anne.

I guess there'll be nothing disrespectful in it if you're careful to speak respectfully.

Everybody,

Young and old and avidly,

Calls me Marilla except the minister.

He says Miss Cuthbert when he thinks of it.

I'd love to call you Aunt Marilla,

Said Anne wistfully.

I've never had an aunt or any relation at all,

Not even a grandmother.

It would make me feel as if I really belonged to you.

Can't I call you Aunt Marilla?

No,

I'm not your aunt,

And I don't believe in calling people names that don't belong to them.

But we could imagine you were my aunt.

I couldn't,

Said Marilla grimly.

Do you never imagine things different from what they really are,

Asked Anne wide-eyed.

No.

Oh,

Anne drew a long breath.

Oh,

Miss Marilla,

How much you miss.

I don't believe in imagining things different from what they really are,

Retorted Marilla.

When the Lord puts us in certain circumstances,

He doesn't mean for us to imagine them away.

And that reminds me.

Go into the sitting room,

Anne.

Be sure your feet are clean and don't let any flies in.

And bring me out the illustrated card that's on the mantelpiece.

The Lord's Prayer is on it,

And you'll devote your spare time this afternoon to learning it by heart.

There's to be no more of such praying as I heard last night.

I suppose I was very awkward,

Said Anne apologetically.

But then,

You see,

I'd never had any practice.

You couldn't really expect a person to pray very well the first time she tried,

Could you?

I thought out a splendid prayer after I went to bed,

Just as I promised you I would.

It was nearly as long as a minister's and so poetical.

But would you believe it?

I couldn't remember one word when I woke up this morning.

And I'm afraid I'll never be able to think out another one as good.

Somehow,

Things never are as good when they're thought out a second time.

Have you ever noticed that?

Here is something for you to notice,

Anne.

When I tell you to do a thing,

I want you to obey me at once,

And not stand still and talk about it.

Just go and do as I tell you.

Anne properly departed for the sitting room across the hall.

She failed to return.

After ten minutes,

Marilla laid down her knitting and marched after her with a grim expression.

She found Anne standing motionless before a picture hanging on the wall between the two windows,

With her eyes filled with dreams.

The white and green light,

Filtered through apple trees and clustering vines outside,

Fell over the wrapped little figure with half an unearthly radiance.

Anne,

What are you thinking of?

Demanded Marilla sharply.

Anne came back to earth with a start.

That,

She said,

Pointing to the picture.

A rather vivid chromo entitled,

Christ Blessing Little Children.

And I was just imagining I was one of them.

That I was the little girl in the blue dress,

Standing off by herself in the corner,

As if she didn't belong to anybody,

Like me.

She looks lonely and sad,

Don't you think?

I guess she hadn't any father or mother of her own,

But she wanted to be blessed,

Too.

So she just crept shyly up on the outside of the crowd,

Hoping nobody would notice her,

Except him.

I'm sure I know just how she felt.

Her heart must have beat,

And her hands must have got cold,

Like mine did when I asked you if I could stay.

She was afraid he might not notice her.

But it's likely he did,

Don't you think?

I've been trying to imagine it all out.

Her edging a little nearer all the time,

Until she was quite close to him.

And then,

He would look at her,

And put his hand over her hair,

And oh,

Such a thrill of joy as would run over her.

But I wish the artist hadn't painted him so sorrowful looking.

All his pictures are like that,

If you've noticed.

I don't believe he could really have looked so sad,

Or the children would have been afraid of him.

Anne,

Said Marilla,

Wondering why she had not broken into this speech long before.

You shouldn't talk that way.

It's irreverent,

Positively irreverent.

Anne's eyes marvelled.

Why,

I felt just as reverent as could be.

I'm sure I didn't mean to be irreverent.

Well,

I don't suppose you did,

But it doesn't sound right to talk so familiarly about such things.

And another thing,

Anne,

When I send you after something,

You're to bring it at once and not fall into daydreaming in front of pictures.

Remember that.

Take that card and come right to the kitchen.

Now,

Sit down in the corner and learn that prayer by heart.

Anne set the card up against the jug full of apple blossoms she had brought in to decorate the dinner table,

Propped her chin on her hands,

And fell to studying it intently for several silent minutes.

I like this,

She announced at length.

It's beautiful.

I've heard it before.

I heard the superintendent of the Asylum Sunday School say it over once,

But I didn't like it then.

He had such a cracked voice,

And he prayed it so mournfully.

I really felt sure he thought praying was a disagreeable duty.

This isn't poetry,

But it makes me feel just the same way poetry does.

Our Father,

Who art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.

That is just like a line of music.

Oh,

I'm so glad you thought of making me learn this,

Miss Marilla.

Well,

Learn it and hold your tongue,

Said Marilla shortly.

Anne tipped the vase of apple blossoms close enough to bestow a soft kiss on a pink-cupped bud,

And then studied diligently for some moments longer.

Marilla,

She demanded presently,

Do you think I shall ever have a bosom friend in Avonlea?

Uh,

A what kind of friend?

A bosom friend.

An intimate friend,

You know.

A really kindred spirit to whom I can confide my inmost soul.

I've dreamed of meeting her all my life.

I never really supposed I would,

But so many of my loveliest dreams have come true all at once,

That perhaps this one will too.

Do you think it's possible?

Diana Barry lives over at Orchard Slope,

And she's about your age.

She's a very nice little girl,

And perhaps she'll be a playmate for you when she comes home.

She's visiting her aunt over at Carmody just now.

You'll have to be careful how you behave yourself,

Though.

Mrs.

Barry is a very particular woman.

She won't let Diana play with any little girl who isn't nice and good.

Anne looked at Marilla through the apple blossoms,

Her eyes aglow with interest.

What is Diana like?

Her hair isn't red,

Is it?

Oh,

I hope not.

It's bad enough to have red hair myself,

But I positively couldn't endure it in a bosom friend.

Diana is a very pretty little girl.

She has black eyes and hair and rosy cheeks,

And she is good and smart,

Which is better than being pretty.

Marilla was as fond of morals as the Duchess in Wonderland and was firmly convinced that one should be tacked on to every remark made to a child who was being brought up.

But Anne waved the moral aside and seized only on the delightful possibilities before her.

Oh,

I'm so glad she's pretty.

Next to being beautiful oneself,

And that's impossible in my case,

It would be best to have a beautiful bosom friend.

When I lived with Mrs.

Thomas,

She had a bookcase in her sitting room with glass doors.

There weren't any books in it.

Mrs.

Thomas kept her best china and preserves there when she had any preserves to keep.

One of the doors was broken.

Mr.

Thomas smashed it one night when he was slightly intoxicated.

But the other was whole,

And I used to pretend that my reflection in it was another little girl who lived in it.

I called her Katie Maurice,

And we were very intimate.

I used to talk to her for hours,

Especially on Sundays,

And tell her everything.

Katie was the comfort and consolation of my life.

We used to pretend that the bookcase was enchanted,

And that if I only knew the spell,

I could open the door and step right into the room where Katie Maurice lived,

Instead of into Mrs.

Thomas' shelves of preserves and china.

And then Katie Maurice would have taken me by the hand and led me out into a wonderful place.

All flowers and sunshines and fairies,

And we would have lived there happily ever after.

When I went to live with Mrs.

Hammond,

It just broke my heart to leave Katie Maurice.

She felt it dreadfully,

Too.

I know she did,

For she was crying when she kissed me goodbye through the bookcase door.

There was no bookcase at Mrs.

Hammond's,

But just up the river,

A little way from the house,

There was a long,

Green valley,

And the loveliest echo lived there.

It echoed back every word you said.

Even if you didn't talk a bit loud.

So I imagined that it was a little girl called Violetta,

And we were great friends,

And I loved her almost as well as I loved Katie Maurice.

Not quite,

But almost,

You know.

The night before I went to the asylum,

I said goodbye to Violetta,

And oh,

Her goodbye came to me in such sad,

Sad tones.

I had become so attached to her that I hadn't the heart to imagine a bosom friend at the asylum,

Even if there had been any scope for imagination there.

I think it's just as well there wasn't,

Said Marilla dryly.

I don't approve of such goings-on.

You seem to half-believe your own imaginations.

It will be well for you to have a real-life friend to put such nonsense out of your head,

But don't let Mrs.

Barry hear you talking about your Katie Maurice's and your Violetta's,

Or she'll think you tell stories.

Oh,

I won't.

I couldn't talk of them to everybody.

Their memories are too sacred for that,

But I thought I'd like to have you know about them.

Oh,

Look,

Here's a big bee just tumbled out of an apple blossom.

Just think what a lovely place to live in an apple blossom.

Fancy going to sleep in it when the wind was rocking it.

If I wasn't a human girl,

I think I'd like to be a bee and live among the flowers.

Yesterday you wanted to be a seagull,

Sniffed Marilla.

I think you're very fickle-minded.

I told you to learn that prayer and not talk.

But it seems impossible for you to stop talking if you've got anybody that will listen to you.

So go up to your room and learn it.

Oh,

I know it pretty nearly all now.

All but just the last line.

Well,

Never mind.

Do as I tell you.

Go to your room and finish learning it well and stay there until I call you down to help me get tea.

Can I take the apple blossoms with me for company,

Pleaded Anne?

No,

You don't want your room cluttered up with flowers.

You should have left them on the tree in the first place.

I did feel a little that way too,

Said Anne.

I kind of felt I shouldn't shorten their lovely lives by picking them.

I wouldn't want to be picked if I were an apple blossom.

But the temptation was irresistible.

What do you do when you meet with an irresistible temptation?

Anne,

Did you hear me tell you to go to your room?

Anne sighed,

Retreated to the east gable and sat down in a chair by the window.

There,

I know this prayer.

I learned that last sentence coming upstairs.

Now I'm going to imagine things into this room so that they always stay imagined.

The floor is covered with a white velvet carpet with pink roses all over it.

And there are pink silk curtains at the windows.

The walls are hung with gold and silver brocade tapestry.

The furniture is mahogany.

I've never seen any mahogany,

But it sounds so luxurious.

This is a couch all heaped with gorgeous silk and cushions,

Pink and blue and crimson and gold.

And I'm reclining gracefully on it.

I can see my reflection in that splendid big mirror hanging on the wall.

I am tall and regal,

Clad in a gown of trailing white lace with a pearl cross on my breast and pearls in my hair.

My hair is of midnight darkness and my skin is a clear ivory powder.

My name is Lady Cordelia Fitzgerald.

No,

It isn't.

I can't make that seem real.

She danced up to the little looking glass and peered into it.

Her pointed freckled face and solemn gray eyes peered back at her.

You're only Anne of Green Gables,

She said earnestly.

And I see you just as you're looking now whenever I try to imagine I'm the Lady Cordelia.

But it's a million times nicer to be Anne of Green Gables than Anne of nowhere in particular,

Isn't it?

She bent forward,

Kissed her reflection affectionately and betook herself to the open window.

Dear Snow Queen,

Good afternoon.

And good afternoon,

Dear birches down in the hollow.

And good afternoon,

Dear gray house up on the hill.

I wonder if Diana is to be my bosom friend.

I hope she will.

And I shall love her very much.

But I must never quite forget Katie,

Maurice and Violetta.

They would feel so hurt if I did.

And I'd hate to hurt anybody's feelings.

Even a little bookcase girls or a little echo girls.

I must be careful to remember them and send them a kiss every day.

Anne blew a couple of airy kisses from her fingertips past the cherry blossoms and then,

With her chin in her hands,

Drifted luxuriously out on a sea of daydreams.

Sweet dreams,

My friend.

Sleep well.