Chapter 28 Chapter 27 The Retribution of Vanity

The April days are getting longer and longer.On the way home after attending the meeting of the Women's Association, Marilla felt the change from winter to spring, and her heart was pounding with excitement.The arrival of spring also brings joy to all men, women and children. Marilla was one of those people who cared less about herself and always cared about others and society.Almost all her mind was occupied with the Women's Association, the missionary fund-raising and the new carpet in the chapel, and so on.While thinking about these things, she admired the surrounding scenery, immersed in a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere.

Under the slanting sun, the red fields gradually melted into the lavender blur and hazy evening hail.The shadows of the tops of the fir trees were left across the field beyond the creek.Around the mirrored spring in the forest stood the buds of crimson maples.On both sides of the nearby path, new shoots have just sprouted green, and you can even feel the breath of life buried in the fertile underground soil... The earth rejuvenated, and even this honest and upright middle-aged woman felt a surge of uneasiness deep in her heart. With the joy of fame, he couldn't help but quicken his pace.

Marilla saw Green Gaybruzzi far away through the bushes.The setting sun reflected off the glass of the window, dazzling like a burning fire.Before adopting Anne, every time Marilla came back from a party, there was only a deserted kitchen waiting for her, but now it is different. There is a lovely Anne in the kitchen looking forward to her, and the firewood in the stove must be crackling. Straight ring.Thinking of these, Marilla felt a great sense of satisfaction. But the facts disappointed Marilla.Marilla came to the kitchen and saw that the fire in the stove was out, and Annie was nowhere to be seen.Marilla was annoyed and anxious.Anne had promised well that the tea would be ready before five o'clock, and now it seemed that she had to undress and do it herself, and the tea must be ready before Marshall came back from the fields.

"When Annie comes back, I have to give her a serious lesson." Marilla's face was very ugly, as if she was venting, she was desperately cutting wood chips with a knife.Marshall, who had just returned from the field, was sitting in his usual seat, waiting for his tea in an orderly manner. "Anne spends her days thinking about making up stories with Diana, practicing skits, wandering around, doing nonsense things, and forgetting everything I tell you to do. The child should be sober, Mrs. Arlan praised She said that she had never met a child as bright and good-natured as Anne, but what was the use? The child was very good in every way, but if he only thought about boring things, he didn't know what to do next. What kind of trouble was she going to cause?

"Oh, by the way, at today's women's association gathering, Rachel was still repeating the old routine. I was very angry when I heard it. Mrs. Alan loved and cared about Anne very much, and she defended Anne. Otherwise, in front of everyone, Rachel would Maybe I won't say good things. Anne is indeed a child with many shortcomings, and I never deny it, but after all, it is I, not Rachel, who is responsible for educating Anne. "Today I asked Annie to stay as a housekeeper, but she ran out casually again. This child is really worrying. Not only does she have a lot of problems, but she still doesn't listen to me. It seems that in the future, she will count on her more. I can't see her anymore, she has let me down so much."

"Yes, yes, you are quite right." Although Marshall was extremely hungry, he still obeyed Marilla patiently.According to past experience, the best way now is to let Marilla vent. Supper was ready, and it was quite dark, but Anne still did not come back. With a gloomy face, Marilla finished washing and tidying up the dishes, and then went to the basement to fetch things. Then she remembered that the candle was in Anne's room, and went upstairs to Anne's room.She was lighting the candle in the dark, and when she turned her head, she suddenly found that Anne hadn't gone out, but was lying face down on the bed.

"What's going on?" Marilla was taken aback. "Are you asleep, Anne?" "Hmm." Annie seemed to be full of thoughts in reply. "What, is there something wrong?" Marilla came to the bedside and asked with concern. Anne seemed to never want others to see her, and buried her head in the pillow more and more. "It's nothing wrong, but I beg you, please go over there and don't look at me, I'm in the abyss of despair. Who gets first in class, who writes the best essay, who goes to church I don't care about day school chorus, I don't care. I'm not going anywhere anyway, my life is over, please, Marilla, go over there and don't look at me."

"What are you talking about?" Marilla didn't understand what was going on. "Annie, what's going on? What have you done? Get up and tell me right away, right away!" With a look of despair on her face, Annie obediently got out of bed. "Marilla, look at my hair," Anne whispered like a mosquito. Marilla held up the candle and looked carefully at Anne's thick head of hair that fell down. "Annie, what happened to your hair? What happened, why did it turn green?" It was true that Anne's hair had turned green, but there were still some red hair showing at the roots. It looked so bad that Marilla couldn't help laughing.

"Yes, it turned green." Annie seemed to be moaning. "I thought there was nothing worse than red hair, but green hair is worse than red hair. Oh, Marilla, how could I have miscalculated?" "You have to explain to me clearly what's going on here. It's too cold in here. Go downstairs to the kitchen immediately and talk about it. You haven't caused any trouble for more than three months. I thought you completely Corrected it, tell me honestly, what happened to your hair?" "I'm stained." "Dye it? Dye your hair? I said Anne, are you so old that you can't tell the good from the bad?"

"I understand this. However, if I can change the color of my hair, I'm willing to do some bad things even if I suffer a little. I have thought about the consequences of doing so. Ma Lila, from now on, I will be an obedient and good boy, and I am ready to atone for my sins." "If you decide to dye your hair, why don't you dye it a serious color? If I change it, I will never dye it green." Marilla sneered. "I didn't intend to dye it green." Annie said very dejectedly. "I made up my mind to become black-haired. But what he said, he didn't keep his promise. Mrs. Alan said that if you accuse the other party of lying without evidence, you can't suspect others. But now I have evidence, My hair turned green, that's the best evidence. However, I couldn't find such evidence at the beginning, so I believed him unconditionally."

"His words? Who is he?" "A peddler came in the afternoon, and I bought the dye from him." "Annie, I've told you several times that that kind of Italian can't let him come to the house casually. You let him in? Letting a stranger walk around our house will be bad. " "I didn't let him in the house, I remember what Marilla said. I shut the door outside and let him show me the dye on the front steps, and he was a Jewish German. He His big suitcase was full of interesting things, and he worked so hard to earn money to bring his wife and children from Germany. He sold his wares so tirelessly that I kind of felt sorry for him, so I wanted to do something for him to help him, and that's when I found this bottle of dye. "The peddler assured me that no matter what kind of hair you have, you can dye it a beautiful jet-black color. He also said that the color will not fade after washing. His promotion is very attractive. But a bottle of dye costs 75 cents, and I It was only 50 cents at the time. The peddler was very kind and sold it to me for only 50 cents because it was the last bottle. "As soon as the peddler left, I went back into the house and started coloring my hair with an old hairbrush as the instructions said. I used the whole bottle of hair dye. Oh, Marilla, When I looked in the mirror and saw my hair turned that horrible color, I was dying of regret, I hated myself for doing such a thing." "Although you regret it now, you still need to reflect deeply. What exactly is the retribution of vanity, you should remember it deeply, right?" Marilla said sternly. "You must understand how to do it right. Wash your hair well first, and try to see if it can be washed off." Marilla was right, and Annie decided to hurry and try a wash.She scrubbed vigorously with soap and water, but there was still no effect. It seemed that the peddler was telling the truth when he said that the dye would not fade easily. "Marilla, what can we do?" Annie cried anxiously. "The stupid things I did before are all gradually forgotten, and this time it's over, and I can't explain it. George Pai will die laughing when he sees me in this state. Marilla, I Never appearing in front of George, the whole of Prince Edward Island may be the most unfortunate thing for me." Because of the dyed hair, Anne didn't go out for a whole week.Just keep shampooing my hair every day.Diana was the only person outside her family who knew the secret, and she didn't tell anyone, which shows that Diana was very trustworthy and a good friend. After another week, Marilla made a ruthless decision. "Annie, I think it's useless to just wash it. It's the first time I've seen such a powerful dye. There is no other way but to cut your hair as a last resort. You can't go outside with hair like yours. " Anne's lips trembled, and she sighed in grief, and lowered her head to get the scissors, and she also admitted that she had to do so. "Marilla, you'd better cut it all off with a snap, it's too ugly. There are women in the novels who lose their hair because of illness, or cut it off to sell it. If I It’s because of these reasons that I can still bear it, but I cut it off because it was dyed badly. If I tell others that I cut my hair because it grows in the way, I don’t know what kind of reaction it will cause. Marilla, When you cut it, please allow me to cry? This is really a tragedy for me." Annie finished her haircut in tears.After finishing cutting, she hurriedly ran to the mirror, looking at herself in the mirror, she was extremely desperate.But after a while, the mood stabilized instead.Marilla cut off nearly all of Anne's hair, except for a few short bits.Annie was so angry that she turned the mirror over. "I'll never look in the mirror again until my hair grows out!" cried Anne petulantly. Unexpectedly, not long after she finished speaking, she suddenly turned the mirror over again. "No, I have to take a picture! If you do something wrong, you have to atone for it. Pass by here every day and look in the mirror. Although it is ugly, you have to take a good picture. If you don't look ugly, you will lose your imagination. Although my hair is red, but I am I'm also proud of how thick and curvy it is. This time, I don't even have the capital to be proud of." When Annie showed up at school with her head bare on Monday, it caused an instant commotion.No one knows why Anne shaved her head.George Pai thought Anne was as stupid as a scarecrow. "Although George guessed and wondered why I shaved my head, I just didn't say anything." That night, Annie said what was in her heart to Marilla.At this time, Marilla had just suffered from a headache and was resting on the sofa. "This is my punishment. I have to endure it. George satirized me, and I forgave her. Forgiving others, I feel very happy spiritually. "From now on, I will try my best to be a good boy, and I will never think about it. When I grow up, I will be a kind person like Marilla, Mrs. Alan and Mrs. Stich. "Diana said that when my hair grew out a little, I tied it with a black velvet ribbon, and she was quite right. Marilla, I've been babbling on and on again, haven't I? Is your head still sick?" "Basically it doesn't hurt anymore. However, the headache is too severe today, and it's getting worse. I have to find a doctor to treat it. I don't have any special feelings about what you just said. I I'm used to it." If anything, Marilla grew to like Anne's talk.