Page 64 - pollyanna

that Nancy said it was chicken you wanted when we brought
jelly, and lamb broth when we brought chicken—but maybe
‘twas the other way, and Nancy forgot.’
The sick woman pulled herself up till she sat erect in the
bed—a most unusual thing for her to do, though Pollyanna
did not know this.
‘Well, Miss Impertinence, who are you?’ she demanded.
Pollyanna laughed gleefully.
‘Oh, THAT isn’t my name, Mrs. Snow—and I’m so glad
‘tisn’t, too! That would be worse than ‘Hephzibah,’ wouldn’t
it? I’m Pollyanna Whittier, Miss Polly Harrington’s niece,
and I’ve come to live with her. That’s why I’m here with the
jelly this morning.’
All through the first part of this sentence, the sick wom-
an had sat interestedly erect; but at the reference to the jelly
she fell back on her pillow listlessly.
‘Very well; thank you. Your aunt is very kind, of course,
but my appetite isn’t very good this morning, and I was
wanting lamb—‘ She stopped suddenly, then went on with
an abrupt change of subject. ‘I never slept a wink last night—
not a wink!’
‘O dear, I wish I didn’t,’ sighed Pollyanna, placing the
jelly on the little stand and seating herself comfortably in
the nearest chair. ‘You lose such a lot of time just sleeping!
Don’t you think so?’
‘Lose time—sleeping!’ exclaimed the sick woman.
‘Yes, when you might be just living, you know. It seems
such a pity we can’t live nights, too.’
Once again the woman pulled herself erect in her bed.