Vol.16, Diana is Invited to Tea
October was a beautiful month at Green Gables.
Marilla! I'm so glad there are Octobers
It would be terrible if we skipped from September to November, wouldn't it?
Look at these maple branches.
Don't they give you a thrill-several thrills?
I'm going to decorate my room with them.
Messy things.
Anne, you clutter up your room entirely with out-of-doors stuff, Anne.
Bedrooms were made to sleep in.
And dream in too, Marilla. My table.
And one can dream so much better in a room where there are pretty things.
I'm going to put these boughs in the old blue jug
and set them on the desk.
Mind you don't drop leaves all over the stairs then.
Okay!
Anne... Anne!
What's the matter?
This afternoon, I'm...
going on a meeting of the Aid Society at Carmody...
and I won't likely be home before dark.
You'll have to prepare Matthew and Jerry their supper,
you just have to warm this up until then
Don't forget to put the tea to draw as you did last time.
It was dreadful of me to forget this time,
and Matthew was so good.
He never scolded a bit. He...
Even if you took a notion to get up and have dinner in the middle of the night
Matthew would think it all right
And I don't really know if I'm right,
it may make you more addled than ever,
but you can ask Diana to come over and have tea here this afternoon.
Oh, Marilla how perfectly lovely!
You're able to imagine things or you'd never have
understood how I've longed for that very thing.
To have a friend over for tea,
it will be so nice and grown-uppish
No fear of my forgetting to put the tea to draw when I have company.
Oh, Marilla, can I use the rosebud spray tea set?
No, indeed! The rosebud tea set!
Well, what next?
I never use that except for the minister or the Aids.
But you can open the little yellow crock of cherry preserves.
I believe it's beginning to work.
And you can cut some fruit cake and have some of the cookies and snaps.
I can just imagine myself sitting down at the head of the table
and pouring out the tea.
And asking Diana if she takes sugar!
I know she doesn't
but of course I'll ask her just as if I didn't know.
Marilla, can I take her into the spare room
to lay off her hat when she comes?
And then into the parlour to sit?
No. The sitting room will do.
There's lots of raspberry cordial left from the church social the other night.
And you can have it if you like.
It's on the second shelf of the sitting-room closet and you
Raspberry cordial? I can really have it?
Anne, good afternoon!
Mrs. Barry, good afternoon!
Is Diana back already?
I suppose she's cleaning her shoes in the house.
Thank you!
If you don't let go of your hand,
Minnie, I can use the shoe to clean your face.
That's Anne!
That's right!
Anne
Then do you know what I'm here for?
Of course, to play!
Wrong!
I came to ask you for tea.
For tea? Really?
Miss Diana Barry,
I cordially invite you to Green Gables this afternoon.
This afternoon,
Diana didn't meet Marilla and
came to Green Gables dressed in her second-best dress
Miss Diana Barry, welcome to my humble abode.
Miss Anne Shirley, thank you for your invitation.
You are too kind.
Please come in.
Please.
I fear to intrude, then.
Please treat this as the sitting room.
How is your mother?
She is very well, thank you.
What about Mr. Cuthbert?
He is busy hauling potatoes to the Lily Sands this afternoon.
The harvest was splendid.
How are your father's crops?
It is fairly good, thank you. Have you picked many of your apples yet?
Oh, ever so many.
Let's go out to the orchard and get some of the Red Sweetings, Diana.
Marilla says we can have all that is left on the tree.
How great!
Be careful!
Diana are you thirsty?
Before tea would you like a bright red drink?
What is that? Something we could drink earlier.
I'll take it this very moment, wait for me!
No?
It must be that one!
I'm sorry, please wait for a while more.
This is raspberry cordial! It looks delicious.
You're right!
Don't stand on ceremony.
What about you?
I've eaten lots of apples just now and I couldn't drink now.
I'll have some then.
That's awfully nice raspberry cordial.
I didn't know raspberry cordial was so nice.
Though she brags of hers so much.
It tastes nicer than Mrs. Lynde's.
It doesn't taste a bit like hers.
Marilla's raspberry cordial would probably be nicer than Mrs. Lynde's.
Marilla is a famous cook.
Right, I have to prepare the tea. Take as much as you like.
Marilla is trying to teach me to cook
but I assure you, Diana, it is uphill work.
There's so little scope for imagination in cookery.
You just have to go by rules, or you'll fail.
The last time I made a cake I forgot to put the flour in.
I was thinking the loveliest story about you and me, Diana.
The loveliest story?
What story is that? I would like to take a listen.
I imagined it.
No~, it almost cooked dry.
You were desperately ill with smallpox and everybody deserted you,
but I nursed you back to life.
Because I want you can get better soon.
And then I took the smallpox and died
and I was buried under those poplar trees in the graveyard.
It was such a pathetic tale.
You planted a rosebush by my grave and watered it with your tears.
You never forgot the friend of your youth who sacrificed her life for you.
It was such a pathetic tale.
The tears just rained down over my cheeks
but I forgot the flour
and the cake was a dismal failure.
Diana, what is the matter?
I'm - I'm awful sick. I - I must go right home.
Oh, you mustn't dream of going home without your tea.
I'll go and put the tea down this very minute.
I must go home.
Let me give you a bit of fruitcake and some of the cherry preserves.
Lie down on the sofa for a little while and you'll be better.
Where do you feel bad?
I must go home.
I never heard of company going home without tea.
Diana, do you suppose that you're really taking the smallpox?
If you are I'll go and nurse you, you can depend on that.
I'll never forsake you.
But I do wish you'd stay till after tea.
Where do you feel bad?
I'm awful dizzy.
Hat!
I'll take it for you.
I must go home.
My hat.
I like you!
That's enough.
The next Sunday, it was pouring the whole day.
Anne's heart was as the weather.
Diana
The next afternoon,
I asked Anne to run to Mrs. Lynde's for me.
I wanted to let her relax a little.
Something's happened between Diana and her,
but she wouldn't tell me no matter what.
Um... Whatever has gone wrong now?
I do hope you haven't gone and been saucy to Mrs. Lynde again.
Anne Shirley,
when I ask you a question I want to be answered.
Sit right up and tell me what you are crying about.
Mrs. Lynde was up to see Mrs. Barry today
and Mrs. Barry was in an awful state.
What did you do to Diana?
She says that this Saturday I set Diana drunk
and sent her home in a disgraceful condition.
And she thinks I'm a bad, wicked girl so she won't let Diana play with me again.
Marilla, what a sad thing it is!
Set Diana drunk!
What on earth did you give her?
Not a thing but raspberry cordial.
I never thought three thimblefuls of that
would set people drunk.
Three tubercules?
But I didn't mean to make Diana drunk.
Drunk? How could that be?!
Mrs. Barry must have made a mistake.
Anne, you certainly have a genius for getting into trouble.
You went and gave Diana currant wine
instead of raspberry cordial.
It was my mistake for putting the wrong bottle there.
But couldn't you tell the difference between juice and wine?
I never tasted it.
I meant to be so-so hospitable.
Diana said she wasn't well and
went home without taking the tea.
Although I tried to keep her, Diana laughed and was angry,
and went home eventually.
This is why you are so troubled?
Mrs. Lynde told that
Diana laughed silly when her mother enquired her and went to sleep for hours
Her mother could smell that she was drunk.
Poor Diana, she had a fearful headache all day yesterday.
Mrs. Barry will never believe but what I did it on purpose.
I think Diana should be punished,
for being so greedy as to drink three glassfuls of anything.
Why, even three of those big glasses of cordial would have made her sick!
Well, this story will be a nice handle
for those folks who are so down on me for making currant wine.
Although I haven't made any for three years.
I just kept that bottle for sickness.
There, there, child, don't cry.
I can't see as you were to blame although I'm sorry it happened so.
But it's not your fault.
Yes, I feel Anne has no need to cry as such.
I must cry.
The stars in their courses fight against me, Marilla.
Diana and I are parted forever.
Marilla, I little dreamed of this when first we swore our vows of friendship
Don't be foolish, Anne.
If Mrs. Barry finds it's not your fault,
she'll certainly change her decision.
Okay, I'll go to find Mrs. Barry to explain,
since I made the mistake first.
Marilla,
Don't worry, I shall return with good news soon.
Marilla went out full of confidence.
But the sun set
and Marilla had yet to return.
Oh, Marilla, I know by your face that it's been no use.
Mrs. Barry indeed!
I've seen lots of stubborn women,
but never seen such a unreasonable woman I like Mrs. Barry!
Though I tried to tell her it was not your fault,
she just simply didn't believe me.
She rubbed it well in about my currant wine
and how I'd always said it couldn't have the least effect on anybody.
I just told her plainly that nobody will drink three thimblefuls at a time
and if a child was so greedy I'd sober her up with a right good spanking.
What do you want?
Mrs. Barry, please forgive me.
I did not mean to-to intoxicate Diana.
How could I?
If you were a poor little orphan girl
that kind people had adopted and you had just one best friend in the world,
would you intoxicate her on purpose?
I really thought it was just raspberry cordial.
Please don't say that you won't let Diana play with me any more.
If you do that
you will cover my life with a dark cloud of woe.
I don't think you are a fit little girl for Diana to associate with.
You'd better go home and behave yourself
Won't you let me see Diana just once to say farewell?
Diana has gone over to Carmody with her father.
My last hope is gone.
Anne of Green Gables, Next: Anne Returns to School
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