Chapter XVII

A Letter from Davy

"It's beginning to snow, girls," said Phil, coming in one November
evening, "and there are the loveliest little stars and crosses all over
the garden walk. I never noticed before what exquisite things snowflakes
really are. One has time to notice things like that in the simple life.
Bless you all for permitting me to live it. It's really delightful to
feel worried because butter has gone up five cents a pound."

"Has it?" demanded Stella, who kept the household accounts.

"It has--and here's your butter. I'm getting quite expert at marketing.
It's better fun than flirting," concluded Phil gravely.

"Everything is going up scandalously," sighed Stella.

"Never mind. Thank goodness air and salvation are still free," said Aunt
Jamesina.

"And so is laughter," added Anne. "There's no tax on it yet and that is
well, because you're all going to laugh presently. I'm going to read
you Davy's letter. His spelling has improved immensely this past year,
though he is not strong on apostrophes, and he certainly possesses
the gift of writing an interesting letter. Listen and laugh, before we
settle down to the evening's study-grind."

"Dear Anne," ran Davy's letter, "I take my pen to tell you that we are
all pretty well and hope this will find you the same. It's snowing some
today and Marilla says the old woman in the sky is shaking her feather
beds. Is the old woman in the sky God's wife, Anne? I want to know.

"Mrs. Lynde has been real sick but she is better now. She fell down the
cellar stairs last week. When she fell she grabbed hold of the shelf
with all the milk pails and stewpans on it, and it gave way and went
down with her and made a splendid crash. Marilla thought it was an
earthquake at first.

"One of the stewpans was all dinged up and Mrs. Lynde straned her ribs.
The doctor came and gave her medicine to rub on her ribs but she didn't
under stand him and took it all inside instead. The doctor said it was
a wonder it dident kill her but it dident and it cured her ribs and Mrs.
Lynde says doctors dont know much anyhow. But we couldent fix up the
stewpan. Marilla had to throw it out. Thanksgiving was last week. There
was no school and we had a great dinner. I et mince pie and rost turkey
and frut cake and donuts and cheese and jam and choklut cake. Marilla
said I'd die but I dident. Dora had earake after it, only it wasent in
her ears it was in her stummick. I dident h