Anne of Avonlea

Anne drove over to Carmody on a shopping expedition the next afternoon and took Diana Barrywith her. Diana was, of course, a pledged member of the Improvement Society, and the two girlstalked about little else all the way to Carmody and back."The very first thing we ought to do when we get started is to have that hall painted," said Diana, as they drove past the Avonlea hall, a rather shabby building set down in a wooded hollow, withspruce trees hooding it about on all sides. "It's a disgraceful looking place and we must attend to iteven before we try to get Mr. Levi Boulder to pull his house down. Father says we'll never succeedin DOING that. Levi Boulter is too mean to spend the time it would take.""Perhaps he'll let the boys take it down if they promise to haul the boards and split them up forhim for kindling wood," said Anne hopefully. "We must do our best and be content to go slowly atfirst. We can't expect to improve everything all at once. We'll have to educate public sentiment first, of course."Diana wasn't exactly sure what educating public sentiment meant; but it sounded fine and she feltrather proud that she was going to belong to a society with such an aim in view."I thought of something last night that we could do, Anne. You know that three-cornered pieceof ground where the roads from Carmody and Newbridge and White Sands meet? It's all grownover with young spruce; but wouldn't it be nice to have them all cleared out, and just leave the twoor three birch trees that are on it