What a starved , unloved life she had had -- a life of drudgery and poverty and neglect ; for Marilla was shrewd enough to read between the lines of Anne 's history and divine the truth . No wonder she had been so delighted at the prospect of a real home . It was a pity she had to be sent back . What if she , Marilla , should indulge Matthew 's unaccountable whim and let her stay ? He was set on it ; and the child seemed a nice , teachable little thing . `` She 's got too much to say , '' thought Marilla , `` but she might be trained out of that . And there 's nothing rude or slangy in what she does say . She 's ladylike . It 's likely her people were nice folks . '' The shore road was `` woodsy and wild and lonesome . '' On the right hand , scrub firs , their spirits quite unbroken by long years of tussle with the gulf winds , grew thickly . On the left were the steep red sandstone cliffs , so near the track in places that a mare of less steadiness than the sorrel might have tried the nerves of the people behind her . Down at the base of the cliffs were heaps of surf-worn rocks or little sandy coves inlaid with pebbles as with ocean jewels ; beyond lay the sea , shimmering and blue , and over it soared the gulls , their pinions flashing silvery in the sunlight . `` Is n't the sea wonderful ? '' said Anne , rousing from a long , wide-eyed silence . `` Once , when I lived in Marysville , Mr. Thomas hired an express wagon and took us all to spend the day at the shore ten miles away . I enjoyed every moment of that day , even if I had to look after the children all the time . I lived it over in happy dreams for years . But this shore is nicer than the Marysville shore . Are n't those gulls splendid ?
Would you like XXXXX be a gull ?
at for from if in near of on than to