Anne, starting out alone in the morning, went down Loverās Lane as far as the brook. Here Diana met her, and the two little girls went on up the lane under the leafy arch of maplesā āāmaples are such sociable trees,ā said Anne; ātheyāre always rustling and whispering to youāā āuntil they came to a rustic bridge. Then they left the lane and walked through Mr. Barryās back field and past Willowmere. Beyond Willowmere came Violet Valeā āa little green dimple in the shadow of Mr. Andrew Bellās big woods. āOf course there are no violets there now,ā Anne told Marilla, ābut Diana says there are millions of them in spring. Oh, Marilla, canāt you just imagine you see them? It actually takes away my breath. I named it Violet Vale. Diana says she never saw the beat of me for hitting on fancy names for places. Itās nice to be clever at something, isnāt it? But Diana named the Birch Path. She wanted to, so I let her; but Iām sure I could have found something more poetical than plain Birch Path. Anybody can think of a name like that. But the Birch Path is one of the prettiest places in the world, Marilla.ā
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