When Anne reached the school that morning . . . for the first time in her
life she had traversed the Birch Path deaf and blind to its beauties . . .
all was quiet and still. The preceding teacher had trained the
children to be in their places at her arrival, and when Anne entered the
schoolroom she was confronted by prim rows of "shining morning faces"
and bright, inquisitive eyes. She hung up her hat and faced her pupils,
hoping that she did not look as frightened and foolish as she felt and
that they would not perceive how she was trembling.

She had sat up until nearly twelve the preceding night composing a
speech she meant to make to her pupils upon opening the school. She had
revised and improved it painstakingly, and then she had learned it off
by heart. It was a very good speech and had some very fine ideas in it,
especially about mutual help and earnest striving after knowledge. The
only trouble was that she could not now remember a word of it.

After what seemed to her a year . . . about ten seconds in reality . . .
she said faintly, "Take your Testaments, please," and sank breathlessly
into her chair under cover of the rustle and clatter of desk lids that
followed. While the children read their verses Anne marshalled her shaky
wits into order and looked over the array of little pilgrims to the
Grownup Land.

Most of them were, of course, quite well known to her. Her own
classmates had passed out in the preceding year but the rest had all
gone to school with her, excepting the primer class and ten newcomers
to Avonlea. Anne secretly felt more interest in these ten than in those
whose possibilities were already fairly well mapped out to her. To be
sure, they might be just as commonplace as the rest; but on the other
hand there MIGHT be a genius among them. It was a thrilling idea.