Ned Clay's letter to Anne Shirley

This letter was written to Anne Shirley while she was the Avonlea schoolteacher. As a writing assignment for her fourth class, she told them to write a letter to her on any subject they liked, and address it and send it, all without any parental supervision. As Anne says in her own words (extract from Anne Shirley's letter to Stella Maynard):

"Last week I told the fourth class I wanted them to write me letters about anything they pleased, adding by way of suggestion that they might tell me of some place they had visited or some interesting thing or person they had seen. They were to write the letters on real note paper, seal them in an envelope, and address them to me, all without any assistance from other people. Last Friday morning I found a pile of letters on my desk and that evening I realized afresh that teaching has its pleasures as well as its pains. Those compositions would atone for much."

Text
Miss teacher Shirley 

''Green gabels. ''

''p. e. island can. ''

birds

''Dear teacher I think I will write you a composition about birds. birds is very useful animals. my cat catches birds. His name is William but pa calls him tom. he is oll striped and he got one of his ears froz of last winter. only for that he would be a good-looking cat. My unkle has adopted a cat. it come to his house one day and woudent go away and unkle says it has forgot more than most people ever knowed. he lets it sleep on his rocking chare and my aunt says he thinks more of it than he does of his children. that is not right. we ought to be kind to cats and give them new milk but we ought not be better to them than to our children. this is oll I can think of so no more at present from'' edward blake ClaY.