Pollyanna Page #9

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word from you, Reverend.

No.

Just let the people know tomorrow

you're in favor of us.

I won't use that pulpit

for public announcements.

Then youre siding with her

by not mentioning it!

I am not. I'm staying completely out

of it, and that's all there is to it.

Reverend Ford, if youll just

let us say that youre in favor.

There's nothing more

to discuss.

- This is all just impossible.

- I'm afraid youre right.

Thank you,

Reverend Ford.

You see, I- Of course

you understand that...

personally I think

it's a good cause

and all that, and I

wish you luck with it.

Thanks a lot.

I guess Pollyanna was wrong.

Now, what has she got

to do with this?

She said nobody

could own a church.

- Hello, Mrs. Ford.

- Hello, dear.

- What are you doing here?

- Aunt Polly sent me.

Uh, something

for Reverend Ford.

Oh, he's just

back up there.

Oh, yes, I saw him.

Thank you.

- It's a lovely day, isn't it?

- Yes, it is.

And he sayeth unto them,

the wicked shall

be punished!

The wicked shall

be punished.

Their poison is like

the poison of serpents.

But they shall feel

the gall of asps within them!

How many times have I

stood on this pulpit...

and warned you,

cautioned you again and again?

A house divided against itself

cannot stand.

A kingdom divided against itself

can be brought to desolation.

If you are an enemy

to one another,

then you are

an enemy to God!

Am I reaching out to you?

Do you understand my words?

Well,

week after week,

I stand here...

reaching out to you,

begging you to understand.

Yet week after week,

the same wickedness persists!

The same dissension,

the same belligerence,

the same feuding...

until you are

10,000 times...

more abominable in

the eyes of God...

than the most hateful,

venomous, violent,

vicious-

You.

What are you doing here?

Oh, nothing. Um, I mean,

I was looking for you.

Uh, Aunt Polly

sent you this.

- Now, what is it?

- Uh, I dont know.

I'm sorry I disturbed

your practice.

Would you like someone to

practice your sermon on?

No, thank you, child.

Uh, Mother and I used

to be an audience to my father...

when he was practicing

his sermons.

- H-He was a minister, too, you know.

- Yes, yes, so he was.

Uh, do you like being

a minister?

Do I like being a-

Now, why would you ask

a thing like that?

Oh, the way you looked just then

reminded me of my father.

Once I saw him sort of sad like that

and I asked him.

And what did he say?

Oh, well, he said

he was glad he was,

but it made him sad

sometimes...

when he just couldnt seem to

get through to his congregation.

Sounds familiar.

I suppose every minister of God

faces the same problem.

Mmm, I suppose.

Tell me, did your father

ever solve the problem?

Well, he read something one day

that he said helped him.

I n the Bible?

No. Just something

he read someplace.

He had it put

on this chain.

He wore it always.

It's all I have of his.

''When you look

for the bad-''

Ohh! It always

makes me cross-eyed.

- May I?

- Mmm.

''When you look for the bad

in mankind expecting to find it,

''you surely will.

Abraham Lincoln.''

He was the president.

Yes, yes, I know.

But I never heard

that before.

Neither had my father.

Anyway, he said it

started him thinking.

And from then on, he was going to look

for the good in people.

That's when we both started searching

through the Bible for the texts.

The texts?

Yes, you know.

My father called them

the glad passages.

You know,

the happy ones...

like, um, uh...

''Shout for Joy,'' or...

''Be glad in the Lord.''

You know, like that.

There are 800 happy texts.

Did you know that?

No, I didn't

know that.

Yes, well, there are.

And, you know,

my father said,

''If God took the trouble to tell us

800 times to be glad and rejoice,

he must have wanted us

to do it. ''

Oh, I better be going now.

I'm sorry I disturbed your practicing.

I'll see you later.

Uh, good-bye.

Good-bye,

Reverend Ford!

''Dear Reverend,

''I've taken the liberty of

Jotting down a few thoughts...

''and some text

from Matthew...

which I thought you might want

to use in your sermon tom-''

Oh, my God.

What have I done?

What have I done?

Dear, are you all right?

Nobody owns a church.

No one.

Apoorypha.

Boolesiasticus 30.

Paragraph 22.

''Gladness of the heart

is the life of man.''

Now, this is one

of the rejoicing...

or happy texts.

A young member of our parish

pointed out to me...

that there are 800 such

happy texts in our Bible.

Well, she was wrong.

There are, to be exact,

I know because I stayed up most

of last night counting them.

I intend to read one

of them every week.

And that should take us, according

to my calculations, through 16 years,

if I'm around here

that long.

Well, I can promise you this-

If I am here,

our visits with God on Sunday

are going to be happier...

and more rejoicing too.

Uh-

Now, what I have

to say now...

is very difficult for me,

but it must be said.

I look out to you now...

and realize...

after four years

in this congregation,

I dont even know you.

I look out to you now

not as my congregation,

but as people,

and I say to myself,

how sad it is to have missed

those four years.

Four years when we

could have been friends.

I should have been looking

for the good in you,

and I... I failed you.

And I apologize for this.

God is forgiving,

but it's not Gods forgiveness

I beg, it is yours.

I'm not going to speak

about this anymore now.

It's a lovely day outside,

so let's go outside and enjoy

this Sunday for a change.

And while youre out

appreciating the sunlight,

Just give a little thought

to whos sending it down to you.

Stop it, please!

One more thing, please.

Please, sit down!

Please, just one more thing.

I'm sorry.

But there's to be a charity bazaar

in the band park tonight.

It's for a good cause.

And, um, I want to go on record

as being 100% for it.

So, let's all go out there and have

ourselves some fun because, um-

Well, if youre not there-

Let me put it this way.

If youre not there,

I'll lam into ya something fierce

when I get you in here next week!

And you know

I can do it too!

We've been needing that.

Where's Pollyanna?

I dont know.

I haven't seen her.

Be careful when you

put those in the car.

Dont you smudge that frosting.

Keep your fingers outta there.

Shh, shh, shh.

Nancy? Angelica?

Shh. Shh.

Where's Pollyanna, please?

She's gotta be there.

It's a big bazaar tonight.

Pollyannas gotta be there,

or she'll ruin the fag.

Well, Pollyanna is too young

to be out alone at night.

Couldnt you bring her?

No, I could not.

Good night.

Jiminy. Oh!

Pollyanna!

What are you doing

up here?

Youll fall.

Youll fall and kill yourself,

you big silly.

You gotta come. Youll spoil

the fag if you dont show up.

I can't.

Aunt Polly won't let me.

Come on.

She'll never know.

Don't look down.

- I dont think I want to try it.

- Come on. Give me your hand.

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