"I was eleven last March" said Anne resigning herself to bald facts with a little sigh. "And I was born in Bolingbroke Nova Scotia. My father's name was Walter Shirley and he was a teacher in the Bolingbroke High School. My mother's name was Bertha Shirley. Aren't Walter and Bertha lovely names? I'm so glad my parents had nice names. It would be a real disgrace to have a father named well say Jedediah wouldn't it?"