Chapter 14 - Just a Matter of Jelly

Summary

Nancy reveals that Miss Polly has left for Boston due to a family death, allowing her and Pollyanna to keep house together. Pollyanna attempts to convince Jimmy Bean that the Ladies' Aid will take him by suggesting they pretend he is a boy from a distant place like India. When Pollyanna asks Miss Polly's permission to take calf's-foot jelly to the injured Mr. John Pendleton instead of Mrs. Snow, Miss Polly initially refuses but then sternly permits Pollyanna to deliver it as Pollyanna's own gift, provided she makes it clear the jelly is not from Miss Polly herself.

Characters

• Pollyanna — Pollyanna reacts with shock at the news of a funeral but quickly pivots to discussing her discovery of the injured Man in the woods. She attempts to rationalize the Ladies' Aid's refusal to take in Jimmy Bean by suggesting she write to them about him from a distance, then asks Miss Polly for permission to deliver jelly to the injured Pendleton. After Miss Polly's reluctant consent, Pollyanna leaves with the jelly, insisting she deliver it as her own gift.
• Nancy — Nancy greets Pollyanna with relief and informs her that Miss Polly has departed for Boston, leaving them to keep house together. She applies Pollyanna's 'just being glad' philosophy to the situation and prepares the calf's-foot jelly for Mrs. Snow, which Pollyanna later decides to divert to the injured Mr. Pendleton.
• Jimmy Bean — Jimmy Bean expresses disappointment that the Ladies' Aid prefers helping a child in India over fostering him locally. Pollyanna convinces him to wait for a response, suggesting he pretend to be the distant Indian boy to satisfy their reporting needs, and he agrees to stay nearby while she writes.
• Miss Polly (Aunt Polly) — Miss Polly is absent due to a family emergency but appears briefly to discuss the jelly. She initially refuses to send jelly to John Pendleton, but after questioning Pollyanna about whether Pendleton knows her identity, she sternly permits Pollyanna to deliver the gift as her own, explicitly forbidding any implication that it comes from Miss Polly.