When Anne Shirley arrives at the Cuthbert's farm on Prince Edward Island, called "Green Gables", she is a precocious, romantic child, desperate to be loved and highly sensitive about her red hair and homely looks. In her own unique headstrong manner, Anne manages to insult the town matriarch, Rachel Lynde (Patricia Hamilton) in a dispute over her looks; smashes her slate over Gilbert Blythe's (Jonathan Crombie) head ... when he calls her "carrots" during her first day of school; and accidentally dyes her hair green in an effort to turn her red hair black and salvage her wounded pride. Marilla Cuthbert is shocked and beside herself to know how she will cope with this sensitive, headstrong child so desperate to fit in. But shy, gentle Matthew is always there to defend Anne and hold her up on a pedestal.
