The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-02-22
'Pollyannas Glad Philosophy Helps Even When You've Have Been on the Stage0-Says Little Hel en Hayes
By DOLLY DALRYMpLLE

nUST as we were comfortably seated
 and began to sort of know each " other little 17-year- old Helen Hayes pretty as a picture, and just as big as minute, and myself, I started to quote & lot of things that "Pollyanna" declares we ought to be glad about:
 That your worst enemy wasn't born twins; that you possess but one hus- band; that you have your own teeth; and that it was only your leg that got broken and not your neck"-and being something of an optinnist my own little self I could even see how people would be glad to be grateful over these things; but remembering also such mo- pnents of tragedy when the glad game had seemed to me to be failure I again quoted, for instance, the occasion when you've taught your small son to De 'glad' about things and he rushes in and tells you that he's thrown stone in the next door neighbours front window and he's glad he could throw stralsht' that he had swallowed worm and he was glad" 1t had not made him sick; @--" was glad" pussy hadn't even so much as scratched him, snd-and-
 But little Miss 17-year-old Pollyanna- Helen Hayes-wouldn't let me finish.
 "Oh you are wrong-really and rightly, awfuly wrong" she broke in, her blue, blue eyes gleaming wide, and her sweet little kissable red lips pickering bit .1.e lla rI,a Irtic oai her fair hair back from her still fairer forehead, and continued: Please don't think me preachy and stupid and a bore and all that, but honestly there isn't thing in all the wide, wide world that is so bad but that it mightn't be worse; there's always something to be glad about; why liked to think the worst thing in the world was to have pigeon toes and now I'm the 'gladdest thing alive that I've got 'ern, because those horrid little old pigeon toes got me on the stage: If I hadn't had them MT. Lew Fields would never have been at tracted to me in little amateur play that I took part in up in Washington, where I've always lived. If I hadn't had them Mr. Fields wouldn't have no- ticed the little pantomime sketch I did and he would never have engaged me for a part in his play, Old Dutch If I hadn't had these horrid little old pigeon toes I should never have been Polly anna today, so don't you know I'm 'glad?"
 NO I don't know anything of the kind, Pollyanna Whittier" I exclaimed, "how can you say such things?'
 Because they are true." she declared, her beautiful wide-eyed childish inno- ceicc caressing her right into my heart and making me feel at tho moment that I could just hug the life out of her she was so darling and so sweet.
 Really the glad game does work in almost every instance" little Miss Polly anna-Helen Hayes declared. "Of course, I've grown to believe in it especially since I've been playing the part; every member of the company has. in fact. Late trains which usually make people furiously mad, often resolve themselves into something to be glad about. Hope less hotels that seem unspeakable at first develop into something to be glad about. Cases, in fact, where there seems abso- lutely no hope Whatever-nothing but misery and suffering and wretchedness and tears and disgrace-the whole world your foe and your reputation gone-ca- reer ruined-your-your-"
 AS I looked at the beautiful child be- fore me I almost forgot she was not