“Little Annie” was hopelessly insane. As a young girl she was kept in a cage on the lowest level of a Boston asylum. The doctors saw no hope for her, so she was confined to a damp, dark basement. Here she lived in a world with little light and even less hope. “Little Annie” was like an unpredictable animal. At times, she would violently attack anyone who came near her. At other moments, she existed in a fugue state and was seemingly unaware of anyone’s presence.
Into this dark dungeon of “Little Annie’s” world came an elderly nurse. The nurse had a special compassion for this hopeless cause, and she began to eat her lunch just outside of Annie’s cage. The child gave no indication that she even noticed the woman. One day, the nurse left some brownies just outside of “Little Annie’s” cage. The girl didn’t seem to care. The nurse left them for the girl anyway, and on her return, the brownies were gone. This became a regular appointment for these two women. Each week the nurse brought brownies for “Little Annie.”
They began to eat lunch together, and the hopeless cause began to talk to the nurse. The doctors began to notice a change in the young girl, and soon she was moved to the main floor. She began to show great improvement, and after several years of treatment it was felt that she was well enough to return to her home. But this hopeless cause decided to stay at the asylum and help others who were without hope, as she had been. It was “Little Annie” who grew up to give help to Helen Keller and others like her. “Little Annie” was Anne Sullivan, the miracle worker.
==================================
Another version by Roddy Chestnut:
A number of years ago, in a mental institution just outside Boston, Massachusetts, a young girl known as “Little Annie” was locked in the dungeon. This institution was one of the more enlightened ones for the treatment of the mentally disturbed. However, the doctors felt that a dungeon was the only place for those who were “hopelessly” insane. In Little Annie’s case, they saw no hope for her, so she was confined to a living death in that small cage which received little light and even less hope.
About that time, an elderly nurse in the institution was nearing retirement. She felt there was hope for all of God’s creatures, so she started taking her lunch into the dungeon and eating outside Little Annie’s cage. She felt perhaps she could communicate some love and hope to that small girl.
In many ways, Little Annie was like an animal. On occasion, she would violently attack the person who came into her cage. At other times, she would completely ignore them. When the elderly nurse brought some brownies when she made her Thursday visit. Soon, the doctors in the institution noticed a change was taking place. After a period of time, they decided to move Little Annie upstairs. Finally, the day came when this “hopeless case” was told she could return home. But Little Annie did not wish to leave. The place had meant so much to her she felt she could make a contribution if she stayed and worked w/ the other patients. The elderly nurse had seen and brought out so much in her life that Little Annie felt she could see and help develop something in others.
Many years later, Queen Victoria of England, while pinning England’s highest award on a foreigner, asked Helen Keller, “How do you account for your remarkable accomplishments in life? How do you explain the fact that even though you were both blind and deaf, you were able to accomplish so much?” Without a moment’s hesitation, Helen Keller said that had it not been for Ann Sullivan (Little Annie), the name of Helen Keller would have been unknown.
________
See also HolwickID #64615