The differences in the ways Anne and Marilla look at the world are presented as Anne expresses her strong emotions for the beauty of fall. Anne walks into the house with her arms loaded with branches decorated in the red leaves of a maple tree, and she tells Marilla that she is going to take them to her bedroom to brighten up her room. Marilla thinks that the branches will only create a mess. She tells Anne that bedrooms are for sleeping, not for decorating with “out-of-doors stuff.” Anne reminds Marilla that bedrooms are for dreaming, too. Having beautiful things around her bedroom help Anne dream much better. Marilla is not convinced. Although she allows Anne to take the maple leaves to her room, she tells Anne not to drop any of the leaves on her way upstairs.

When Anne returns, Marilla tells Anne that she will be going out for the day. If she wants, Anne can invite Diana to the house for the afternoon. Anne is delighted and begins immediately to make a list of foods she might serve for tea. As Marilla listens, she adds to Anne’s list, telling the girl that there is a bottle of raspberry cordial in the cupboard that Anne might serve along with some cookies.

After running over to Diana’s house and then pretending to be older women going to tea, Anne and Diana make it back to Green Gables, where they set up the table for tea. Anne is especially excited about serving the raspberry cordial, as she thinks that any food that sports the color red is more delicious than food of any other hue. Later, as they eat their cookies, Diana appears exceptionally absorbed in the raspberry cordial and asks for several glassfuls. Anne is not as thirsty as Diana is, so she graciously suggests that Diana drink as much of the cordial as she wants.

As she drinks, Diana comments on how good the cordial tastes. She has never drunk anything so delicious. Diana had tasted Mrs. Lynde’s raspberry cordial, but she says it was not as nearly as nice as Marilla’s—as she once again refills her glass with the red liquid.

Anne becomes engrossed in a long conversation as she sits with her friend. She tells Diana stories of Marilla’s cooking as well as some of her own travails in the kitchen. When she finally stops to take a breath, Anne notices that Diana has a strange expression on her face. When Diana attempts to stand up, she wobbles as if she were dizzy. Diana tells Anne that she must go home because she feels very sick. Anne begs Diana to stay because they have not yet had lunch, but Diana is insistent.

The next day, Anne learns that Diana’s mother has accused Anne of getting Diana drunk. Upon hearing this, Marilla is amazed as well as curious. She goes to the cupboard but cannot find the bottle of raspberry cordial. In the place she had thought she set the cordial, Marilla sees a bottle of homemade wine. Anne mistakenly gave Diana wine to drink, which did indeed make the young girl drunk. Diana’s mother now believes Anne is a bad influence on her daughter, so she refuses to allow Anne to see Diana.