Gilbert first tried to get Anne's attention by pulling her hair and calling her "Carrots". Anne hit him over the head with her slate and refused to have anything to do with him. Even though Gilbert apologizes shortly after the incident, Anne remains scornful toward him for a few years, but Gilbert never abandons his quest for her friendship. Anne forgives Gilbert by the end of the book and the two become friends - and eventually marry in a later book in the series, "Anne's House of Dreams". (Gilbert's father was Marilla's girlhood sweetheart. Marilla seems to find a special satisfaction in the fact that Anne and Gilbert finally become friends.)