“Smiles are free, you know.”
― Picture quote, Wild World
Gladys (ちとせ,Chitose?) is a normalostrichvillager in the Animal Crossing series. Her name is based around her personality; a neutral name that is unlike the other personality type villagers, which all have names relating to their species and character. Chitose, her Japanese name, means "millennium" in Japanese, as cranes are symbols of longevity in Japan. Her initial phrase, "stretch," is a play on her species, which are known to have long necks. She first appeared as a new character in Animal Forest e+, a Japan only game, and was brought back in Wild World, City Folk, New Leaf and New Horizons . She appears on the album cover for K.K. Rockabilly and she has the education hobby.
Gladys is a female crane with large black eyes and a circular, crimson crest atop her head. The upper part of her face, wings and abdomen are white, while the lower part of her face is a dark gray. She has horizontally-striped legs alternating between two shades of grey. Her initial shirt is the Misty Tee. Her appearance seems to be based on the red-crowned crane which is supported by her initial clothing, though there is the unlikely possibility that she is a whooping crane. In Animal Forest e+, her eyelashes are slightly shorter than in later games.
Personality
Below is a brief description of the normal personality. For more information, click here.
Gladys has a normal personality, and frequently acts kind towards the player. Normal villagers generally get along well with lazy, peppy, smug, snooty and other normal villagers. Gladys may conflict with cranky and sisterly villagers. As a normal villager, Gladys will usually wake up at 6:00 am and is easier to befriend than most. Both normal and peppy villagers reference an unseen friend known as Moppina.
House
Gladys' house in Animal Forest e+ has a Japanese feel to it. She has many Exotic items, such as the bench, the bureau, the table, the chest, and the screen. Gladys also has three gyroids, and a pet bird. She has no stereo at first, but if she is given one, it will play K.K. Folk. Her floor is the Tatami, and her wallpaper is the Modern Screen.
In Wild World, and City Folk, Gladys' house still has a very Japanese feel. She still has all her previous Exotic items, plus the bed, as well as more bonsai. She also has a Phonograph that plays K.K. Folk. Her flooring is still the Tatami, but her wallpaper has changed to the Shoji Screen.
Gladys' house in New Leaf still has a Japanese feel, but it has changed a bit from the past games. She now has less Exotic items, since the only one she has left is the Exotic Screen. Instead, she now has other Japanese items, such as the paper lantern, the biwa lute, and the Tokonoma. She displays a bonsai, and a phonograph playing K.K. Folk on top of her Glass Top Table. Her flooring is once again the Tatami, but her wallpaper has changed to the Tearoom Wall.
Her Pocket Camp description alludes to the Japanese folklore story, Tsuru no Ongaeshi (White Crane's Return of Favor), about an old couple who rescue a white crane from a trap. The crane takes the form of a woman, and works as a weaver at the old couples' house, but only weaving behind a screen. When the old man looks behind the screen, he sees the white crane weaving with its own feathers. Upon the secret being revealed, the white crane leaves the old couple.
This is also alluded to in New Leaf. In her house, Gladys has a loom that she keeps behind an exotic screen.
