boarder秘密花园英文版

2021年1月14日发(作者：尤道恒)
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简 介

“咱俩差不多，”本·威瑟斯塔夫老头对玛丽说。“长得丑，脾
气也不好。”
可怜的玛丽 ！谁都不要她，也没人喜欢她。父母去世以后，她被
人从印度送回英国的约克郡，住在她舅舅的家里。那 是一幢旧房子，
很大，差不多有上百个房间，可大部分都关得严严实实，还上了锁。
玛丽住在那 儿，情绪很坏，她感到厌烦、孤独，整天没事可做，除了
园丁本·威瑟斯塔夫老头，没人跟她说说话。
不过后来玛丽听说了有关秘密花园的事。那花园的门紧锁着，钥
匙也不知哪儿去了。10年 了，除了那只能够飞过围墙的知更鸟，没
有一个人进过那园子。玛丽望着知更鸟，琢磨着钥匙会在哪儿… …
再后来，夜里房子中什么地方传来奇怪的哭声，听起来像是个孩
子……
弗朗西丝·霍奇森·伯内特生于1849年，卒于1924年。从16
岁起她大部分时间住在美国，但经 常回英格兰。她是一位终身作家，
写了很多书，《秘密花园》是她的代表作。




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1 Little Miss Mary

Nobody seemed to care about Mary．She was born in
India，where her father was a British official．He was busy
with his work，and her mother，who was very beautiful，
spent all her time going to parties．So an Indian woman，
Kamala，was paid to take care of the little girl．Mary was not
a pretty child．She had a thin angry face and thin yellow
hair． She was always giving orders to Kamala，who had to
obey． Mary never thought of other people， but only of
herself．In fact，she was a very selfish，disagreeable，
bad-tempered little girl．
One very hot morning，when she was about nine years
old， she woke up and saw that instead of Kamala there was
a different Indian servant by her bed．
‘What are you doing here？’she asked crossly．‘Go
away！ And send Kamala to me at once！’
The woman looked afraid．‘I'm sorry，Miss Mary，she—
she—she can't come！’
Something strange was happening that day．Some of the
house servants were missing and everybody looked
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frightened． But nobody told Mary anything，and Kamala still
did not come．So at last Mary went out into the garden，and
played by herself under a tree．She pretended she was
making her own flower garden，and picked large red flowers
to push into the ground．All the time she was saying crossly
to herself，
‘I hate Kamala！I'll hit her when she comes back！’
Just then she saw her mother coming into the garden，
with a young Englishman．They did not notice the child，who
listened to their conversation．
‘It's very bad，is it？’her mother asked the young man
in a worried voice．
‘Very bad，’he answered seriously．‘People are dying
like flies．It's dangerous to stay in this town．You should go to
the hills，where there's no disease．’
‘Oh，I know！’she cried．‘We must leave soon！’
Suddenly they heard loud cries coming from the
servants’rooms，at the side of the house．
‘What's happened？’cried Mary's mother wildly．
‘I think one of your servants has just died．You didn't
tell me the disease is here，in your house！’
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‘I didn't know！’she screamed．‘Quick，come with
me！’And together they ran into the house．
Now Mary understood what was wrong．The terrible
disease had already killed many people in the town，and in all
the houses people were dying．In Mary's house it was Kamala
who had just died．Later that day three more servants died
there．
All through the night and the next day people ran in and
out of the house，shouting and crying．Nobody thought of
Mary． She hid in her bedroom，frightened by the strange and
terrible sounds that she heard around her．Sometimes she
cried and sometimes she slept．
When she woke the next day，the house was silent．
‘Perhaps the disease has gone，’she thought，‘and
everybody is well again．I wonder who will take care of me
instead of Kamala？Why doesn't someone bring me some
food？It's strange the house is so quiet．’
But just then she heard men's voices in the hall．
‘How sad！’ said one．‘That beautiful woman！’
‘There was a child too，wasn't there？’said the
other．‘Although none of us ever saw her．’
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Mary was standing in the middle of her room when they
opened the door a few minutes later．The two men jumped
back in surprise．
‘My name is Mary Lennox，’she said crossly．‘I was
asleep when everyone was ill，and now I'm hungry．’
‘It's the child，the one nobody ever saw！’said the older
man to the other．‘They've all forgotten her！’
‘Why was I forgotten？’asked Mary angrily．‘Why has
nobody come to take care of me？’
The younger man looked at her very sadly．‘Poor
child！’ he said．‘You see，there's nobody left alive in the
house．So nobody can come．’
In this strange and sudden way Mary learnt that both her
mother and her father had died．The few servants who had
not died had run away in the night．No one had remembered
little Miss Mary．She was all alone．
Because she had never known her parents well，she did
not miss them at all．She only thought of herself，as she had
always done．
‘Where will I live？’she wondered．‘I hope I'll stay
with people who'll let me do what I want．’
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At first she was taken to an English family who had
known her parents．She hated their untidy house and noisy
children， and preferred playing by herself in the garden．One
day she was playing her favourite game，pretending to make
a garden， when one of the children，Basil，offered to help．
‘Go away！’cried Mary．‘I don't want your help！’
For a moment Basil looked angry，and then he began to
laugh He danced round and round Mary，and sang a funny
little song about Miss Mary and her stupid flowers．This made
Mary very cross indeed．No one had ever laughed at her so
unkindly．
‘You're going home soon，’said Basil．‘And we're all
very pleased you're leaving！’
‘I'm pleased too，’replied Mary．‘But where's
home？’
‘You're stupid if you don't know that！’laughed
Basil． England，of course！You're going to live with your
uncle，Mr Archibald Graven．’
‘I've never heard of him，’said Mary coldly．
‘But I know about him because I heard Father and
Mother talking，’said Basil．‘He lives in a big lonely old
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house，and has no friends，because he's so badtempered．He's
got a crooked back，and he's horrid！’
‘I don't believe you！’cried Mary．But the next day
Basil's parents explained that she was going to live with her
uncle in Yorkshire，in the north of England．Mary looked
bored and cross and said nothing．
After the long sea journey，she was met in London by Mr
Craven's housekeeper，Mrs Medlock．Together they travelled
north by train．Mrs Medlock was a large woman，with a very
red face and bright black eyes．Mary did not like her，but that
was not surprising，because she did not usually like
people．Mrs Medlock did not like Mary either．
‘What a disagreeable child！’thought the
housekeeper．‘But perhaps I should talk to her．’
‘I can tell you a bit about your uncle if you like，’she
said aloud．‘He lives in a big old house，a long way from
anywhere． There are nearly a hundred rooms，but most of
them are shut and locked．There's a big park round the
house，and all kinds of gardens．Well，what do you think of
that？’
‘Nothing，’replied Mary．‘It doesn't matter to me．’
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Mrs Medlock laughed．‘You're a hard little girl！Well，
if you don't care，Mr Craven doesn't either．He never spends
time on anyone．He's got a crooked back，you see，and
although he's always been rich，he was never really happy
until he married．’
‘Married？’repeated Mary in surprise．
‘Yes，he married a sweet，pretty girl，and he loved her
deeply．So when she died—’
‘Oh！Did she die？’asked Mary，interested．
‘Yes，she did．And now he doesn't care about anybody．If
he's at home，he stays in his room and sees nobody．He won't
want to see you，so you must stay out of his way and do what
you're told．’
Mary stared out of the train window at the grey sky and
the rain．She was not looking forward to life at her uncle's
house．
The train journey lasted all day，and it was dark when
they arrived at the station．Then there was a long drive to get
to the house．It was a cold，windy night，and it was raining
heavily． After a while Mary began to hear a strange，wild
noise．She looked out of the window，but could see nothing
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except the darkness．
‘What's that noise？’she asked Mrs
Medlock．‘It's—It's not the sea，is it？’
‘No，that's the moor．It's the sound the wind makes，
blowing across the moor．’
‘What is a moor？’
‘It's just miles and miles of wild land，with no trees or
houses．Your uncle's house is right on the edge of the
moor．’
Mary listened to the strange，frightening sound．‘I don't
like it，’she thought．‘I don't like it．’She looked more
disagreeable than ever．



2 Mary in Yorkshire

They arrived at a very large old house．It looked dark and
unfriendly from the outside．Inside，Mary looked around the
big shadowy hall，and felt very small and lost．They went
straight upstairs．Mary was shown to a room where there was
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a warm fire and food on the table．
‘This is your room，’said Mrs Medlock．‘Go to bed
when you've had some supper．And remember，you must stay
in your room！Mr Craven doesn't want you to wander all over
the house！’
When Mary woke up the next morning，she saw a young
servant girl cleaning the fireplace．The room seemed dark and
rather strange，with pictures of dogs and horses and ladies on
the walls．It was not a child's room at all．From the window
she could not see any trees or houses，only wild land，which
looked like a kind of purple sea．
‘Who are you？’she asked the servant coldly．
‘Martha，miss，’answered the girl with a smile．
‘And what's that outside？’Mary continued．
‘That's the moor，’smiled Martha．‘Do you like it？’
‘No，’replied Mary immediately．‘I hate it．’
‘That's because you don't know it．You will like it．I love
it．It's lovely in spring and summer when there are flowers．It
always smells so sweet．The air's so fresh，and the birds sing
so beautifully．I never want to leave the moor．’
Mary was feeling very badtempered．‘You're a strange
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servant，’she said．‘In India we don't have conversations
with servants．We give orders，and they obey，and that's
that．’
Martha did not seem to mind Mary's crossness．
‘I know I talk too much！’she laughed．
‘Are you going to be my servant？’asked Mary．
‘Well，not really．I work for Mrs Medlock．I'm going to
clean your room and bring you your food，but you won't need
a servant except for those things．’
‘But who's going to dress me？’
Martha stopped cleaning，and stared at Mary．
‘Tha’canna'dress thysen？’she asked，shocked．
‘What do you mean？ I don't understand your
language！’
‘Oh，I forgot．We all speak the Yorkshire dialect here，
but of course you don't understand that．I meant to say，can't
you put on your own clothes？’
‘Of course not！My servant always used to dress me．’
‘Well！I think you should learn to dress yourself．My
mother always says people should be able to take care of
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themselves， even if they're rich and important．’
Little Miss Mary was furious with Martha．‘It's different
in India where I come from！You don't know anything about
India，or about servants，or about anything！You…
you…’She could not explain what she meant．Suddenly she
felt very confused and lonely．She threw herself down on the
bed and started cryiny wildly．
‘Now，now，don't cry like that，’Martha said
gently．‘I'm very sorry．You're right，I don't know anything
about anything．Please stop crying，miss．’
She sounded kind and friendly，and Mary began to feel
better and soon stopped crying．Martha went on talking as
she finished her cleaning，but Mary looked out of the window
in a bored way，and pretended not to listen．
‘I've got eleven brothers and sisters，you know，
miss． There's not much money in our house．And they all eat
so much food！Mother says it's the good fresh air on the moor
that makes them so hungry．My brother Dickon，he's always
out on the moor．He's twelve，and he's got a horse which he
rides sometimes．’
‘Where did he get it？’asked Mary．She had always
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wanted an animal of her own，and so she began to feel a little
interest in Dickon．
‘Oh，it's a wild horse，but he's a kind boy，and animals
like him，you see．Now you must have your breakfast，
miss．Here it is on the table．’
‘I don't want it，’said Mary．‘I'm not hungry．’
‘What！’ cried Martha．‘My little brothers and sisters
would eat all this in five minutes！’
‘Why？’asked Mary coldly．
‘Because they don't get enough to eat，that's why，and
they're always hungry．You're very lucky to have the food，
miss．’Mary said nothing，but she drank some tea and ate
a little bread．
‘Now put a coat on and run outside to play，’said
Martha．‘It'll do you good to be in the fresh air．’
Mary looked out of the window at the cold grey
sky．‘Why should I go out on a day like this？’she asked．
‘Well，there's nothing to play with indoors，is there？’
Mary realized Martha was right．‘But who will go with
me？’she said．
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Martha stared at her．‘Nobody．You'll have to learn to
play by yourself Dickon plays by himself on the moors for
hours， with the wild birds，and the sheep，and the other
animals．’She looked away for a moment．‘Perhaps I
shouldn't tell you this， but—but one of the walled gardens is
locked up．Nobody's been in it for ten years．It was Mrs
Graven's garden，and when she died so suddenly，Mr Craven
locked it and buried the key— Oh，I must go，I can hear Mrs
Medlock's bell ringing for me．’
Mary went downstairs and wandered through the great
empty gardens．Many of the fruit and vegetable gardens had
walls round them，but there were no locked doors．She saw
an old man digging in one of the vegetable gardens，but he
looked cross and unfriendly，so she walked on．
‘How ugly it all looks in winter！’she thought．‘But
what a mystery the locked garden is！Why did my uncle bury
the key？If he loved his wife，why did he hate her garden？
Perhaps I'll never know．I don't suppose I'll like him if I ever
meet him．And he won't like me，so I won't be able to ask
him．’
Just then she noticed a robin singing to her from a tree
on the other side of a wall．‘I think that tree's in the secret
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garden！’she told herself．‘There's an extra wall here，and
there's no way in．’
She went back to where the gardener was digging，and
spoke to him．At first he answered in a very badtempered
way，but suddenly the robin flew down near them，and the old
man began to smile．He looked a different person then，and
Mary thought how much nicer people looked when they
smiled．The gardener spoke gently to the robin，and the pretty
little bird hopped on the ground near them．
‘He's my friend，he is，’said the old man．‘There aren't
any other robins in the garden，so he's a bit lonely．’He
spoke in strong Yorkshire dialect，so Mary had to listen
carefully to understand him．
She looked very hard at the robin．‘I'm lonely too，’she
said．She had not realized this before．
‘What's your name？’she asked the gardener．
‘Ben Weatherstaff．I'm lonely myself．The robin's my
only friend，you see．’
‘I haven't got any friends at all，’said Mary．
Yorkshire people always say what they are thinking，and
old Ben was a Yorkshire moor man．‘We're alike，you and
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me，’he told Mary．‘We're not pretty to look at，and we're
both very disagreeable．’
Nobody had ever said this to Mary before．‘Am I really as
ugly and disagreeable as Ben？’she wondered．
Suddenly the robin flew to a tree near Mary and started
singing to her．Ben laughed loudly．
‘Well！’he said．‘He wants to be your friend！’
‘Oh！Would you please be my friend？’she whispered
to the robin．She spoke in a soft，quiet voice and old Ben
looked at her in surprise．
‘You said that really nicely！’he said．‘You sound like
Dickon，when he talks to animals on the moor．’
‘Do you know Dickon？’asked Mary．But just then the
robin flew away．‘Oh look，he's flown into the garden with no
door！ Please，Ben，how can I get into it？’
Ben stopped smiling and picked up his spade．‘You
can't， and that's that．It's not your business．Nobody can find
the door．Run away and play，will you？I must get on with my
work．’And he walked away．He did not even say goodbye．
In the next few days Mary spent almost all her time in the
gardens．The fresh air from the moor made her hungry，and
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she was becoming stronger and healthier．One day she
noticed the robin again．He was on top of a wall，singing to
her．‘Good morning！Isn't this fun！Come this way！’he
seemed to say， as he hopped along the wall．Mary began to
laugh as she danced along beside him．‘I know the secret
garden's on the other side of this wall！’she thought
excitedly．‘And the robin lives there！But where's the
door？’
That evening she asked Martha to stay and talk to her
beside the fire after supper．They could hear the wind blowing
round the old house， but the room was warm and
comfortable． Mary only had one idea in her head．
‘Tell me about the secret garden，’she said．
‘Well，all right then，miss，but we aren't supposed to talk
about it，you know．It was Mrs Graven's favourite garden，
and she and Mr Craven used to take care of it
themselves．They spent hours there，reading and
talking．Very happy，they were． They used the branch of an
old tree as a seat．But one day when she was sitting on the
branch，it broke，and she fell．She was very badly hurt and
the next day she died．That's why he hates the garden so
much，and won't let anyone go in there．’
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‘How sad！’said Mary．‘Poor Mr Craven！’It was the
first time that she had ever felt sorry for anyone．
Just then，as she was listening to the wind outside，she
heard another noise，in the house．
‘Can you hear a child crying？’she asked Martha．
Martha looked confused．‘Er—no，’she replied．‘No，
I think…it must be the wind．’
But at that moment the wind blew open their door and
they heard the crying very clearly．
‘I told you！’cried Mary．
At once Martha shut the door．‘It was the wind，’she
repeated．But she did not speak in her usual natural way，
and Mary did not believe her．
The next day it was very rainy，so Mary did not go
out．Instead she decided to wander round the house，looking
into some of the hundred rooms that Mrs Medlock had told
her about． She spent all morning going in and out of dark，
silent rooms， which were full of heavy furniture and old
pictures．She saw no servants at all，and was on her way back
to her room for lunch， when she heard a cry．‘It's a bit like
the cry that I heard last night！’she thought．Just then the
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housekeeper，Mrs Medlock， appeared，with her keys in her
hand．
‘What are you doing here？’she asked crossly．
‘I didn't know which way to go，and I heard someone
crying，’answered Mary．
‘You didn't hear anything！Go back to you room
now． And if you don't stay there，I'll lock you in！’
Mary hated Mrs Medlock for this．‘There was someone
crying，I know there was！’she said to herself．‘But I'll
discover who it is soon！’She was almost beginning to enjoy
herself in Yorkshire．


3 Finding the secret garden

When Mary woke up two days later，the wind and rain
had all disappeared，and the sky was a beautiful
blue．‘Spring'll be here soon，’said Martha happily．‘You'll
love the moor then，when it's full of flowers and birds．’
‘Could I get to the moor？’asked Mary．
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‘You've never done much walking，have you？I don't
think you could walk the five miles to our cottage！’
‘But I'd like to meet your family，’Mary said．
Martha looked at the little girl for a moment．She
remembered how disagreeable Mary had been when she first
arrived． But now，Mary looked interested and friendly．
‘I'll ask Mother，’said Martha．‘She can always think
of a good plan．She's sensible and hardworking and kind— I
know you'll like her．’
‘I like Dickon，although I've never seen him．’
‘I wonder what Dickon will think of you？’
‘He won't like me，’said Mary．‘No one does．’
‘But do you like yourself？That's what Mother would
ask．’
‘No，not really．I've never thought of that．’
‘Well，I must go now．It's my day off，so I'm going home
to help Mother with the housework．Goodbye，miss．See you
tomorrow．’
Mary felt lonelier than ever when Martha had gone，so
she went outside．The sunshine made the gardens look
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different．And the change in the weather had even made Ben
Weatherstaff easier to talk to．
‘Can you smell spring in the air？’he asked
her．‘Things are growing，deep down in the ground．Soon
you'll see little green shoots coming up—young plants，they
are．You watch them．’
‘I will'replied Mary．‘Oh，there's the robin！’The little
bird hopped on to Ben's spade．‘Are things growing in the
garden where he lives？’
‘What garden？’said Ben，in his badtempered voice．
‘You know，the secret garden．Are the flowers dead
there？’ She really wanted to know the answer．
‘Ask the robin，’said Ben crossly．‘He's the only one
who's been in there for the last ten years．’
Ten years was a long time，Mary thought．She had been
born ten years ago．She walked away，thinking．She had
begun to like the gardens，and the robin，and Martha and
Dickon and their mother．Before she came to Yorkshire，she
had not liked anybody．
She was walking beside the long wall of the secret
garden， when a most wonderful thing happened．She
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suddenly realized the robin was following her．She felt very
pleased and excited by this，and cried out，‘You like me，
don't you？And I like you too！’As he hopped along beside
her，she hopped and sang too，to show him that she was his
friend．Just then he stopped at a place where a dog had dug
a hole in the ground．As Mary looked at the hole，she noticed
something almost buried there． She put her hand in and
pulled it out．It was an old key．
‘Perhaps it's been buried for ten years，’she whispered
to herself．‘Perhaps it's the key to the secret garden！’
She looked at it for a long time．How lovely it would be to
find the garden，and see what had happened to it in the last
ten years！She could play in it all by herself，and nobody
would know she was there．She put the key safely in her
pocket．
The next morning Martha was back at Misselthwaite
Manor，and told Mary all about her day with her family．
‘I really enjoyed myself．I helped Mother with the whole
week's washing and baking．And I told the children about
you． They wanted to know about your servants，and the ship
that brought you to England，and everything！’
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‘I can tell you some more for next time，’offered
Mary． ‘They'd like to hear about riding on elephants and
camels， wouldn't they？’
‘Oh，that would be kind of you，miss！And look，Mother
has sent you a present！’
‘A present！’repeated Mary．How could a family of
fourteen hungry people give anyone a present！
‘Mother bought it from a man who came to the door to
sell things．She told me，“Martha，you've brought me your
pay，like a good girl，and we need it all，but I'm going to buy
something for that lonely child at the Manor，”and she
bought one，and here it is！’
It was a skippingrope．Mary stared at it．
‘What is it？’she asked．
‘Don't they have skippingropes in India？Well，this is
how you use it．Just watch me．’
Martha took the rope and ran into the middle of the
room． She counted up to a hundred as she skipped．
‘That looks lovely，’said Mary ．‘Your mother is very
kind．Do you think I could ever skip like that？’
‘Just try，’said Martha．‘Mother says it'll make you
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strong and healthy．Skip outside in the fresh air．’
Mary put her coat on and took the skipping-rope．As she
was opening the door，she thought of something and turned
round．
‘Martha，it was your money really．Thank you．’She
never thanked people usually and she did not know how to do
it．So she held out her hand，because she knew that adults
did that．
Martha shook her hand and laughed．‘You're a strange
child，’she said．‘Like an old woman！Now run away and
play！’
The skippingrope was wonderful．Mary counted and
skipped，skipped and counted，until her face was hot and
red． She was having more fun than she had ever had
before．She skipped through the gardens until she found Ben
Weatherstaff， who was digging and talking to his robin．She
wanted them both to see her skip．
‘Well！’said Ben．‘You're looking fine and healthy
today！ Go on skipping．It's good for you．’
Mary skipped all the way to the secret garden wall．And
there was the robin！He had followed her！Mary was very
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pleased．
‘You showed me where the key was yesterday，’she
laughed．‘I've got it in my pocket．So you ought to show me
the door today！’
The robin hopped on to an old climbing plant on the wall，
and sang his most beautiful song．Suddenly the wind made
the plant move，and Mary saw something under the dark
green leaves．The thick，heavy plant was covering a
door．Mary's heart was beating fast and her hands were
shaking as she pushed the leaves away and found the
keyhole．She took the key out of her pocket，and it fitted the
hole．Using both hands， she managed to unlock the
door．Then she turned round to see if anyone was
watching．But there was no one，so she pushed the door，
which opened，slowly，for the first time in ten years． She
walked quickly in and shut the door behind her．At last she
was inside the secret garden！
It was the loveliest，most exciting place she had ever
seen． There were old rose trees everywhere，and the walls
were covered with climbing roses．She looked carefully at the
grey branches．Were the roses still alive？Ben would
know．She hoped they weren't all dead．But she was inside
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the wonderful garden，in a world of her own．It seemed very
strange and silent，but she did not feel lonely at all．Then she
noticed some small green shoots coming up through the
grass．So something was growing in the garden after all！
When she found a lot more shoots in different places，she
decided they needed more air and light，so she began to pull
out the thick grass around them．She worked away，clearing
the ground，for two or three hours，and had to take her coat
off because she got so hot．The robin hopped around，pleased
to see someone gardening．
She almost forgot about lunch，and when she arrived
back in her room，she was very hungry and ate twice as much
as usual．‘Martha，’she said as she was eating，‘I've been
thinking．This is a big，lonely house，and there isn't much for
me to do．Do you think，if I buy a little spade，I can make my
own garden？’
‘That's just what Mother said，’replied Martha．‘You'd
enjoy digging and watching plants growing．Dickon can get
you a spade，and some seeds to plant，if you like．’
‘Oh，thank you，Martha！ I've got some money that Mrs
Medlock gave me．Will you write and ask Dickon to buy them
for me？’
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‘I will．And he'll bring them to you himself．’
‘Oh！Then I'll see him．’Mary looked very excited．Then
she remembered something．‘I heard that cry in the house
again，Martha．It wasn't the wind this time．I've heard it three
times now．Who is it？’
Martha looked uncomfortable．‘You mustn't go
wandering around the house，you know．Mr Craven wouldn't
like it．Now I must go and help the others downstairs．I'll see
you at teatime．’
As the door closed behind Martha，Mary thought to
herself， ‘This really is the strangest house that anyone ever
lived in．’


4 Meeting Dickon

Mary spent nearly a week working in the secret
garden． Each day she found new shoots coming out of the
ground．Soon，there would be flowers everywhere—thousands
of them．It was an exciting game to her．When she was inside
those beautiful old walls，no one knew where she was．
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During that week she became more friendly with Ben，
who was often digging in one of the vegetable gardens．
‘What are your favourite flowers，Ben？’she asked him
one day．
‘Roses．I used to work for a young lady who loved roses，
you see，and she had a lot in her garden．That was ten years
ago． But she died．Very sad，it was．’
‘What happened to the roses？’asked Mary．
‘They were left there，in the garden．’
‘If rose branches look dry and grey，are they still
alive？’ asked Mary．It was so important to know！
‘In the spring they'll show green shoots，and then—But
why are you so interested in roses？’he asked．
Mary's face went red．‘I just…wanted to pretend I've got
a garden．I haven't got anyone to play with．’
‘Well，that's true，’said Ben．He seemed to feel sorry
for her．Mary decided she liked old Ben，although he was
sometimes badtempered．
She skipped along and into the wood at the end of the
gardens．Suddenly she heard a strange noise，and there in
front of her was a boy．He was sitting under a tree，playing on
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a wooden pipe．He was about twelve，with a healthy red face
and bright blue eyes．There was a squirrel and a crow in the
tree， and two rabbits sitting on the grass near him．
‘They're listening to the music！’thought Mary．‘I
mustn't frighten them！’She stood very still．
The boy stopped playing．‘That's right，’he
said．‘Animals don't like it if you move suddenly．I'm Dickon
and you must be Miss Mary．I've brought you the spade and
the seeds．’
He spoke in an easy，friendly way．Mary liked him at
once． As they were looking at the seed packets together，the
robin hopped on to a branch near them．Dickon listened
carefully to the robin's song．
‘He's saying he's your friend，he told Mary．
‘Really？Oh，I am pleased he likes me．Can you
understand everything that birds say？’
‘I think I do，and they think I do．I've lived on the moor
with them for so long．Sometimes I think I am a bird or an
animal，not a boy at all！’His smile was the widest she had
ever seen．
He explained how to plant the seeds．Suddenly he said，
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