The Secret Garden 56 min | Stories for Kids | Classic Story in English | Bedtime Stories

[Music] little fox [Music] the secret garden chapter one there is no one left when mary lennox was sent to misselthwaite manor to live with her uncle everyone said she was the most disagreeable looking child ever seen it was true too she had a thin little face a thin little body and thin blonde hair she had a sour look on her face and her skin was pale because she had always been sick she had been born in india where her father worked for the english government her mother was a great beauty who only wanted to go to parties and amuse herself with interesting people she had not wanted a little girl at all so when mary was born her mother handed her over to the care of a nanny the nanny had strict instructions keep the baby out of sight as much as possible the servants always let mary do whatever she wanted to keep her from crying and making her mother angry by the time mary was six years old she was very selfish and stubborn a young english governess came to teach her to read and write but she disliked mary so much that she stayed only three months other governesses came and went even faster one very hot morning when she was about 10 mary awoke feeling grumpy she was even grumpier when she saw that the woman standing by her bed was not her usual nanny why are you here she said to the strange woman i will not let you stay send my nanny to me then woman looked frightened she cannot come mary flew into a rage and beat and kicked the servant but the frightened woman would only repeat the nanny cannot come there is a mystery in the air this morning said mary to herself after the servant went away as she walked about the house she noticed that some of the servants were missing the ones that she did see looked frightened she went out into the garden and began to play under a tree near the porch i can pretend to make a flower garden said mary she stuck big red hibiscus blossoms into little heaps of earth but still felt angry that her nanny had abandoned her suddenly someone came out on the porch it was her mother and a young english soldier her mother's face and clothes were as beautiful as ever but something was wrong mary's mother looked upset is it so very bad oh is it mary heard her ask awful said the young soldier you ought to have gone to the hills two weeks ago mary did not know what they were talking about she stayed quiet and listened oh i know i should have gone said mary's mother i only stayed to go to that silly party what a fool i was suddenly the sound of wailing came from the servant's quarters the noise grew louder and wilder what is that cried mary's mother someone has died said the soldier you did not tell me it had broken out among your servants i did not know said mary's mother come with me and she ran into the house with the soldier mary soon learned why the servants were wailing her nanny had died of cholera a dreaded disease that was spreading quickly and killing many people by the next day three more servants were dead and the others had run away in terror during the confusion of the following day mary hid in the nursery and was forgotten by everyone nobody thought of her and nobody wanted her mary alternately cried and slept through the hours when she awoke the house was perfectly quiet i wonder if everyone is better mary said she heard something rustling on the floor and when she looked down she saw a little snake gliding along it sounds as if no one is here but the snake and me the next minute she heard footsteps on the porch and voices in the house mary jumped out of bed as a soldier came into her room there's a child here he called to the other soldiers in the house a child alone in a place like this who is she i am mary lennox she said i fell asleep when everyone had cholera and i just woke up why was i forgotten why does no one come the soldier looked at her sadly because there is no one left to come so it was in this strange and sudden way that mary found out that both her father and mother had died of cholera there was no one left in the house but mary and the little rustling snake [Music] the secret garden chapter 2 a new home mary did not miss her mother at all after all she had not really known her mother so now after the death of her parents she thought only of herself she hoped she was going to live with nice people who would let her do whatever she wanted at first she was taken to the home of the local english minister he had five children who were always quarreling and snatching toys from each other mary hated staying at their crowded messy house she was so disagreeable to the children that after the first day or two nobody would play with her one day mary was playing by herself under a tree she was pretending to make a garden just as she had been doing the day cholera broke out one of the little boys basil stood nearby watching her you are going to be sent home at the end of the week basil said to her and we're all glad about it i'm glad too answered mary where is home you don't know where home is basil said scornfully it's england of course you are going to live with your uncle mr archibald craven mary frowned i don't know anything about him of course you don't you don't know anything said basil but i heard father and mother talking about him he lives in a big old house called mistlethwaite manor no one goes near him he's a hunchback and he's horrid [Music] i don't believe you mary turned her back and stuck her fingers in her ears because she didn't want to hear any more but she thought it over a great deal afterward what sort of place was she going to what would her uncle be like what was a hunchback anyway what did one look like mary made the long voyage to england under the care of an officer's wife who was taking her children to boarding school the officer's wife was too busy with her own little boy and girl to pay much attention to mary in london the officer's wife handed mary over to mrs medlock the woman who was the housekeeper at mistlethwaite manor my word she's a plain little thing exclaimed mrs medlock and we'd heard her mother was a beauty perhaps she will improve as she grows older said the officer's wife the two women thought that mary could not hear them because she was standing a little apart from them but she heard every word she thought mrs medlock was the most disagreeable looking woman she had ever seen the next day they had to catch the train to yorkshire when they walked through the station mary tried to keep as far away from her as possible she did not want anyone to think that she was mrs medlock's daughter once they were settled on the train mrs medlock said do you know anything about your uncle no mary replied well said mrs medlock i suppose you should be told something to prepare yourself you are going to a strange place mary said nothing she didn't care what this awful woman had to say about her uncle's house the house is 600 years old said mrs medlock it's on the edge of the moor and there are nearly a hundred rooms though most of them are closed up and locked mary began to listen it sounded so different from india and anything new interested her but she did not want to look interested mr craven has a crooked back mrs medlock went on he was a sour young man and did nothing good with his money and his big house until he married now mary was really interested she'd never thought of a hunchback as married his wife was a sweet pretty thing and he would have done anything for her people said she married him for his money but she didn't and when she died she died mary exclaimed she remembered a fairy tale about a poor hunchback and a beautiful princess suddenly she felt sorry for mr craven yes she died said mrs medlock and that made him even stranger he cares about nobody he won't see people most of the time he travels but when he's at mistletoe manor he shuts himself up in the west wing he won't let anybody near him but his old servant pitcher mrs medlock was right mary was going to a strange place indeed [Music] the secret garden chapter 3 across the moor [Music] mrs medlock's story sounded like something in a book and it did not make mary feel happy a house with a hundred rooms and nearly all of them shut up with their doors locked a man with a crooked back who shut himself up too mary pressed her lips together and stared out the train window as it began to rain don't expect to see mr craven because you probably won't said mrs medlock and you must not expect that there will be people to talk to you you'll have to play by yourself and look after yourself you'll be told what rooms you can go into and what rooms you're to keep out of there are many gardens but when you're in the house don't go wandering or poking about mr craven won't stand for that i won't want to go poking about said mary in a sour voice she had felt sorry for mr craven but now she felt he deserved all the trouble that had come his way he certainly sounded unpleasant mary turned away from mrs medlock and watched the rain streaming down the window of the train soon she was asleep when mary woke up it was quite dark the train had stopped and mrs medlock was shaking her open your eyes we're at the wait station and we have a long drive ahead of us mary stood up and waited while mrs medlock collected their things they stepped down from the train and found a carriage waiting for them a foot man opened the door after they were seated he climbed up next to the driver and they set off mary was not a shy child and she was not exactly frightened but there was no knowing what might happen in this strange house on the edge of the moor what is amor she suddenly asked mrs medlock if you look out the window in about 10 minutes you'll see one you won't see much because it's a dark night but you can see something we have to drive eight kilometers across missile moor before we get to the manor mary asked no more questions but waited in the darkness keeping her eyes on the window they drove through a tiny village where mary saw a church a few shops and some white washed cottages soon they were on the highway and she saw hedges and trees after a while the horses began to go more slowly there were no more hedges or trees mary could see nothing but a dense darkness beyond the yellow light of the carriage lamps we're on the moor now sure enough said mrs medlock the rough road seemed to cut through bushes and low growing things the wind began to make a wild rushing sound it's it's not the sea is it asked mary looking at mrs medlock it sounds just like the sea that's the wind blowing through the bushes mrs medlock said the moor is a dreary place though there are plenty of people who like it especially when the heather is in bloom nothing lives on it but wild ponies and sheep on and on they drove through the darkness the rain stopped but the wind whistled and made strange sounds mary felt as if the drive and the more would never end i don't like it she said to herself she pinched her lips tightly together for a moment i don't like it the horses climbed a hilly part of the road just then mary caught sight of a light mrs medlock saw it too and gave a sigh of relief i am so glad to see that bit of light twinkling she exclaimed we shall soon get a good cup of tea but after the carriage passed through the gates of the estate there were still three more kilometers to drive at last they arrived at mistlethwaite manor when they stepped down from the carriage they were standing in a courtyard a servant opened the front door as mary walked into the enormous hall she felt very small a thin old man stood near the servant you are to take her to her room he said mr craven doesn't want to see her he's going to london in the morning very well mr pitcher said mrs medlock come along she said to mary she led mary up a broad staircase and down a long corridor then they went up a short flight of steps and threw two more corridors finally they came to a room with a fire in the fireplace and supper on a table well here you are said mrs medlock this room and the next are where you'll live and you must not wander from them don't forget that mary looked around i don't like it she said to herself again [Music] the secret garden chapter 4 the housemaid [Music] the next morning mary woke up when a young housemaid came into her room while the young maid cleaned up the cinders in the fireplace mary lay in bed and looked around the gloomy room the walls were covered with strange tapestries embroidered with forest scenes through a window she could see a great stretch of land it looked like an endless dull purple sea what is that mary pointed out the window that's the more said the housemaid with a grin do you like it no i hate it that's because you're not used to it you think it's too big and bare now but you will like it do you like it i do said the housemaid in the spring it's covered with growing things that smell sweet there's lots of fresh air and the sky looks so high i wouldn't live away from the moor for anything as the maid lit the fire mary listened to her with a puzzled expression servants in india were not like this her nanny and the others did not talk to their masters in such a friendly way what's your name mary asked are you going to be my servant i'm martha i'll do the housemaid's work up here and wait on you a bit but you won't need much waiting on who is going to dress me demanded mary martha looked at mary in amazement can't you dress yourself no my nanny dressed me of course well said martha bluntly it's time you learned martha helped mary get dressed that morning then they went into the next room where she set out mary's breakfast on a table i don't want it said mary you don't want your porridge martha couldn't believe this you don't know how good it is put a bit of sugar on it but mary refused if my brothers and sisters were here said martha they'd clean this table bare in five minutes why because they never have enough to eat i am one of 12 children my father gets only a small wage each week the children play on the more all day and my mother says the air of the more fattens them up she thinks they must eat the grass the same as the wild ponies do my brother dicken is 12 years old and he has a young pony he calls his own where did he get the pony asked mary she was amazed at how this servant talked on and on dicken found it on the moor with its mother he gave it bread and new grass so now it follows him around and lets him sit on its back dickens a kind lad and animals like him mary had never had a pet of her own but she'd always wanted one she began to be a little interested in dicken this was something new the only person she'd ever been interested in before was herself she drank some tea and ate some toast with marmalade you wrap up warmly and run out to play now said martha it'll do you good and give you an appetite mary went to the window and looked out she saw gardens and paths and big trees but everything looked dull and wintery why should i go out on a day like this well if you don't go out you'll have to stay in and what is there to do here mary looked around there was nothing to do but who will go out with me you'll have to learn to play by yourself our dicken goes off on the moor and plays by himself for hours that's how he made friends with the pony he has sheep on the moor that know him and birds that come and eat from his hand it was this mention of dicken that made mary decide to go out though she was not aware of it perhaps she would see some birds they would be different from those in india and it might amuse her to look at them martha found mary's coat and hat for her then martha showed mary the way downstairs and outside if you go around that way you'll come to the gardens she said pointing to a gate in a wall of shrubbery one of the gardens is locked up no one has been in it for 10 years why mr craven shut it when his wife died suddenly it was her garden he locked the door and then buried the key so no one could go inside [Music] there's mrs medlock's bell ringing i must run and with that martha was off leaving mary to wander outside by herself [Music] the secret garden chapter 5 the gardener and the robin mary walked down the path that led to the gate in the shrubbery when she passed through the gate she found herself in a big garden there was a pool with an old fountain but the fountain was turned off and the garden's flower beds were bare and wintry mary saw that the path came to an end at a brick wall a green door in the wall stood open she went through the door and came upon a new garden with walls all around it she spied another open green door through that one she could see cold frames covering some of the garden beds she seemed to be in the midst of a series of walled gardens this place is so bare and ugly thought mary it might be nicer in summer when things are green but there is nothing pretty about it now soon an old gardener came through the door he did not seem pleased to see her but then again she was not pleased with his garden what is this place mary asked one of the kitchen gardens where we grow fruits and vegetables can i walk through it if you like but there's nothing to see mary went through the second green door and saw that the cold frames were covering vegetables in this garden was another green door but it was closed i hope this is the secret garden said mary as she tried the handle but she opened the door quite easily and found herself in an orchard it too was surrounded by a wall mary didn't see any more doors she noticed the wall seemed to extend beyond the orchard and she could see trees growing above the wall a bird with a bright red breast was sitting on the topmost branch of one tree suddenly he burst into song it was as if he were calling to her she stopped and listened and somehow his cheerful friendly song gave her a pleasant feeling even a disagreeable little girl may be lonely the big closed house and big bear moore had made mary feel all alone in the world but now the bird brought a look onto her sour face that was almost a smile she watched him until he flew off the branch i believe that tree is in the secret garden she said she walked back to the first kitchen garden and found the old man digging there i went into the orchard said mary there was no door into the next garden what garden the old man said sharply the one on the other side of the wall a bird with a red breast was sitting in one of the trees a slow smile spread over the old man's face that's the robin he turned toward the orchard and whistled softly the next moment a wonderful thing happened the bird flew toward them and landed near the gardener's foot will he always come when you call him mary asked in a whisper yes i've known him since he first tried to fly when he flew over the wall he was too weak to fly back we got to be friends then when he finally flew back he found the rest of his brood had left the nest he was lonely so he returned to me mary took a step closer to the robin i'm lonely i'm lonely too except when he's with me the old man began to dig again he's the only friend i've got what's your name asked mary ben weatherstaff you and i are a bit alike we're not good looking and we're both as sour as we look mary was surprised at the bold way ben spoke to her she wondered if what he said was true suddenly there was a clear rippling sound and she turned around the robin had flown into an apple tree and seemed to be singing right to her he's made up his mind to be friends with you said ben would you make friends with me mary asked the robin in a kind voice the robin didn't answer instead he flew away [Music] he is flown into the garden with no door said mary he lives there he's probably courting some lady robin who lives among the roses there are roses in that garden ben began to dig again there were 10 years ago he mumbled i'd like to see them said mary do you know of a door there's none that anyone can find don't go looking for any doors ben warned her i must get on with my work now go on and play and with that he threw his shovel over his shoulder and walked away [Music] the secret garden chapter six the cry in the corridor [Music] at first every day was the same for mary every morning she awoke and found martha kneeling upon the hearth building her fire after breakfast she gazed out the window at the huge moor and every day she realized that if she did not go outside she would have to stay in and do nothing so she went outside mary ran only to make herself warm but the big breaths of fresh air filled her lungs with something that was good for her whole body the air brought color into her cheeks and brightened her eyes after a few days she began to wake up hungry and eat her porridge when she went outside there was one place she went to most often the long path outside the walled gardens one day she noticed that the ivy grew more thickly on one part of the wall she was just wondering why this was so when she heard a chirp she looked up and saw ben weatherstaff's robin perched on top of the wall oh she cried is it you she spoke to him as if she expected him to answer and he did answer he chirped and hopped along the wall he might as well have been saying good morning isn't the sun nice let's chirp and hop together mary began to laugh as the bird hopped and took little flights along the wall she ran after him i like you i like you she cried as she ran down the path the robin spread his wings and flew to the top of a tree this reminded mary of the first time she saw him she had been standing in the orchard and he had been at the top of a tree suddenly she realized that she was standing outside the orchard he's in the garden without a door mary said oh i wish i could see that garden she ran up the path to the green door that led into the kitchen gardens then she ran through the walled gardens and into the orchard when she stopped and looked up there was the tree on the other side of the wall the robin was just finishing his song that's the secret garden she said i'm sure it is she looked closely but could not find a door then she ran through the kitchen gardens again and out onto the path outside the wall she studied the long ivy covered wall from end to end it's very strange she said ben weatherstaff said there was no door but there must have been one because mr craven buried the key mary was quite interested in this mystery she stayed outdoors nearly all day and when she sat down to her supper that night she felt hungry and sleepy after supper she sat with martha in front of the fire why did mr craven hate the garden asked mary are you still thinking about that garden martha asked in surprise yes and i want to know why mr craven hated it oh listen to the wind you could barely stand up on the moor if you went out tonight yes i hear it answer my question why did he hate the garden all right i'll tell you but mrs medlock says we're not supposed to talk about this martha shifted on the hearth rug and began her story it was mrs craven's garden and she loved it she used to tend the flowers with mr craven there was an old tree with the branch built like a seat [Music] and she made roses crow over it and she used to sit there but one day the branch broke and she fell to the ground she was hurt so badly that she died the next day the doctors thought mr craven would go out of his mind with grief and die too no one has gone into that garden since mary felt sorry for mr craven she didn't ask any more questions but sat staring at the fire and listening to the wind suddenly she heard a strange sound almost as if a child were crying do you hear someone crying no martha looked upset it's the wind sometimes it sounds as if someone is lost on the moor in wailing at that very moment a gust of wind came rushing down the corridor and blew open their door with a crash now the mysterious sound was louder than ever someone is crying mary insisted oh no it's the wind martha said stubbornly or it's the kitchen maid she's had a toothache all day something in martha's manner was strange mary kept quiet but she did not believe that martha was telling the truth [Music] the secret garden chapter 7 exploring the house [Music] the next morning the rain poured down when mary looked out her window the moor was almost hidden by grey mist there would be no going out today what do you do in your cottage when it rains like this she asked martha try to stay out of each other's way said martha dicken likes the wet he says he sees things he doesn't see on fair days he once found a little fox cub half drowned in a hole after its mother died he brought it home tucked under his shirt to keep warm mary had grown to like martha's stories she especially liked the ones about martha's mother who seemed wise and kind and her brother dicken he found a crow another time martha went on he brought that one home too and tamed it the crow's name is soot because it's so black if i had a crow or a fox cub i could play with it said mary but i have nothing martha looked puzzled can you knit or so no can you read asked martha yes then why don't you read something i don't have any books that's a pity if mrs medlock would let you go into the library you'd have thousands of books to read mary did not care about the library but hearing about it reminded her of the many rooms in the house were there really a hundred were they really all locked maybe she could count them that would give her something to do after martha finished her work mary waited a few minutes then she opened her door and set off down the long corridor it branched into other corridors which led her up flights of steps that led to more steps there were doors and more doors and many portraits on the walls the men and women wore grand costumes made of satin and velvet she came upon a portrait of a plane girl rather like herself where do you live now mary asked the girl i wish you were here it took a while before she thought to try opening a door she was almost frightened when she felt the handle turn she stepped into what looked like a bedroom and on the wall was another portrait of the same little girl mary opened more doors she opened so many that she grew tired of opening them there could have been a hundred though she hadn't counted them in one room which looked like a lady's sitting room she found a cabinet full of ivory elephants she played with him until she became bored mary was shutting the cabinet door when she heard a rustling sound on the sofa she spotted a family of mice living in a velvet cushion if they weren't so frightened i would take them back with me said mary who was ready to return to her room she went out into the corridor again two or three times she lost her way by turning down the wrong corridor at last she reached her own floor although she did not know exactly where she was i believe i've taken a wrong turn again she was standing at the end of a short corridor with tapestries on the wall i don't know which way to go how still everything is suddenly the stillness was broken by a strange sound it was a cry but not quite like the one she'd heard before that sounds closer than it was last night mary's heart was beating faster and it is someone crying she accidentally touched the tapestry near her and then sprang back feeling quite startled the tapestry covered a door which swung open and revealed another corridor mrs medlock was coming down it with a bunch of keys in her hands and a very angry look on her face what are you doing here mrs medlock took mary by the arm and pulled her away what did i tell you about wandering through the house i went the wrong way and then i heard someone crying you heard nothing of the sort said the housekeeper you come along back to your own rooms and she half pushed and half pulled mary up one corridor and down another until they were standing in mary's rooms now said mrs medlock you stay where you're told to stay or you'll find yourself locked up mr craven had better get you a governess you need someone sharp to look after you i've got enough to do mrs medlock stormed from the room and slammed the door after her mary sat on the rug before the fire she did not cry but she was pale with rage there was someone crying she said to herself there was [Music] the secret garden chapter 8 the key two days later the rainstorm ended the wind stopped howling and a brilliant blue sky stretched over the moor the moor itself looked soft blue instead of gloomy purple black or awful dreary gray when mary awoke she sat up in bed and called to martha look at the more yes said martha with a cheerful grin the storm's over for a bit that happens this time of year spring is on its way i thought it always rained and looked dark in england said mary oh no just you wait until you see all the flowers blooming on the moor and butterflies fluttering and bees humming you'll want to go out on the moor all day as dicken does mary smiled i like dicken and i've never even met him all the animals like dicken i wonder said martha what he would think of you he wouldn't like me mary said stiffly no one does martha looked serious how do you like yourself mary hesitated for a moment not at all really but i never thought of that before martha grinned mother asked me that once when i was in a bad temper and speaking ill of everyone she said there you stand saying you don't like this one and you don't like that one how do you like yourself it made me laugh and brought me to my senses martha was in high spirits that morning because it was her day off she gave mary her breakfast and then she was going home to the cottage she wouldn't be back until the next morning after martha left mary felt lonelier than ever she went outside and the first thing she did was run around the fountain ten times then she ran into the kitchen gardens and found ben weatherstaff at work the change in the weather seemed to have done him good springtime's coming he said cheerfully can you smell it mary sniffed the air i smell something nice and fresh and damp that's the good rich earth he said digging away in the flower gardens things will be stirring down there in the dark the sun's warming them you'll see bits of green sticking up soon what will they be crocuses and snowdrops and daffodils haven't you ever seen them no said mary in india everything is hot and wet and green after the rains things there seem to grow up overnight these won't grow up in a night said ben you'll have to wait for them they'll poke up a bit higher here and push out a bit more there then they'll uncurl a leaf this day and another one that day you watch i'm going to mary heard the soft wrestling of wings and there was the robin looking right at her do you think he remembers me remember you said ben of course he does are things stirring in the garden where he lives what garden ben said gruffly the one where the old roses are mary couldn't help asking more questions are all the flowers dead are there ever any roses ask the robin he's the only one who knows no one else has seen it for ten years ten years was a long time she was ten years old herself mary slowly walked away lost in thought she had begun to like the garden just as she had begun to like dicken and martha and their mother too that seemed a lot of people to like when you weren't used to liking people she also counted the robin as a person she spotted him again as she was strolling along her favorite path outside the kitchen gardens he was pecking in the earth and pretending that he hadn't followed her but mary knew he had you do remember me she cried she chirped and talked and coaxed while he hopped and twittered the robin allowed her to move closer and closer to him she bent down and tried to make robin's sounds the robin hopped under some shrubs then mary saw him stop to look for a worm near a pile of freshly turned up dirt an animal must have been digging in the garden as she watched the robin she spotted something half buried in the little pile of soil it looked like a ring of brass or rusty iron when the robin flew up into a nearby tree mary picked up the ring but it wasn't a ring it was an old key mary stared in amazement at the key in her hand perhaps it has been buried for ten years she whispered perhaps this is the key to the garden [Music] [Applause] [Music] the secret garden chapter 9 the robin shows the way [Music] mary looked at the key for quite a long time she turned it over in her hand thinking if this were the key to the secret garden all she had to do now was find the door she liked the idea of going into the garden and playing there by herself no one would even know she was there she put the key in her pocket and strolled up and down her favorite path outside the walled gardens nobody but mary ever seemed to go there so she could walk slowly and look at the wall closely but no matter how carefully she looked she could see nothing but ivy she was very disappointed it seemed so silly she said to be near that garden and not be able to get in she decided that she would always carry the key with her that way if she ever found the hidden door she would be ready the next morning when mary woke up martha was back at work and full of stories about her day off she left the room for a moment and came back holding something under her apron i've brought you a present she said with a grin a present mary wondered how someone from a cottage filled with so many hungry people could give anyone a present [Music] a man was driving across the moor selling things he stopped his card at our door and mother bought you a skipping rope with some of my wages martha brought the rope out from underneath her apron and held it out proudly mary looked puzzled what's it for just watch me martha ran to the next room and taking a handle in each hand began to skip and skip she counted up to a hundred i used to be able to skip to 500 but i'm out of practice do you think i could ever skip like that you just try urged martha handing her the rope you can't skip to a hundred at first but mother says nothing will do you more good you'll soon build up strength in your arms and legs mary tried skipping rope she was not very good at it but she liked it so much that she did not want to stop on your things and skip outdoors said martha mary put on her coat and hat she opened the door to go out and then turned back martha she said slowly those were your wages that your mother used to buy the skipping rope thank you she held out her hand martha laughed and shook her hand now run outside and play mary skipped around the fountain and up one path and down another she skipped into the kitchen garden and saw ben weatherstaff digging and talking to his robin well he exclaimed you've skipped the roses into your cheeks i wouldn't have believed that you could do it i never skipped before i can only go up to 20. keep going you're doing fine ben nodded in approval just see how the robin's watching you he followed after you yesterday he'll be at it again today mary skipped around all the gardens and the orchard resting every few minutes at last she made up her mind to try to skip the length of her favorite path she counted up to 30 before she had to stop and rest suddenly she spotted the robin swaying on a long branch of ivy you showed me where the key was yesterday she said you ought to show me the door today but i don't believe you know where it is the robin flew from the ivy to the top of the wall he opened his beak and sang a loud lovely trill mary laughed with the light she stepped closer to him and what happened next seemed like magic a gust of wind swung aside some loose ivy trails mary jumped forward and caught the ivy in her hand she'd seen something under the ivy a round doorknob she began to push the leaves aside the ivy was thick but nearly all of it hung in a loose swinging curtain mary's heart thumped and her hands shook with excitement as she touched the door mary reached into her pocket for the key she put the key in the lock and turned it and then she took a breath and looked up the long path to see if anyone was coming no one was there she took another breath and slowly opened the door [Music] the secret garden chapter 10 inside the mysterious place [Music] mary stood with her back against the door looking around with excitement wonder and a light she was standing inside the secret garden it was the sweetest most mysterious looking place the high walls were covered with the bare stems of roses that had grown together thickly the ground was covered with brown grass that had clumps of rose bushes growing out of it some of the roses had run up the trees and swung down now from the branches in long tendrils mary recognized these plants because she'd seen roses growing in india but she didn't know if they were dead or alive i hope the garden isn't dead she said in a whisper i am the first person to enter this place in 10 years as mary walked along quietly examining the roses the robin hopped about or flew after her from one bush to another mary stopped where there had once been a flower bed she spotted some pale green points sticking out of the black earth and knelt down to look at them they are tiny growing things she whispered perhaps there are more coming up in other places mary looked in the old border beds and among the grass she grew more excited as she found more pale green points it isn't quite a dead garden she cried out even if the roses are dead there are other things alive mary didn't know anything about gardening but the grass seemed too thick in some places where the green points were trying to push their way through she searched until she found a sharp stick then she dug out the grass and old weeds until she had cleared some space around the plants now they look as if they could breathe mary went from place to place and dug and weeded the exercise made her so warm that she threw off her hat and coat she worked happily in the garden until it was time to go inside for lunch martha was delighted when she saw mary's bright eyes and rosy cheeks she was even happier when mary ate two helpings of meat and rice pudding mother will be pleased when i tell her what skipping rope has done for you mary did not reply she was thinking about the strange white roots she had come across while digging perhaps martha would know what they were i saw something that looked like an onion in the garden today she was careful not to say the secret garden those are bulbs lots of spring flowers grow from them snow drops crocuses daffodils lilies dickens got a whole lot of them planted in our bit of a garden mary had finished eating so she went to sit in front of the fire i wish i had a little shovel martha laughed are you going to start digging mary knew she had to be careful if mr craven found out that someone had opened the door he would be very angry he might even get a new key and lock up the garden forever she really could not bear that this is such a big lonely place she said slowly there's no one to talk to except you and ben and you both have work to do if i had a shovel i might ask him for some seeds and make a little garden martha's face lit up that's just what mother suggested at thwaite village there's a shop where they sell little garden sets and they sell packages of flower seeds we could write a letter to dicken and ask him to buy them for you he walks to thwaite almost every day and he knows all about growing things oh you are so nice mary exclaimed ran to fetch a pen and paper but when mrs medlock spotted martha she gave the maid one job and then another to do so it was quite a while before martha returned to mary when they finished writing the letter to dicken mary had a question does the kitchen maid have a toothache again today martha looked startled what makes you ask that because while i was waiting for you to come back i opened the door and walked down the corridor and i heard that crying again oh you mustn't walk around listening like that martha said nervously mr craven would be angry i wasn't trying to listen mary insisted i was just waiting for you that's three times i've heard crying there's mrs medlock's bell said martha and she practically ran from the room this is the strangest house said mary but before she could think much more about it she fell asleep fresh air and digging had made her drowsy [Music] little fox you

Channel: Little Fox - Kids Stories and Songs

Views: 2,621,850

Keywords: littlefox, kids, english, stories, animation, children, for kids, for children, educational, black beauty, black beauty audiobook, stoy for, story for childrens in english, story for sleep, stories for kids, kids story, social studies, secret garden audiobook chapter 1

Id: DUpsjP6C_AM

Length: 56min 31sec (3391 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 26 2021