秘密英文

秘密花园英文版

秘密花园英文版

编辑整理：

尊敬的读者朋友们：

这里是精品文档编辑中心，本文档内容是由我和我的同事精心编辑整理后发布的，发布之前我们对

文中内容进行仔细校对，但是难免会有疏漏的地方，但是任然希望（秘密花园英文版）的内容能够

给您的工作和学习带来便利。同时也真诚的希望收到您的建议和反馈，这将是我们进步的源泉，前

进的动力。

本文可编辑可修改，如果觉得对您有帮助请收藏以便随时查阅，最后祝您生活愉快业绩进步，以

下为秘密花园英文版的全部内容。

秘密花园英文版

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。

1LittleMissMary

秘密花园英文版

NobodyemedtocareaboutMary．ShewasborninIndia，where

herfatherwasaBritishofficial．Hewasbusywithhiswork,and

hermother,whowasverybeautiful，spentallhertimegoingto

parties．SoanIndianwoman，Kamala，waspaidtotakecareofthe

littlegirl．Marywasnotaprettychild．Shehadathinangryface

andthinyellowhair．ShewasalwaysgivingorderstoKamala，

whohadtoobey．Maryneverthoughtofotherpeople,butonlyof

herlf．Infact，shewasaverylfish，disagreeable，bad—tempered

littlegirl．

Oneveryhotmorning，whenshewasaboutnineyearsold,she

wokeupandsawthatinsteadofKamalatherewasadifferentIndian

rvantbyherbed．

‘Whatareyoudoinghere？'sheaskedcrossly．‘Goaway！And

ndKamalatomeatonce！’

Thewomanlookedafraid．‘I'msorry，MissMary,she—she—she

can’tcome！'

Somethingstrangewashappeningthatday．Someofthehou

rvantsweremissingandeverybodylookedfrightened．Butnobody

toldMaryanything,andKamalastilldidnotcome．SoatlastMary

wentoutintothegarden，andplayedbyherlfunderatree．She

pretendedshewasmakingherownflowergarden，andpickedlarge

redflowerstopushintotheground．Allthetimeshewassaying

秘密花园英文版

crosslytoherlf，

‘IhateKamala!I’llhitherwhenshecomesback！’

Justthenshesawhermothercomingintothegarden，withayoung

Englishman．Theydidnotnoticethechild,wholistenedtotheir

conversation．

‘It’sverybad，isit？’hermotheraskedtheyoungmanin

aworriedvoice．

‘Verybad，’heansweredriously．‘Peoplearedyinglike

flies．It’sdangeroustostayinthistown．Youshouldgotothe

hills,wherethere’snodia．’

‘Oh，Iknow!’shecried．‘Wemustleavesoon!’

Suddenlytheyheardloudcriescomingfromthervants'rooms，

atthesideofthehou．

‘What'shappened?'criedMary'smotherwildly．

‘Ithinkoneofyourrvantshasjustdied．Youdidn’ttell

methediaishere，inyourhou！’

‘Ididn'tknow!’shescreamed．‘Quick,comewithme!’And

togethertheyranintothehou．

NowMaryunderstoodwhatwaswrong．Theterriblediahad

alreadykilledmanypeopleinthetown，andinallthehouspeople

weredying．InMary’shouitwasKamalawhohadjustdied．Later

thatdaythreemorervantsdiedthere．

秘密花园英文版

Allthroughthenightandthenextdaypeopleraninandout

ofthehou，shoutingandcrying．NobodythoughtofMary．Shehid

inherbedroom,frightenedbythestrangeandterriblesoundsthat

sheheardaroundher．Sometimesshecriedandsometimessheslept．

Whenshewokethenextday，thehouwassilent．

‘Perhapsthediahasgone,’shethought，‘andeverybody

iswellagain．IwonderwhowilltakecareofmeinsteadofKamala？

Whydoesn'tsomeonebringmesomefood？It'sstrangethehouis

soquiet．’

Butjustthensheheardmen'svoicesinthehall．

‘Howsad！’saidone．‘Thatbeautifulwoman!’

‘Therewasachildtoo，wasn’tthere？’saidthe

other．‘Althoughnoneofuversawher．’

Marywasstandinginthemiddleofherroomwhentheyopened

thedoorafewminuteslater．Thetwomenjumpedbackinsurpri．

‘MynameisMaryLennox，’shesaidcrossly．‘Iwasasleep

wheneveryonewasill，andnowI'mhungry．’

‘It'sthechild，theonenobodyeversaw！’saidtheolderman

totheother．‘They’veallforgottenher!’

‘WhywasIforgotten？’askedMaryangrily．‘Whyhasnobody

cometotakecareofme?’

Theyoungermanlookedatherverysadly．‘Poorchild！’he

秘密花园英文版

said．‘Youe，there'snobodyleftaliveinthehou．Sonobody

cancome．’

InthisstrangeandsuddenwayMarylearntthatbothhermother

andherfatherhaddied．Thefewrvantswhohadnotdiedhadrun

awayinthenight．NoonehadrememberedlittleMissMary．Shewas

allalone．

Becaushehadneverknownherparentswell,shedidnotmiss

thematall．Sheonlythoughtofherlf，asshehadalwaysdone．

‘WherewillIlive？'shewondered．‘IhopeI’llstaywith

peoplewho’llletmedowhatIwant．’

AtfirstshewastakentoanEnglishfamilywhohadknownher

parents．Shehatedtheiruntidyhouandnoisychildren，and

preferredplayingbyherlfinthegarden．Onedayshewasplaying

herfavouritegame，pretendingtomakeagarden，whenoneofthe

children，Basil，offeredtohelp．

‘Goaway！'criedMary．‘Idon’twantyourhelp！’

ForamomentBasillookedangry，andthenhebegantolaughHe

dancedroundandroundMary,andsangafunnylittlesongaboutMiss

Maryandherstupidflowers．ThismadeMaryverycrossindeed．No

onehadeverlaughedathersounkindly．

‘You’regoinghomesoon，'saidBasil．‘Andwe'reallvery

pleadyou'releaving！'

秘密花园英文版

‘I’mpleadtoo,’repliedMary．‘Butwhere'shome？’

‘You’restupidifyoudon'tknowthat！’laughed

Basil．England，ofcour!You’regoingtolivewithyouruncle，

MrArchibaldGraven．’

‘I’veneverheardofhim，'saidMarycoldly．

‘ButIknowabouthimbecauIheardFatherandMother

talking，’saidBasil．‘Helivesinabiglonelyoldhou,andhas

nofriends，becauhe'ssobadtempered．He’sgotacrookedback，

andhe’shorrid！'

‘Idon’tbelieveyou！’criedMary．ButthenextdayBasil’s

parentxplainedthatshewasgoingtolivewithherunclein

Yorkshire，inthenorthofEngland．Marylookedboredandcrossand

saidnothing．

Afterthelongajourney，shewasmetinLondonbyMrCraven's

houkeeper，MrsMedlock．Togethertheytravellednorthbytrain．Mrs

Medlockwasalargewoman，withaveryredfaceandbrightblack

eyes．Marydidnotlikeher，butthatwasnotsurprising,becau

shedidnotusuallylikepeople．MrsMedlockdidnotlikeMaryeither．

‘Whatadisagreeablechild！’thoughtthehoukeeper．‘But

perhapsIshouldtalktoher．’

‘Icantellyouabitaboutyouruncleifyoulike，’shesaid

aloud．‘Helivesinabigoldhou，alongwayfromanywhere．There

秘密花园英文版

arenearlyahundredrooms，butmostofthemareshutand

locked．There’sabigparkroundthehou，andallkindsof

gardens．Well，whatdoyouthinkofthat？’

‘Nothing,'repliedMary．‘Itdoesn’tmattertome．’

MrsMedlocklaughed．‘You'reahardlittlegirl！Well，ifyou

don’tcare，MrCravendoesn’teither．Heneverspendstimeon

anyone．He'sgotacrookedback，youe，andalthoughhe’salways

beenrich，hewasneverreallyhappyuntilhemarried．’

‘Married？’repeatedMaryinsurpri．

‘Yes，hemarriedasweet，prettygirl,andhelovedherdeeply．So

whenshedied-’

‘Oh!Didshedie？’askedMary，interested．

‘Yes，shedid．Andnowhedoesn'tcareaboutanybody．Ifhe's

athome，hestaysinhisroomandesnobody．Hewon'twanttoe

you，soyoumuststayoutofhiswayanddowhatyou'retold．’

Marystaredoutofthetrainwindowatthegreyskyandthe

rain．Shewasnotlookingforwardtolifeatheruncle’shou．

Thetrainjourneylastedallday，anditwasdarkwhenthey

arrivedatthestation．Thentherewasalongdrivetogettothe

hou．Itwasacold，windynight，anditwasrainingheavily．After

awhileMarybegantohearastrange，wildnoi．Shelookedout

ofthewindow，butcouldenothingexceptthedarkness．

秘密花园英文版

‘What'sthatnoi？’sheaskedMrsMedlock．‘It's—It’snot

thea，isit？’

‘No，that’sthemoor．It’sthesoundthewindmakes，blowing

acrossthemoor．’

‘Whatisamoor？’

‘It'sjustmilesandmilesofwildland,withnotreesor

hous．Youruncle’shouisrightontheedgeofthemoor．’

Marylistenedtothestrange，frighteningsound．‘Idon’tlike

it，'shethought．‘Idon’tlikeit．'Shelookedmoredisagreeable

thanever．

2MaryinYorkshire

Theyarrivedataverylargeoldhou．Itlookeddarkand

unfriendlyfromtheoutside．Inside，Marylookedaroundthebig

shadowyhall，andfeltverysmallandlost．Theywentstraight

upstairs．Marywasshowntoaroomwheretherewasawarmfireand

foodonthetable．

‘Thisisyourroom，’saidMrsMedlock．‘Gotobedwhenyou've

hadsomesupper．Andremember，youmuststayinyourroom!MrCraven

秘密花园英文版

doesn’twantyoutowanderalloverthehou！’

WhenMarywokeupthenextmorning，shesawayoungrvantgirl

cleaningthefireplace．Theroomemeddarkandratherstrange，

withpicturesofdogsandhorsandladiesonthewalls．Itwas

notachild'sroomatall．Fromthewindowshecouldnoteany

treesorhous,onlywildland，whichlookedlikeakindofpurple

a．

‘Whoareyou?'sheaskedthervantcoldly．

‘Martha,miss，'answeredthegirlwithasmile．

‘Andwhat’sthatoutside？'Marycontinued．

‘That'sthemoor,'smiledMartha．‘Doyoulikeit？’

‘No，’repliedMaryimmediately．‘Ihateit．’

‘That’sbecauyoudon’tknowit．Youwilllikeit．Ilove

it．It’slovelyinspringandsummerwhenthereareflowers．It

alwayssmellssosweet．Theair’ssofresh，andthebirdssingso

beautifully．Ineverwanttoleavethemoor．'

Marywasfeelingverybadtempered．‘You’reastrange

rvant,’shesaid．‘InIndiawedon'thaveconversationswith

rvants．Wegiveorders，andtheyobey，andthat'sthat．'

MarthadidnotemtomindMary’scrossness．

‘IknowItalktoomuch！'shelaughed．

‘Areyougoingtobemyrvant？’askedMary．

秘密花园英文版

‘Well，notreally．IworkforMrsMedlock．I'mgoingtoclean

yourroomandbringyouyourfood，butyouwon'tneedarvantexcept

forthothings．’

‘Butwho’sgoingtodressme？’

Marthastoppedcleaning，andstaredatMary．

‘Tha’canna’dressthyn？'sheasked，shocked．

‘Whatdoyoumean？Idon'tunderstandyourlanguage!’

‘Oh，Iforgot．WeallspeaktheYorkshiredialecthere，but

ofcouryoudon'tunderstandthat．Imeanttosay，can’tyouput

onyourownclothes？’

‘Ofcournot！Myrvantalwaysudtodressme．'

‘Well！Ithinkyoushouldlearntodressyourlf．Mymother

alwayssayspeopleshouldbeabletotakecareofthemlves，even

ifthey’rerichandimportant．'

LittleMissMarywasfuriouswithMartha．‘It’sdifferentin

IndiawhereIcomefrom！Youdon’tknowanythingaboutIndia，

oraboutrvants，oraboutanything！You…you…'Shecouldnot

explainwhatshemeant．Suddenlyshefeltveryconfudand

lonely．Shethrewherlfdownonthebedandstartedcryinywildly．

‘Now，now，don'tcrylikethat，’Marthasaidgently．‘I'm

verysorry．You’reright,Idon’tknowanythingabout

anything．Pleastopcrying,miss．’

秘密花园英文版

Shesoundedkindandfriendly，andMarybegantofeelbetter

andsoonstoppedcrying．Marthawentontalkingasshefinishedher

cleaning，butMarylookedoutofthewindowinaboredway，and

pretendednottolisten．

‘I'vegotelevenbrothersandsisters，youknow，miss．There's

notmuchmoneyinourhou．Andtheyalleatsomuchfood！Mother

saysit'sthegoodfreshaironthemoorthatmakesthemsohungry．My

brotherDickon，he'salwaysoutonthemoor．He’stwelve,andhe's

gotahorwhichheridessometimes．'

‘Wheredidhegetit?’askedMary．Shehadalwayswantedan

animalofherown,andsoshebegantofeelalittleinterestin

Dickon．

‘Oh，it'sawildhor,buthe’sakindboy,andanimalslike

him，youe．Nowyoumusthaveyourbreakfast,miss．Hereitison

thetable．’

‘Idon'twantit，’saidMary．‘I’mnothungry．’

‘What！’criedMartha．‘Mylittlebrothersandsisterswould

eatallthisinfiveminutes！’

‘Why？’askedMarycoldly．

‘Becautheydon’tgetenoughtoeat，that'swhy，andthey’re

alwayshungry．You’reveryluckytohavethefood，miss．’Mary

saidnothing，butshedranksometeaandatealittlebread．

秘密花园英文版

‘Nowputacoatonandrunoutsidetoplay，’said

Martha．‘It’lldoyougoodtobeinthefreshair．’

Marylookedoutofthewindowatthecoldgreysky．‘Whyshould

Igooutonadaylikethis？’sheasked．

‘Well，there'snothingtoplaywithindoors,isthere？'

MaryrealizedMarthawasright．‘Butwhowillgowithme?’she

said．

Marthastaredather．‘Nobody．You'llhavetolearntoplay

byyourlfDickonplaysbyhimlfonthemoorsforhours，with

thewildbirds,andthesheep，andtheotheranimals．’Shelooked

awayforamoment．‘PerhapsIshouldn’ttellyouthis，but—but

oneofthewalledgardensislockedup．Nobody'sbeeninitforten

years．ItwasMrsGraven'sgarden,andwhenshediedsosuddenly，

MrCravenlockeditandburiedthekey—Oh,Imustgo,Icanhear

MrsMedlock'sbellringingforme．’

Marywentdownstairsandwanderedthroughthegreatempty

gardens．Manyofthefruitandvegetablegardenshadwallsround

them，buttherewerenolockeddoors．Shesawanoldmandigging

inoneofthevegetablegardens，buthelookedcrossandunfriendly，

soshewalkedon．

‘Howuglyitalllooksinwinter！’shethought．‘Butwhat

amysterythelockedgardenis！Whydidmyuncleburythekey？

秘密花园英文版

Ifhelovedhiswife,whydidhehatehergarden？PerhapsI’llnever

know．Idon’tsuppoI’lllikehimifIevermeethim．Andhe

won’tlikeme，soIwon’tbeabletoaskhim．'

Justthenshenoticedarobinsingingtoherfromatreeonthe

othersideofawall．‘Ithinkthattree'sinthecretgarden!’she

toldherlf．‘There’sanextrawallhere,andthere'snowayin．'

Shewentbacktowherethegardenerwasdigging,andspoketo

him．Atfirstheansweredinaverybadtemperedway，butsuddenly

therobinflewdownnearthem，andtheoldmanbegantosmile．He

lookedadifferentpersonthen，andMarythoughthowmuchnicer

peoplelookedwhentheysmiled．Thegardenerspokegentlytothe

robin,andtheprettylittlebirdhoppedonthegroundnearthem．

‘He’smyfriend，heis,’saidtheoldman．‘Therearen'tany

otherrobinsinthegarden,sohe’sabitlonely．’Hespokeinstrong

Yorkshiredialect，soMaryhadtolistencarefullytounderstand

him．

Shelookedveryhardattherobin．‘I'mlonelytoo，’she

said．Shehadnotrealizedthisbefore．

‘What'syourname?’sheaskedthegardener．

‘BenWeatherstaff．I’mlonelymylf．Therobin’smyonly

friend，youe．’

‘Ihaven’tgotanyfriendsatall,'saidMary．

秘密花园英文版

Yorkshirepeoplealwayssaywhattheyarethinking，andoldBen

wasaYorkshiremoorman．‘We'realike，youandme，'hetold

Mary．‘We’renotprettytolookat,andwe'rebothvery

disagreeable．’

NobodyhadeversaidthistoMarybefore．‘AmIreallyasugly

anddisagreeableasBen？’shewondered．

SuddenlytherobinflewtoatreenearMaryandstartedsinging

toher．Benlaughedloudly．

‘Well！'hesaid．‘Hewantstobeyourfriend！’

‘Oh！Wouldyoupleabemyfriend？’shewhisperedtothe

robin．Shespokeinasoft，quietvoiceandoldBenlookedather

insurpri．

‘Yousaidthatreallynicely！'hesaid．‘YousoundlikeDickon，

whenhetalkstoanimalsonthemoor．'

‘DoyouknowDickon？’askedMary．Butjustthentherobinflew

away．‘Ohlook，he'sflownintothegardenwithnodoor！Plea,Ben，

howcanIgetintoit？'

Benstoppedsmilingandpickeduphisspade．‘Youcan’t，and

that’sthat．It'snotyourbusiness．Nobodycanfindthedoor．Run

awayandplay,willyou?Imustgetonwithmywork．'Andhewalked

away．Hedidnotevensaygoodbye．

InthenextfewdaysMaryspentalmostallhertimeinthe

秘密花园英文版

gardens．Thefreshairfromthemoormadeherhungry,andshewas

becomingstrongerandhealthier．Onedayshenoticedtherobin

again．Hewasontopofawall，singingtoher．‘Goodmorning！

Isn'tthisfun！Comethisway！’heemedtosay,ashehoppedalong

thewall．Marybegantolaughasshedancedalongbesidehim．‘I

knowthecretgarden'sontheothersideofthiswall！’shethought

excitedly．‘Andtherobinlivesthere！Butwhere'sthedoor?'

ThateveningsheaskedMarthatostayandtalktoherbeside

thefireaftersupper．Theycouldhearthewindblowingroundthe

oldhou，buttheroomwaswarmandcomfortable．Maryonlyhad

oneideainherhead．

‘Tellmeaboutthecretgarden，’shesaid．

‘Well，allrightthen，miss,butwearen’tsuppodtotalk

aboutit,youknow．ItwasMrsGraven’sfavouritegarden，andshe

andMrCravenudtotakecareofitthemlves．Theyspenthours

there，readingandtalking．Veryhappy，theywere．Theyudthe

branchofanoldtreeasaat．Butonedaywhenshewassitting

onthebranch，itbroke，andshefell．Shewasverybadlyhurtand

thenextdayshedied．That’swhyhehatesthegardensomuch，

andwon'tletanyonegointhere．’

‘Howsad!'saidMary．‘PoorMrCraven！’Itwasthefirsttime

thatshehadeverfeltsorryforanyone．

Justthen，asshewaslisteningtothewindoutside，sheheard

秘密花园英文版

anothernoi，inthehou．

‘Canyouhearachildcrying?'sheaskedMartha．

Marthalookedconfud．‘Er—no,’shereplied．‘No,I

think…itmustbethewind．’

Butatthatmomentthewindblewopentheirdoorandtheyheard

thecryingveryclearly．

‘Itoldyou！'criedMary．

AtonceMarthashutthedoor．‘Itwasthewind,'sherepeated．But

shedidnotspeakinherusualnaturalway，andMarydidnotbelieve

her．

Thenextdayitwasveryrainy，soMarydidnotgoout．Instead

shedecidedtowanderroundthehou，lookingintosomeofthe

hundredroomsthatMrsMedlockhadtoldherabout．Shespentall

morninggoinginandoutofdark，silentrooms,whichwerefullof

heavyfurnitureandoldpictures．Shesawnorvantsatall,and

wasonherwaybacktoherroomforlunch，whensheheardacry．‘It's

abitlikethecrythatIheardlastnight！’shethought．Justthen

thehoukeeper，MrsMedlock,appeared，withherkeysinherhand．

‘Whatareyoudoinghere？’sheaskedcrossly．

‘Ididn'tknowwhichwaytogo，andIheardsomeone

crying，’answeredMary．

‘Youdidn'thearanything！Gobacktoyouroomnow．Andif

秘密花园英文版

youdon’tstaythere，I’lllockyouin!’

MaryhatedMrsMedlockforthis．‘Therewassomeonecrying，

Iknowtherewas！’shesaidtoherlf．‘ButI’lldiscoverwho

itissoon！'ShewasalmostbeginningtoenjoyherlfinYorkshire．

3Findingthecretgarden

WhenMarywokeuptwodayslater，thewindandrainhadall

disappeared，andtheskywasabeautifulblue．‘Spring’llbehere

soon,’saidMarthahappily．‘You'lllovethemoorthen，whenit's

fullofflowersandbirds．’

‘CouldIgettothemoor？’askedMary．

‘You’veneverdonemuchwalking,haveyou？Idon’tthinkyou

couldwalkthefivemilestoourcottage！'

‘ButI’dliketomeetyourfamily，’Marysaid．

Marthalookedatthelittlegirlforamoment．Sheremembered

howdisagreeableMaryhadbeenwhenshefirstarrived．Butnow，

Marylookedinterestedandfriendly．

‘I'llaskMother，’saidMartha．‘Shecanalwaysthinkofa

goodplan．She’snsibleandhardworkingandkind—Iknowyou’ll

likeher．’

秘密花园英文版

‘IlikeDickon，althoughI’veneverenhim．'

‘IwonderwhatDickonwillthinkofyou？’

‘Hewon’tlikeme，’saidMary．‘Noonedoes．’

‘Butdoyoulikeyourlf？That’swhatMotherwouldask．’

‘No,notreally．I’veneverthoughtofthat．’

‘Well，Imustgonow．It'smydayoff，soI’mgoinghometo

helpMotherwiththehouwork．Goodbye，miss．Seeyoutomorrow．’

MaryfeltlonelierthaneverwhenMarthahadgone,soshewent

outside．Thesunshinemadethegardenslookdifferent．Andthechange

intheweatherhadevenmadeBenWeatherstaffeasiertotalkto．

‘Canyousmellspringintheair?’heaskedher．‘Thingsare

growing，deepdownintheground．Soonyou’llelittlegreenshoots

comingup—youngplants，theyare．Youwatchthem．’

‘Iwill'repliedMary．‘Oh，there’stherobin!’Thelittle

birdhoppedontoBen’sspade．‘Arethingsgrowinginthegarden

wherehelives？’

‘Whatgarden？’saidBen，inhisbadtemperedvoice．

‘Youknow，thecretgarden．Aretheflowersdeadthere？’

Shereallywantedtoknowtheanswer．

‘Asktherobin，’saidBencrossly．‘He’stheonlyonewho's

beeninthereforthelasttenyears．’

秘密花园英文版

Tenyearswasalongtime，Marythought．Shehadbeenbornten

yearsago．Shewalkedaway，thinking．Shehadbeguntolikethe

gardens，andtherobin，andMarthaandDickonandtheirmother．Before

shecametoYorkshire,shehadnotlikedanybody．

Shewaswalkingbesidethelongwallofthecretgarden，when

amostwonderfulthinghappened．Shesuddenlyrealizedtherobin

wasfollowingher．Shefeltverypleadandexcitedbythis，and

criedout，‘Youlikeme，don’tyou?AndIlikeyoutoo！’Ashe

hoppedalongbesideher，shehoppedandsangtoo,toshowhimthat

shewashisfriend．Justthenhestoppedataplacewhereadoghad

dugaholeintheground．AsMarylookedatthehole,shenoticed

somethingalmostburiedthere．Sheputherhandinandpulledit

out．Itwasanoldkey．

‘Perhapsit’sbeenburiedfortenyears，'shewhisperedto

herlf．‘Perhapsit’sthekeytothecretgarden!'

Shelookedatitforalongtime．Howlovelyitwouldbetofind

thegarden，andewhathadhappenedtoitinthelasttenyears！

Shecouldplayinitallbyherlf,andnobodywouldknowshewas

there．Sheputthekeysafelyinherpocket．

ThenextmorningMarthawasbackatMislthwaiteManor,andtold

Maryallaboutherdaywithherfamily．

‘Ireallyenjoyedmylf．IhelpedMotherwiththewholeweek's

washingandbaking．AndItoldthechildrenaboutyou．Theywanted

秘密花园英文版

toknowaboutyourrvants，andtheshipthatbroughtyoutoEngland，

andeverything！’

‘Icantellyousomemorefornexttime，’offered

Mary．‘They'dliketohearaboutridingonelephantsandcamels，

wouldn’tthey？’

‘Oh,thatwouldbekindofyou，miss！Andlook，Motherhasnt

youaprent！’

‘Aprent！'repeatedMary．Howcouldafamilyoffourteen

hungrypeoplegiveanyoneaprent！

‘Motherboughtitfromamanwhocametothedoortoll

things．Shetoldme,“Martha,you'vebroughtmeyourpay，likeagood

girl，andweneeditall，butI'mgoingtobuysomethingforthat

lonelychildattheManor，”andsheboughtone,andhereitis！

'

Itwasaskippingrope．Marystaredatit．

‘Whatisit?’sheasked．

‘Don'ttheyhaveskippingropesinIndia？Well,thisishowyou

uit．Justwatchme．’

Marthatooktheropeandranintothemiddleoftheroom．She

counteduptoahundredassheskipped．

‘Thatlookslovely，’saidMary．‘Yourmotherisverykind．Do

youthinkIcouldeverskiplikethat？’

秘密花园英文版

‘Justtry，’saidMartha．‘Mothersaysit'llmakeyoustrong

andhealthy．Skipoutsideinthefreshair．’

Maryputhercoatonandtooktheskipping—rope．Asshewas

openingthedoor,shethoughtofsomethingandturnedround．

‘Martha，itwasyourmoneyreally．Thankyou．’Sheneverthanked

peopleusuallyandshedidnotknowhowtodoit．Sosheheldout

herhand,becausheknewthatadultsdidthat．

Marthashookherhandandlaughed．‘You’reastrange

child，’shesaid．‘Likeanoldwoman！Nowrunawayandplay！'

Theskippingropewaswonderful．Marycountedandskipped，

skippedandcounted，untilherfacewashotandred．Shewashaving

morefunthanshehadeverhadbefore．Sheskippedthroughthegardens

untilshefoundBenWeatherstaff,whowasdiggingandtalkingto

hisrobin．Shewantedthembothtoeherskip．

‘Well！’saidBen．‘You'relookingfineandhealthytoday！

Goonskipping．It’sgoodforyou．’

Maryskippedallthewaytothecretgardenwall．Andthere

wastherobin！Hehadfollowedher！Marywasveryplead．

‘Youshowedmewherethekeywasyesterday，’she

laughed．‘I'vegotitinmypocket．Soyououghttoshowmethe

doortoday！'

Therobinhoppedontoanoldclimbingplantonthewall，and

秘密花园英文版

sanghismostbeautifulsong．Suddenlythewindmadetheplant

move,andMarysawsomethingunderthedarkgreenleaves．The

thick,heavyplantwascoveringadoor．Mary'sheartwasbeatingfast

andherhandswereshakingasshepushedtheleavesawayandfound

thekeyhole．Shetookthekeyoutofherpocket,anditfittedthe

hole．Usingbothhands，shemanagedtounlockthedoor．Thenshe

turnedroundtoeifanyonewaswatching．Buttherewasnoone,so

shepushedthedoor，whichopened，slowly,forthefirsttimeinten

years．Shewalkedquicklyinandshutthedoorbehindher．Atlast

shewasinsidethecretgarden！

Itwastheloveliest，mostexcitingplaceshehadever

en．Therewereoldrotreeverywhere，andthewallswere

coveredwithclimbingros．Shelookedcarefullyatthegrey

branches．Weretherosstillalive？Benwouldknow．Shehopedthey

weren’talldead．Butshewasinsidethewonderfulgarden，ina

worldofherown．Itemedverystrangeandsilent，butshedid

notfeellonelyatall．Thenshenoticedsomesmallgreenshoots

comingupthroughthegrass．Sosomethingwasgrowinginthegarden

afterall！Whenshefoundalotmoreshootsindifferentplaces，

shedecidedtheyneededmoreairandlight,soshebegantopullout

thethickgrassaroundthem．Sheworkedaway，clearingtheground，

fortwoorthreehours，andhadtotakehercoatoffbecaushe

gotsohot．Therobinhoppedaround,pleadtoesomeonegardening．

秘密花园英文版

Shealmostforgotaboutlunch，andwhenshearrivedbackinher

room,shewasveryhungryandatetwiceasmuchas

usual．‘Martha，’shesaidasshewaating，‘I’vebeen

thinking．Thisisabig，lonelyhou，andthereisn’tmuchfor

metodo．Doyouthink，ifIbuyalittlespade,Icanmakemyown

garden？’

‘That’sjustwhatMothersaid,’repliedMartha．‘You'denjoy

diggingandwatchingplantsgrowing．Dickoncangetyouaspade，

andsomeedstoplant，ifyoulike．’

‘Oh，thankyou,Martha!I'vegotsomemoneythatMrsMedlock

gaveme．WillyouwriteandaskDickontobuythemforme?'

‘Iwill．Andhe'llbringthemtoyouhimlf．'

‘Oh！ThenI'llehim．’Marylookedveryexcited．Thenshe

rememberedsomething．‘Iheardthatcryinthehouagain，

Martha．Itwasn'tthewindthistime．I’vehearditthreetimes

now．Whoisit？’

Marthalookeduncomfortable．‘Youmustn'tgowanderingaround

thehou，youknow．MrCravenwouldn’tlikeit．NowImustgoand

helptheothersdownstairs．I’lleyouatteatime．’

AsthedoorclodbehindMartha,Marythoughttoherlf，

‘Thisreallyisthestrangesthouthatanyoneeverlivedin．’

秘密花园英文版

4MeetingDickon

Maryspentnearlyaweekworkinginthecretgarden．Each

dayshefoundnewshootscomingoutoftheground．Soon，therewould

beflowerverywhere—thousandsofthem．Itwasanexcitinggame

toher．Whenshewasinsidethobeautifuloldwalls，nooneknew

whereshewas．

DuringthatweekshebecamemorefriendlywithBen,whowasoften

digginginoneofthevegetablegardens．

‘Whatareyourfavouriteflowers，Ben？’sheaskedhimoneday．

‘Ros．Iudtoworkforayoungladywholovedros，you

e，andshehadalotinhergarden．Thatwastenyearsago．But

shedied．Verysad,itwas．’

‘Whathappenedtotheros？'askedMary．

‘Theywereleftthere,inthegarden．'

‘Ifrobrancheslookdryandgrey，aretheystillalive？

'askedMary．Itwassoimportanttoknow！

‘Inthespringthey’llshowgreenshoots，andthen—Butwhy

areyousointerestedinros？’heasked．

Mary’sfacewentred．‘Ijust…wantedtopretendI’vegot

agarden．Ihaven'tgotanyonetoplaywith．'

秘密花园英文版

‘Well,that’strue,’saidBen．Heemedtofeelsorryfor

her．MarydecidedshelikedoldBen，althoughhewassometimes

badtempered．

Sheskippedalongandintothewoodattheendofthe

gardens．Suddenlysheheardastrangenoi，andthereinfrontof

herwasaboy．Hewassittingunderatree，playingonawoodenpipe．He

wasabouttwelve，withahealthyredfaceandbrightblueeyes．There

wasasquirrelandacrowinthetree，andtworabbitssittingon

thegrassnearhim．

‘They’relisteningtothemusic！’thoughtMary．‘Imustn’t

frightenthem！’Shestoodverystill．

Theboystoppedplaying．‘That’sright，'hesaid．‘Animals

don'tlikeitifyoumovesuddenly．I’mDickonandyoumustbeMiss

Mary．I'vebroughtyouthespadeandtheeds．’

Hespokeinaneasy，friendlyway．Marylikedhimatonce．As

theywerelookingattheedpacketstogether，therobinhopped

ontoabranchnearthem．Dickonlistenedcarefullytotherobin's

song．

‘He'ssayinghe'syourfriend，hetoldMary．

‘Really？Oh，Iampleadhelikesme．Canyouunderstand

everythingthatbirdssay？'

‘IthinkIdo，andtheythinkIdo．I'velivedonthemoorwith

秘密花园英文版

themforsolong．SometimesIthinkIamabirdorananimal，not

aboyatall!’Hissmilewasthewidestshehadeveren．

Heexplainedhowtoplanttheeds．Suddenlyhesaid，‘Ican

helpyouplantthem!Where'syourgarden？’

Marywentred，thenwhite．Shehadneverthougtofthis．What

wasshegoingtosay?

‘Couldyoukeepacret？It’sagreatcret．Ifanyone

discoversit，I'll…I’lldie！’

‘Ikeepcretsforallthewildbirdsandanimalsonthe

moor．SoIcankeepyourstoo，’hereplied．

‘I’vestolenagarden，’shesaidveryfast．‘Nobodygoes

intoit，nobodywantsit．Iloveitandnobodytakescareofit!

They’relettingitdie！’Andshethrewherarmsoverherfaceand

startedcrying．

‘Don’tcry，'saidDickongently．‘Whereisit？'

‘ComewithmeandI'llshowyou，’saidMissMary．

Theywenttothecretgardenandenteredittogether．Dickon

walkedround，lookingateverything．

‘Marthatoldmeaboutthisplace,butIneverthoughtI’de

it，’hesaid．‘It'swonderful!’

‘Whatabouttheros？’askedMaryworriedly．‘Aretheystill

alive?Whatdoyouthink？’

秘密花园英文版

‘Lookattheshootsonthebranches．Mostofthemarealive

allright．’Hetookouthisknifeandcutawaysomeofthedead

woodfromtherotrees．Maryshowedhimtheworkshehaddonein

thegarden，andtheytalkedastheycutandcleared．

‘Dickon，'saidMarysuddenly，‘Ilikeyou．Ineverthought

I’dlikeasmanyasfivepeople！’

‘Onlyfive!’laughedDickon．

Hedidlookfunnywhenhelaughed，thoughtMary．

‘Yes，yourmother,Martha,therobin,Ben，andyou．'Thensheasked

himaquestioninYorkshiredialect，becauthatwashislanguage．

‘Doestha’likeme？’washerquestion．

‘Ofcour！Ilikestheewonderful!'repliedDickon，abigsmile

onhisroundface．Maryhadneverbeensohappy．

Whenshewentbacktothehouforherlunch，shetoldMartha

aboutDickon'svisit．

‘I'vegotnewsforyoutoo，'saidMartha．‘MrCraven'scome

home，andwantstoeyou！He'sgoingawayagaintomorrow,forveral

months．’

‘Oh！’saidMary．Thatwasgoodnews．Shewouldhaveallsummer

inthecretgardenbeforehecameback．Butshemustbecareful．He

mustn'tguesshercretnow．

JustthenMrsMedlockarrived,inherbestblackdress，totake

秘密花园英文版

MarydowntoMrCraven’sroom．

Mary'sunclehadblackhairwithsomewhiteinit,andhigh,

crookedshoulders．Hisfacewasnotugly，butverysad．Duringtheir

conversationhewatchedherinaworriedway．Perhapshewasthinking

ofotherthingsatthesametime．

Helookedatthethinchild．‘Areyouwell？'heasked．Mary

triedtokeephervoicecalmasshereplied，

‘I'mgettingstrongerandhealthier．’

‘Whatdoyouwanttodo,inthisbigemptyhou？’

‘I…Ijustwanttoplayoutside—Ienjoythat．’

‘Yes，Martha'smother,SusanSowerby，spoketometheother

day．She'sansiblewoman—andshesaidyouneededfreshair．But

wheredoyouplay?'‘Everywhere！Ijustskipandrunandlookfor

greenshoots．Idon'tdamageanything！’

‘Don'tlooksofrightened!Ofcourachildlikeyoucouldn't

damageanything．Playwhereyoulike．Isthereanythingthatyou

want？’

Marycameastepnearertohim,andhervoiceshookalittleas

shespoke．‘CouldIcouldIhaveabitofgarden？’

MrCravenlookedverysurprid．

‘Toplantedsin…tomakethemcomealive！’Marywenton

bravely．‘ItwastoohotinIndia，soIwasalwaysillandtired

秘密花园英文版

there．Buthereit'sdifferent．I…Ilovethegarden！’

Hepasdahandquicklyoverhiyes．Thenhelookedkindly

atMary．‘Iknewsomeoneoncewholovedgrowingthings，likeyou．Yes，

child,takeasmuchofthegardenasyouwant．’Hesmiledgently

ather．‘Nowleaveme．I'mverytired．’

Maryranallthewaybacktoherroom．

‘Martha！'sheshouted．‘MrGraven’sreallyaniceman，but

helooksveryunhappy．HesaidIcanhavemyowngarden！’

ShewasplanningtoworkinthegardenwithDickoneveryday,to

makeitbeautifulforthesummer．

5MeetingColin

InthemiddleofthenightMarywokeup．Heavyrainhadstarted

fallingagain，andthewindwasblowingviolentlyroundthewalls

oftheoldhou．Suddenlysheheardcryingagain．Thistimeshe

decidedtodiscoverwhoitwas．Sheleftherroom，andinthedarkness

followedthecryingsound,roundcornersandthroughdoors，upand

downstairs，totheothersideofthebighou．Atlastshefound

秘密花园英文版

therightroom．Shepushedthedooropenandwentin．

Itwasabigroomwithbeautifuloldfurnitureandpictures．In

thelargebedwasaboy，wholookedtiredandcross，withathin，

white,tearfulface．HestaredatMary．

‘Whoareyou？’hewhispered．‘Areyouadream？’

‘No,I’mnot．I'mMaryLennox．MrCraven'smyuncle．’

‘He’smyfather，'saidtheboy．‘I’mColinCraven．'

‘Nooneevertoldmehehadason！’saidMary，verysurprid．

‘Well，nooneevertoldmeyou'dcometolivehere．I'mill，

youe．Idon'twantpeopletoemeandtalkaboutme．IfIlive，

Imayhaveacrookedbacklikemyfather，butI'llprobablydie．’

‘Whatastrangehouthisis！'saidMary．‘Somanycrets！

Doesyourfathercomeandeyouoften？’

‘Notoften．Hedoesn'tlikeeingmebecauitmakeshim

remembermymother．ShediedwhenIwasborn，sohealmosthates

me,Ithink．’

‘Whydoyousayyou’regoingtodie？’askedMary．

‘I'vealwaysbeenill．I’venearlydiedveraltimes，and

myback'sneverbeenstrong．MydoctorfeelssurethatI'mgoing

todie．Buthe’smyfather’scousin，andvervpoor，sohe'dlike

metodie．Thenhe’dgetallthemoneywhenmyfatherdies．Hegives

memedicineandtellsmetorest．WehadagranddoctorfromLondon

秘密花园英文版

once，whotoldmetogooutinthefreshairandtrytogetwell．But

Ihatefreshair．Andanotherthing，allthervantshavetodo

whatIwant，becauifI’mangry，Ibecomeill．'

Marythoughtshelikedthisboy，althoughheemedsostrange．He

askedherlotsofquestions，andshetoldhimallaboutherlife

inIndia．

‘Howoldareyou？’heaskedsuddenly．

‘I'mten，andsoareyou，’repliedMary，forgettingtobe

careful，‘becauwhenyouwerebornthegardendoorwaslocked

andthekeywasburied．AndIknowthatwastenyearsago．

Colinsatupinbedandlookedveryinterested．‘Whatdoor？

Wholockedit？Where’sthekey？Iwanttoeit．I'llmakethe

rvantstellmewhereitis．They’lltakemethereandyoucan

cometoo．’

‘Oh,plea！Don'tdon’tdothat！’criedMary．

Colinstaredather．‘Don'tyouwanttoeit？'

‘Yes,butifyoumakethemopenthedoor，itwillneverbea

cretagain．Youe,ifonlyweknowaboutit，ifweifwecanfind

thekey，wecangoandplaythereeveryday．Wecanhelpthegarden

comealiveagain．Andnoonewillknowaboutitexceptus！’

‘Ie,’saidColinslowly．‘Yes，I’dlikethat．It’llbe

ourcret．I'veneverhadacretbefore．'

秘密花园英文版

‘Andperhaps,’addedMarycleverly，‘wecanfindaboytopush

youinyourwheelchair，ifyoucan’twalk,andwecangothere

togetherwithoutanyotherpeople．You'llfeelbetteroutside．I

knowIdo．’

‘I’dlikethat,’hesaiddreamily．‘IthinkI'dlikefresh

air，inacretgarden．'

ThenMarytoldhimaboutthemoor，andDickon,andBen

Weatherstaff,andtherobin，andGolinlistenedtoitallwithgreat

interest．Hebegantosmileandlookmuchhappier．

‘Ilikehavingyouhere，’hesaid．‘Youmustcomeande

meeveryday．ButI’mtirednow．’

‘I’llsingyouasong．MyrvantKamalaudtodothatin

India，’saidMary,andverysoonColinwasasleep．

ThenextafternoonMaryvisitedColinagain，andheemedvery

pleadtoeher．Hehadnthisnurawayandhadtoldnobody

aboutMary’svisit．Maryhadnottoldanybodyeither．Theyread

someofhisbookstogether，andtoldeachotherstories．Theywere

enjoyingthemlvesandlaughingloudlywhensuddenlythedoor

opened．DrCravenandMrsMedlockcamein．Theyalmostfellover

insurpri．

‘What’shappeninghere？’askedDrCraven．

Colinsatupstraight．ToMaryhelookedjustlikeanIndian

秘密花园英文版

prince．‘Thisismycousin，MaryLennox,’hesaidcalmly．‘Ilike

her．Shemustvisitmeoften．’

‘Oh，I’msorry，sir,'saidpoorMrsMedlocktothedoctor．‘I

don'tknowhowshediscoveredhim．Itoldthervantstokeepit

acret．’

‘Don'tbestupid，Medlock,’saidtheIndianprince

coldly．‘Nobodytoldher．Sheheardmecryingandfoundme

herlf．Bringourteaupnow．’

‘I'mafraidyou'regettingtoohotandexcited，myboy，'said

DrCraven．‘That’snotgoodforyou．Don’tforgetyou’reill．’

‘Iwanttoforget！’saidColin．‘I’llbeangryifMary

doesn’tvisitme！Shemakesmefeelbetter．’

DrCravendidnotlookhappywhenhelefttheroom．

‘Whatachangeintheboy，sir！’saidthehoukeeper．‘He’s

usuallysodisagreeablewithallofus．Hereallyemstolikethat

strangelittlegirl．Andhedoeslookbetter．’DrCravenhadto

agree．

6Colinisafraid

Becauitrainedallthenextweek，MarywenttotalktoColin

秘密花园英文版

everydayinsteadofvisitingthegarden．Butshewokeearlyone

morningtoethesunshiningintoherroom，andsheranoutto

thecretgardenatonce．Shedidnotevenwaittohaveher

breakfast．Itwasbeautifullysunnyandwarm，andathousandmore

shootswerepushingtheirwayoutoftheground．Dickonwasalready

there，digginghard，withthecrowandayoungfoxbesidehim．

‘Haveyouentherobin?’heaskedMary．Thelittlebirdwas

flyingbusilybackwardsandforwardsasfastashecould，carrying

piecesofdrygrass．

‘He'sbuildinganest!'whisperedMary．Theywatchedtherobin

foramoment．ThenMarysaid，

‘Imusttellyousomething．YouprobablyknowaboutColin

Craven,don’tyou？Well,I’vemethim，andI'mgoingtohelphim

togetbetter．’

‘That'sgoodnews．'TherewasabigsmileonDickon’shonest

face．‘Weallknewhewasill．’

‘He’safraidhe'llhaveacrookedbacklikehisfather．Ithink

that’swhat’smakinghimill．’

‘Perhapswecanbringhimhereandlethimrestunderthe

trees．That'lldohimgood．That’swhatwe'lldo．’

TheyhadalotofgardeningandplanningtodoandMarydidnot

havetimetovisitColinthatday．Whenshecamebacktothehou

秘密花园英文版

intheevening，Marthatoldherthatthervantshadhadtrouble

withColin．

‘He'sbeenverybadtemperedallafternoonwithallofus，

becauyoudidn’tcome，miss．’

‘Well，Iwasbusy．He'llhavetolearnnottobesolfish，

'repliedMarycoldly．Sheforgothowlfishshehadbeenwhenshe

wasillinIndia．‘I'llgoandehimnow．'

Whenshewentintohisroom，hewaslyinginbed，lookingtired．He

didnotturntolookather．

‘What'sthematterwithyou?’sheaskedcrossly．

‘Mybackachesandmyheadhurts．Whydldn'tyoucomethis

afternoon？'

‘IwasworkinginthegardenwithDickon．'

‘Iwon'tletthatboycometothegardenifyoustaywithhim

insteadoftalkingtome!’

Marysuddenlybecameveryangry．‘IfyoundDickonaway，

I'llnevercomeintothisroomagain！’

‘You'llhaveto，ifIsayso．I’llmakethervantsbring

youinhere．’

‘Oh，willyou，prince！Butnoonecanmakemetalktoyou．I

won'tlookatyou．I'llstareatthefloor！'

‘Youlfishgirl！’criedColin．

秘密花园英文版

‘You'remorelfishthanIam．You’rethemostlfishboy

I’veevermet!’

‘I’mnotaslfishasyourfineDickon!Hekeepsyouplaying

outsidewhenheknowsI'millandalone!’

Maryhadneverbeensofurious．‘Dickonisnicerthananyother

boyintheworld!He'slikeanangel!’

‘Anangel！Don’tmakemelaugh！He'sjustapoorcountryboy，

withholesinhisshoes！'

‘He’sathousandtimesbetterthanyouare!’

Colinhadneverarguedwithanyonelikehimlfinhislife,and

infactitwasgoodforhim．Butnowhewasbeginningtofeelsorry

forhimlf．

‘I'malwaysill,'hesaid,andstartedtocry．‘I’msuremy

backisabitcrooked．AndI’mgoingtodie！'

‘No，you'renot!'saidMarycrossly．

Colinopenedhiyesverywide．Nobodyhadsaidthattohim

before．Hewasangry，butabitpleadatthesametime．‘What

doyoumean？YouknowI’mgoingtodie！EverybodysaysI'mgoing

todie！’

‘Idon'tbelieveit!’saidMaryinhermostdisagreeable

voice．‘Youjustsaythattomakepeoplefeelsorryforyou．You're

toohorridtodie！’

秘密花园英文版

Colinforgotabouthispainfulbackandsatupinbed．‘Get

outoftheroomatonce!’heshouted，andthrewabookather．

‘I'mgoing，'Maryshoutedinreply，‘andIwon’tcome

back！’Thedoorbangedshutbehindher．

Whenshereachedherownroom，shehaddecidednevertotell

himhergreatcret．‘Hecanstayinhisroomanddieifhe

66wants！’shethought．Butsoonshebegantorememberhowillhe

hadbeen，andhowfrightenedhewas,frightenedthatonedayhisback

wouldbecomeascrookedashisfather's．‘Perhaps…perhapsI’ll

gobackandehimtomorrow!’

Thatnightshewaswokenbythemostterriblescreamsthatshe

hadeverheard．Servantswereopeningandshuttingdoorsandrunning

about．

‘It'sColin!’thoughtMary．‘He'llgoonscreaminguntilhe

makeshimlfreallyill！Howlfishheis！Somebodyshouldstop

him！'

JustthenMartharanintotheroom．‘Wedon'tknowwhatto

do!’shecried．‘Helikesyou,miss！Comeandeifyoucanmake

himcalmer,plea！’

‘Well，I'mverycrosswithhim，’saidMary，andjumpedout

ofbed．‘I'mgoingtostophim！’

‘That’sright，’saidMartha．‘Heneedssomeonelikeyou，

秘密花园英文版

toarguewith．It’llgivehimsomethingnewtothinkabout．'

MaryranintoColin’sroom，rightuptohisbed．

‘Stopscreaming!’sheshoutedfuriously．‘Stopatonce！Ihate

you！Everybodyhatesyou！You'lldieifyougoonscreaminglike

this，andIhopeyouwill！'

Thescreamsstoppedimmediately．Thiswasthefirsttimethat

anyonehadspokensoangrilytoColin，andhewasshocked．Buthe

wentoncryingquietlytohimlf．

‘Myback’sbecomingcrooked，Icanfeelit！IknowI'mgoing

todie!’Largetearsrandownhisface．

‘Don’tbestupid！'criedMary．‘There'snothingthematter

withyourhorridback！Martha，comehereandhelpmelookathis

back！'

MarthaandMrsMedlockwerestandingatthedoor，staringat

Mary，theirmouthshalfopen．Theybothlookedveryfrightened．Martha

cameforwardtohelp，andMissMarylookedcarefullyatColin’s

thinwhiteback，upanddown．Herfacewasriousandangryatthe

sametime．Theroomwasveryquiet．

‘There'snothingwrongwithyourback!’shesaidat

last．‘Nothingatall！It’sasstraightasmine！’

OnlyColinknewhowimportantthocrosslyspoken，childish

wordswere．Allhislifehehadbeenafraidtoaskabouthisback,and

秘密花园英文版

histerriblefearhadmadehimill．Nowanangrylittlegirltold

himhisbackwasstraight，andhebelievedher．Hewasnolonger

afraid．

Theywerebothcalmernow．HegaveMaryhishand．‘IthinkI’m

almostsureIwilllive，ifwecangooutinthegardentogether

sometimes．I’mverytirednow．WillyoustaywithmeuntilIgo

tosleep?’

Thervantswentoutveryquietly．

‘I'lltellyouallaboutthecretgarden，’whispered

Mary．‘Ithinkit'sfullofrosandbeautifulflowers．Birdslike

makingtheirneststherebecauit'ssoquietandsafe．Andperhaps

ourrobin…

ButColinwasalreadyasleep．

ThenextdayMarymetDickonasusualinthecretgarden，

andtoldhimaboutColin．MarylovedDickon’sYorkshiredialect

andwastryingtolearnitherlf．Shespokealittlenow．

‘WemungetpoorColinouthereinth’sunshine—an’wemunnot

lonotimeaboutit！’

Dickonlaughed．‘Welldone！Ididn'tknowyoucouldspeak

Yorkshire！You’reright．WemustbringColintothegardenassoon

aswecan．’

SothatafternoonshewenttoeColin．

秘密花园英文版

‘I’msorryIsaidI'dndDickonaway，’hesaid．‘Ihated

youwhenyousaidhewaslikeanangel！’

‘Well，he’safunnykindofangel，butheunderstandswild

animalsbetterthananyone．’Suddenly，Maryknewthatthiswasthe

rightmomenttotellhim．Shecaughtholdofhishands．‘Colin，

thisisimportant．Canyoukeepacret？’

‘Yes—yes！’hewhisperedexcitedly．‘Whatisit?'

‘We’vefoundthedoorintothecretgarden！’

‘OhMary!WillIlivelongenoughtoeit？'

‘Ofcouryouwill！Don'tbestupid！'saidMarycrossly．But

itwasaverynaturalthingtosay，andtheybothlaughed．

ColintoldMrsMedlockandthedoctorthathewantedtogoout

inhiswheelchair．Atfirstthedoctorwasworriedtheboywould

gettootired，butwhenheheardthatDickonwouldpushthe

wheelchair，heagreed．

‘Dickon'sansibleboy，’hetoldColin．‘Butdon’t

forget—'

‘I’vetoldyou，IwanttoforgetthatI’mill，’saidColin

inhisprince'svoice．‘Don’tyouunderstand？It'sbecaumy

cousinmakesmeforgetthatIfeelbetterwhenI'mwithher．'

7Colinandthegarden

秘密花园英文版

Ofcour,itwasmostimportantthatnooneshouldeColin，

Mary,orDickonenteringthecretgarden．SoColingaveordersto

thegardenersthattheymustallkeepawayfromthatpartofthe

gardeninfuture．

ThenextafternoonColinwascarrieddownstairsbyaman

rvant，andputinhiswheelchairoutsidethefrontdoor．Dickon

arrived,withhiscrow，twosquirrelsandthefox，andstartedpushing

thewheelchairgentlyawayfromthehou，andintothegardens．Mary

walkedbesidethechair．

Springhadreallyarrivednowanditemedveryexcitingto

Colin,whohadlivedindoorsforsolong．Hesmeltthewarmairfrom

themoor,andwatchedthelittlewhitecloudsinthebluesky．In

averyshorttimeheheardMarysay，‘ThisiswhereIfoundthe

key…andthisisthedoor…andthis…thisisthecretgarden!’

Colincoveredhiyeswithhishandsuntilhewasinsidethe

fourhighwalls，andthedoorwasshutagain．Thenhelookedround

attherosclimbingtheoldredwalls，thepinkandwhiteflowers

onthefruittrees，andthebirdsandthebutterflieverywhere．The

sunwarmedhisface，andhesuddenlyknewhefeltdifferent．

‘Mary！Dickon！’hecried．‘I'mgoingtogetbetter！I'mgoing

toliveforeverandeverandever！'

秘密花园英文版

AsDickonpushedthewheelchairallroundthegarden，hetold

Colinthenamesofalltheplants．Thesunshone,thebirdssang，

andineverycornerofthegardentherewassomethinginteresting

tolookat．Thethreechildrentalkedandlaughed，andbytheend

oftheafternoonallthreewerespeakingYorkshiretogether．

‘I'llcomebackhereeveryafternoon，'saidColin．‘Iwant

towatchthingsgrowing．’

‘Soonyou'llbestrongenoughtowalkanddig．You’llbeable

tohelpuswiththegardening，’saidDickonkindly．

‘DoyoureallythinkI'llbeableto…towalkand…dig?’asked

Colin．

‘Ofcouryouwill．You'vegotlegs，likeus！’

‘Butthey’renotverystrong，’answeredColin．‘They

shake,and…andI'mafraidtostandonthem．’

‘Whenyouwanttouthem，you’llbeableto，’saidDickon．The

gardenwasquietforamoment．

SuddenlyColinsaid,‘Who’sthat？’Maryturnedherhead,and

noticedBenWeatherstaff’sangryfacelookingatheroverthe

gardenwall．

‘Whatareyoudoinginthatgarden，youngmiss？’heshouted．He

hadnotenColinorDickon．

‘Therobinshowedmetheway，Ben，’shereplied．

秘密花园英文版

‘You…you—’Hestoppedshoutingandhismouthdroppedopen

ashesawDickonpushingaboyinawheelchairoverthegrasstowards

him．

‘DoyouknowwhoIam？'askedtheboyinthechair．

OldBenstared．‘You'vegotyourmother’yes,'hesaidin

ashakingvoice．‘Yes,Iknowyou．You'reMrCraven'sson，thelittle

boywiththecrookedback．'

Colinforgotthathehadeverhadbackache．‘Myback’sas

straightasyoursis！’heshouted．

Benstaredandstared．Heonlyknewwhathehadheardfromthe

rvants．‘Youhaven’tgotacrookedback？’heasked．‘Orcrooked

legs？'

Thatwastoomuch．Colinwasfurious，anditmadehimfeelstrong．

‘Comehere，Dickon!’heshouted，andthrewoffhis

blanket．Dickonwasbyhissideinacond．Maryfeltsickwith

fear．CouldColinstand？

ThenColin'sthinfeetwereonthegrassandhewas

standing,holdingDickon'sarm．Helookedstrangelytall，andheheld

hisheadveryhigh．

‘Lookatme！’heshoutedatBen．‘Justlookatme！’

‘He'sasstraightasanyboyinYorkshire！’saidDickon．

TearswererunningdownBen’sbrownoldface．‘Theysaidyou

秘密花园英文版

weregoingtodie！hewhispered．

‘Well，youcanethat'snottrue，'saidColin．‘Now，get

downfromthewallandcomehere．Iwanttotalktoyou．You’ve

gottohelpuskeepthegardenacret．’

‘Yes,sir，’saidoldBen，ashedriedhiyes．

Thatwasthefirstofmanybeautifulafternoonsinthecret

garden．ColinwasbroughttherebyDickonandMarynearlyeveryday，

andhesawallthechangesthathappenedthereduringthespring

andearlysummer．BenWeatherstaff，nowinthecret，joinedthem

asoftenashecould．

OnedayColinspoketoallofthem．‘Listen，everybody．Ithink

there'ssomethinglikemagicthatmakesgardensgrowandthings

happen．PerhapsifIbelieveinit，themagicwillmakeme

strong．Let’sallsitdowninacircleandaskthemagictowork．’

Sotheyallsatonthegrassinacircle，Dickonwithhiscrow,his

foxandthetwosquirrels，Mary，Colin，andBen．Colinrepeatedthe

wordsveraltimes．‘Thesun'sshining．That'sthemagic．Being

strong．That'sthemagic．Magic！Helpme！Magic!Helpme！’

AtlastColinstopped．‘NowI'mgoingtowalkroundthegarden，

'hesaid，andtookDickon'sarm．Slowlyhewalkedfromonewallto

another,followedclolybyMaryandBen．Andwhenhehadwalked

allthewayround，hesaid,‘Youe！Icanwalknow！Themagic

秘密花园英文版

worked！’

‘It'swonderful！’criedMary．‘Yourfatherwillthinkheis

dreamingwhenheesyou！’

‘Iwon'ttellhimyet．I’mgoingtokeepitacretfrom

everybody．I'llcometothegardenandwalkandrunalittlemore

everydayuntilI'mashealthyasanyotherboy．Then,whenmyfather

comeshome，I’llwalkuptohimandsay,“HereIam,Father．You

e？I’mnotgoingtodie！”’

NowbeganadifficulttimeforColinandMary．Dickontoldhis

motheraboutitoneeveningashewasdiggingthecottagegarden．

‘Youe，mother,theydon'twantthedoctororthervants

toguessthatColincanwalkandisgettingbetter．Sotheyhave

topretendhe'sstillillandjustasdisagreeableasheudto

be！’

‘Ifthey'rerunningaboutalldayinthefreshair，that’ll

makethemhungry，Ishouldthink！’

‘Yes，that'stheproblem．They’rebothgettingfatterand

healthier,andtheyreallyenjoytheirfoodnow．Buttheyhaveto

ndsomeofitbacktothekitchen，uneaten．Iftheyeatitall，

peoplewillrealizehowhealthytheyare!Sometimesthey'revery

hungry！’

‘Iknowwhatwecando,’saidMrsSowerby．‘Youcantakesome

秘密花园英文版

freshmilkandsomeofmynewlybakedbreadtothegardeninthe

mornings．Iftheyhavethat,it’lldothemalotofgood！Whata

gamethochildrenareplaying!’Andshelaugheduntiltearscame

tohereyes．

Oneafternoonwhentheywereallworkinginthegarden，thedoor

openedandawomancamequietlyin．

‘It’sMother!'criedDickon，andrantowardsher．‘Itoldher

wherethedoorwas，becauIknewshewouldkeepthecret．’

Colinheldouthishandtoher．‘I'vewantedtoeyoufor

alongtime，’hesaid．

‘Dearboy！’SusanSowerbywhispered，holdinghishand．‘You're

solikeyourmother！’

‘Doyouthink，’askedColincarefully，‘thatwillmakemy

fatherlikeme?'

‘I'msureitwill，’sheansweredwarmly．‘Hemusteyou

-hemustcomehomenow．’

‘Youehowhealthytheboyis,Susan？'askedoldBen．‘Look

howstrongandstraighthislegsarenow!’

‘Yes，’shelaughed．‘Playingandworkingoutside，andeating

goodYorkshirefood，hasmadehimstrong．AndMissMarytoo，’she

added，turningtoMary．‘MrsMedlockheardthatyourmotherwas

aprettywoman．You'llsoonbeasprettyasshewas．'

秘密花园英文版

‘Doyoubelieveinmagic？’Colinaskedher．

‘Ido，'sheanswered，‘buteverybodygivesitadifferent

name．Itmakesthesunshineandtheedsgrow—andithasmade

youhealthy．’

Shesatdownonthegrassandstayedforawhile,talkingand

laughingwiththechildreninthequiet，sunnygarden．Whenshestood

uptoleave，Colinsuddenlyputoutahandtoher．

‘Iwish—youweremymother!’hewhispered．

MrsSowerbyputherarmsroundhimandheldhimtoher．‘Dear

boy!You’reasclotoyourmotherasyoucouldbe,hereinher

garden．Andyourfather'llcomebacksoon！’

8MrCravencomeshome

Whilethecretgardenwasreturningtolife，amanwithhigh，

crookedshoulderswaswanderingroundthemostbeautifulplacesin

Europe．Fortenyearshehadlivedthislonelylife，hisheartfull

ofsadnessandhisheadfullofdarkdreams．Everywherehe．went，

hecarriedhisunhappinesswithhimlikeablackcloud．Other

travellersthoughthewashalfmadoramanwhocouldnotforget

someterriblecrime．HisnamewasArchibaldCraven．

秘密花园英文版

Butoneday,ashesatbyamountainstream,heactuallylooked

ataflower，andforthefirsttimeintenyearsherealizedhow

beautifulsomethinglivingcouldbe．Thevalleyemedveryquiet

ashesatthere，staringattheflower．Hefeltstrangelycalm．

‘Whatishappeningtome？'hewhispered．‘Ifeeldifferent

—IalmostfeelI'maliveagain！’

Atthatmoment，hundredsofmilesawayinYorkshire,Colinwas

eingthecretgardenforthefirsttime，andsaying，‘I’mgoing

toliveforeverandeverandever！’ButMrCravendidnotknow

this．

Thatnight,inhishotelroom，hesleptbetterthanusual．As

theweekspasd，heevenbegantothinkalittleabouthishome

andhisson．Oneeveninginlatesummer，ashewassittingquietly

besidealake,hefeltthestrangecalmnessagain．Hefellasleep，

andhadadreamthatemedveryreal．Heheardavoicecallinghim．It

wassweetandclearandhappy,thevoiceofhisyoungwife．

‘Archie！Archie!Archie！’

‘Mydear!’Hejumpedup．‘Whereareyou？’

‘Inthegarden！'calledthebeautifulvoice．

Andthenthedreamended．Inthemorning，whenhewoke，he

rememberedthedream．

‘Shesaysshe'sinthegarden！’hethought．‘Butthedoor's

秘密花园英文版

lockedandthekey’sburied．’

ThatmorninghereceivedaletterfromSusanSowerby．Initshe

askedhimtocomehome，butshedidnotgiveareason．MrCraven

thoughtofhisdream，anddecidedtoreturntoEnglandimmediately．On

thelongjourneybacktoYorkshire，hewasthinkingaboutColin．

‘Iwonderhowheis！Iwantedtoforgethim,becauhemakes

methinkofhismother．Helived，andshedied！ButperhapsI’ve

beenwrong．SusanSowerbysaysIshouldgohome，soperhapsshethinks

Icanhelphim．’

Whenhearrivedhome，hefoundthehoukeeperveryconfud

aboutColin’shealth．

‘He’sverystrange，sir,'saidMrsMedlock．‘Helooksbetter，

it'strue，butsomedaysheeatsnothingatall，andotherdayshe

eatsjustlikeahealthyboy．Heudtoscreamevenattheidea

offreshair，butnowhespendsallhistimeoutsideinhis

wheelchair，withMissMaryandDickonSowerby．He'sinthegarden

atthemoment．’

‘Inthegarden！’repeatedMrCraven．Thowerethewordsof

thedream！Hehurriedoutofthehouandtowardstheplacewhich

hehadnotvisitedforsolong．Hefoundthedoorwiththeclimbing

plantoverit，andstoodoutside，listening,foramoment．

‘SurelyIcanhearvoicesinsidethegarden？’he

秘密花园英文版

thought．‘Aren'ttherechildrenwhispering，laughing,runningin

there？OramIgoingmad?'

Andthenthemomentcame，whenthechildrencouldnotstay

quiet．Therewaswildlaughingandshouting，andthedoorwasthrown

open．Aboyranout,atall，healthy,handsomeboy，straightintothe

man’sarms．MrCravenstaredintotheboy'slaughingeyes．

‘Who—What？Who?’hecried．

Colinhadnotplannedtomeethisfatherlikethis．Butperhaps

thiswasthebestway，tocomerunningoutwithhiscousinandhis

friend．

‘Father,’hesaid，‘I’mColin．Youcan’tbelieveit！Ican't

believeitmylf．Itwasthegarden,andMaryandDickonandthe

magic，thatmademewell．We’vekeptitacretuptonow．Aren't

youhappy，Father？I'mgoingtoliveforeverandeverandever！’

MrCravenputhishandsontheboy’sshoulders．Foramoment

hecouldnotspeak．‘Takemeintothegarden，myboy，’hesaid

atlast，‘andtellmeallaboutit．'

Andinthecretgarden，wheretheroswereattheirbest，

andthebutterflieswereflyingfromflowertoflowerinthesummer

sunshine，theytoldColin'sfathertheirstory．Sometimeshelaughed

andsometimeshecried，butmostofthetimehejustlooked，

unbelieving，intothehandsomefaceofthesonthathehadalmost

秘密花园英文版

forgotten．

‘Now，’saidColinattheend,‘itisn’tacretany

more．I’llneveruthewheelchairagain．I'mgoingtowalkback

withyou，Fathertothehou．’

Andso，thatafternoon，MrsMedlock，Martha，andtheother

rvantshadthegreatestshockoftheirlives．Throughthegardens

towardsthehoucameMrCraven，lookinghappierthantheyhadever

enhim．Andbyhisside，withhisshouldersstraight，hishead

heldhighandasmileonhislips，walkedyoungColin！