"Nest building"

The whole rainy week passed quickly for Mary. She passed hours and hours talking about gardens and rajahs with Colin. He showed her his coloured books.The girl though her cousin would be healthier if he met Dickon, the pretty robin and see the gardens.

Some days after, Mary woke up early. She met Dickon in the Secret Garden and they observed the things growing. Mary talked with Dickon about Colin, and they concluded it would be good for "the rajah" if he saw the gardens. Dickon asked Mary if she saw that the robin and his mate were building a nest.

"A young rajah"

It was a rainy day. Mary told Martha about Colin. The young maid was a little scared. She asked Mary how did Colin reacted, if he was vexed.Mary said he wasn't.
The girl asked why Colin was always saying he would die. Martha answered, everybody thought the boy would be like his father, a hunchback.Mary asked Dickon's sister if she thought Colin would die. Martha replied that he was always ill and does nothing.She told Mary about a episode of when he got really annoyed and vexed.

Then, Mary went to Colin's bedroom. She told him about a rajah, a rich boy from India that ordered everyone to do what he wanted. She also mentioned Dickon and talked about him to Colin, without telling him about the Secret Garden. Mary said Colin could go outside the house, but he didn't want to. He said he would die soon.
Then, Mrs. Medlock entered "the young rajah's" room accompained by a doctor.

" I am Colin"

Mary heard the cry in the corridor, that she had heard before. Now, she was certain it wasn't the wind.
She walked through the corridors and rooms. Then, she entered into a large room, "with ancient, handsome furniture in it".
The cry came from a thin boy. He looked very ill, but cried like someone tired, not ill. He asked Mary if she was a ghost or something. Then, she said she wasn't and they discovered they were cousins. The boy's name was Colin Craven.
They talked about the garden nobody could go in (The Secret Garden), and Mary told him a lot about gardening tools and how she "imaginated" it.

Colin said the whole time he would die soon. He showed Mary a picture of his mother, that looked like his cousin.They agreed that this meeting (and the others) would be a secret.

"Might I have a bit of earth"

Mary talked with Martha about Dickon. Then, Martha asked Mary where she was going to plant the seeds that Dickon had brought. Mary didn't know as she hadn't asked anyone yet for permission.

Then, Mrs. Meddlock came into Mary's bedroom and told her that her uncle wanted to see her, Mary was nervous.

Mr. Craven asked her if she wanted to have a nanny or a governess and she said she didn't want either. Her uncle said that was what Martha's mother had said to him. In the end of the conversation, Mary asked if she could have a little bit of earth, to plant her seeds, and Mr. Craven said she could do whatever she wanted.

Mary was excited. She could have her Secret Garden.

"The nest of the missel thrush"

Mary showed Dickon the Secret Garden. He was fascinated.
He showed Mary that the garden wasn't completely dead, as she had imagined. There were some dead trees, but some were very alive.
They were excited and wanted to go from tree to tree to see if the trees were dead or not. 
The children worked a lot in the garden. They agreed to meet there every day, even if it was raining. They wanted the garden to look beautiful.
Dickon sang "Mistress Mary quite contrary", but Mary wasn't annoyed. She liked it. They had a lot of fun together.

Then, Mary realized that day was the best day in her life and she would never forget it.

"Dickon"

Now, Mary can run faster and for much longer and can skip up to a hundred with the skipping rope. The sky continued blue and she worked a lot in her new garden. The bulbs were growing faster and faster, fascinating Mary everyday.
During this week, Mary became more friendlier with Ben Weatherstaff they talked with the robin and about gardens. Ben said he liked roses and Mary asked lots of things about gardens. "It is very suspicious", he thought. 
Mary walked through the moor. Then she met Dickon. He was strange and had a snub nose. Mary showed him the robin and the secret garden.

"The strangest house any one ever lived in"

Mary worked in her new garden. She tried to help the bulbs "breathe".
In the afternoon, Mary talked to Martha. The young maid said Dickon could help the girl to organize the garden. Martha also said Dickon could buy some seeds for Mary. The yellow-faced girl loved the idea and Martha dictated a letter (that Mary wrote) to Dickon.

"The robin who showed the way"

Mary kept the key, so she would be prepared for when she found the garden door.

Mary meets Martha the next   morning. Mary couldn't understand how the girl could be happy waking up at four o' clock and helping her mother the whole day. The young maid says her brothers and sisters liked hearing about Mary and India.

Martha gives Mary a present: a skipping rope. The Indian girl had never seen anything like that before. She began trying to skip and then, she could skip until ten!

Mary meets Ben and shows him the present.

The girl followed the cute robin, which was now her friend. Mary thought that what happened after was magic. The wind made the plant curtain move and Mary saw the garden door. Then, she turned the key and opened the door. 

She was inside the secret garden.

http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/Frances_Hodgson_Burnett/The_Secret_Garden/THE_ROBIN_WHO_SHOWED_THE_WAY_p1.html

"The key to the garden"

The next day, the sky was blue and beautiful. There was no rain anymore.Mary says to Martha that she likes the maid's mother and her brother, Dickon. The yellow-faced girl also says she would like to see their cottage. Martha says spring time's coming.

Mary meets Ben Weatherstaff and his robin. The robin shows Mary where the Secret Garden's key is. 


http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/Frances_Hodgson_Burnett/The_Secret_Garden/THE_KEY_TO_THE_GARDEN_p1.html

“There was someone crying-there was!”

In this Chapter Mary goes around the house, because she had nothing to do – it was raining.

 After hours and hours walking around the house, she saw a picture of a girl with a parrot. Mary Lennox wanted the girl to be there, so she could play with someone. Then, she found a big room which had a closet with a huge quantity of little white elephants. Mary played with them for hours and hours. When she was tired, she tried to go back to her bedroom, but she (unfortunately) meets Mrs. Medlock. Mary says she turned the wrong corner and that there was someone crying, but Mrs. Medlock was very angry and didn’t wanted to listen to Mary.  

http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/Frances_Hodgson_Burnett/The_Secret_Garden/index.html (Chapter link)

“The cry in the corridor"

One day, Mary Lennox woke up with appetite- she was HUNGRY! She didn’t take her eyes off her breakfast- only when it was all eaten. Martha sees that and says to the Indian girl that she was very proud of Mary.

When Mary goes out, she discovers that the robin which is Ben Weatherstaff’s friend is now her friend too!

She was so happy that she discovers a new feeling-love. She discovers that someone (even if it’s a robin) likes her and she likes it too.

In the afternoon, when Martha was in Mary’s room, they hear a very low cry. Martha says it is nothing- it’s just the wind in the moor.

http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/Frances_Hodgson_Burnett/The_Secret_Garden/THE_CRY_IN_THE_CORRIDOR_p1.html (Chapter link)

"Martha"

The fourth chapter of the book tells the reader about the adventures of Mary in the moor. She meets an old gardener called Ben Weatherstaff and a cute little robin that lives in a garden that nobody can go into, Mrs. Craven’s garden.

From this day forward, Mary Lennox starts being friendlier with Martha, the girl who is Mrs. Medlock servant and starts to talk with the Yorkshire girl, finding out many things about her brother, Dickon.

http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/Frances_Hodgson_Burnett/The_Secret_Garden/MARTHA_p1.html (book link)

"Across the Moor"

In this chapter, the author tells us how Mary Lennox arrived at Misselthwaite Manor, her uncle’s house.

She arrived there at night, so she couldn’t release what is a moor. Mrs. Medlock told her that her uncle, Mr. Archibald Craven, didn’t want to see the girl. She wasn’t surprised: nobody ever wanted to see her. Mary was told that she couldn’t go out of her room. Never. Ever.

http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/Frances_Hodgson_Burnett/The_Secret_Garden/ACROSS_THE_MOOR_p1.html (Chapter link)

"Mistress Mary quite contrary"

In this Chapter, the author tells us that Mary was so ugly that nobody wanted to play or be with her.

Mrs. Medlock, the housekeeper of Mary’s uncle’s house, Misselthwaite Manor (where the girl would live) told her about her uncle, Mr. Archibald Craven and his big house, which had a hundred rooms, most of which were locked up.

Mary was told that Mr. Craven was married to a beautiful woman who died ten years before Mary arrived at the Misselthwaite. Mr. Craven was so sad when his wife died, that he never wanted anybody to see him, except for Pitcher, his butler.

http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/Frances_Hodgson_Burnett/The_Secret_Garden/MISTRESS_MARY_QUITE_CONTRARY_p1.html (link to the book).

"There is no one left"

The first chapter of the book tells the reader about Mary Lennox, an ugly girl with a yellow face, a little thin body, thin light hair and a sour expression. She lived in India.

She always had an Ayah, a woman who did everything for her. Then, one day, this woman wasn’t there. She died of cholera, like Mary’s parents and many more servants that worked in her house.

On the day her Ayah didn’t come, nobody remembered Mary, so she stayed in her room the whole day, doing nothing. Then, an English official found her, and Mary realized she was the only person in the house.

http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/Frances_Hodgson_Burnett/The_Secret_Garden/THERE_IS_NO_ONE_LEFT_p1.html (Chapter Link)

The Secret Garden

For my new English project, I’ll be reading the book “The Secret Garden” and watch a part of the movie. Every week, I’ll post something about the book and the movie.

“The Secret Garden” is a novel first published in 1911.The author is Frances Hodgson Burnett. She also wrote the book “A Little Princess”. She lived in Manchester. When her father died, her family moved to Salford. When she was sixteen, her family moved to Knoxville, Tennessee. She died in 1924, in Long Island, New York.

Christmas Carol-The best Christmas of all

Christmas Carol-Jingle Bells

Christmas Carol-Rocking around the Christmas Tree

Christmas Carol-Winter Wonderland

Christmas Carol-Let it snow!

Weekly Scoop

John Lennon was born in Liverpool, on October 10, 1940 and he was a member of the Beatle.

On December 8th, 1980, Mark David Chapman killed the British musician John Lennon. He was a fan  of John and of the Beatles. Mark said that he killed John because in the book “The Catcher in the Rye” he understood that should kill John.  He died in New York, near his apartment.