[00:00.79] Chapter four.
[00:02.87] The Secret Garden.
[00:06.15] The next morning, Mary was already buttoning up her coat when Martha arrived.
[00:12.16] "You're an early bird," Martha said.
[00:15.77] "Well, I do like birds," Mary grinned.
[00:19.78] "It's nice to see you so cheerful, miss," Martha told her.
[00:24.10] "Have a nice time."
[00:28.76] Mary felt the key deep in her coat pocket.
[00:33.65] "I will," she said.
[00:39.37] A few minutes later, she was staring at the ivy covered wall.
[00:44.90] If only she could find the door.
[00:49.81] She had spent all yesterday looking for it, but had given up when it became too dark to see anything.
[00:58.11] What she needed was the Robin to bring her luck.
[01:03.62] Sure enough, she soon heard his cheery call, and there he was, staring down at her with those black beady eyes.
[01:15.25] "Robin," she said, her voice soft.
[01:19.82] "Yesterday, you showed me the key.
[01:25.31] Can you show me the door today?"
[01:30.54] What happened next was pure magic.
[01:36.17] A strong gust of wind lifted the ivy, parting it like a curtain.
[01:43.85] The gust blew only for a second, but long enough for Mary to see a door knob.
[01:52.77] Beneath the door knob was a metal square with a hole in it.
[02:01.70] She fumbled for the key, her heart beating faster than a galloping horse.
[02:09.88] Nearby, the Robin continued to sing as she put the key in the keyhole and turned.
[02:18.82] Taking a deep breath, Mary pushed open the door and stepped inside.
[02:29.01] She found herself surrounded by four high walls.
[02:36.09] They made her feel she was in her own private kingdom.
[02:44.88] Slowly, she began to walk, treading softly on the overgrown pathways.
[02:52.58] Rose trees had taken over the garden.
[02:58.01] They had climbed over earns and arbors and other trees, spreading thorny tendrils across to each other as if holding hands.
[03:10.11] The branches were all either gray or brown.
[03:15.19] Mary wasn't sure if they were dead or alive.
[03:22.30] Onward she explored.
[03:27.43] Everything was so still.
[03:31.59] The grass and moss beneath her feet muffled her footsteps.
[03:38.28] She kept her eyes to the ground.
[03:42.18] It must have been a beautiful place once, but now everything was overgrown.
[03:53.18] Picking up a sharp stick, Mary began prodding in the earth.
[04:00.82] She was amazed to find tiny green shoots beneath the dead vegetation.
[04:10.61] Could they be spring flowers like those Ben Weatherstaff had shown her?
[04:16.96] She began to dig away until the shoots were showing.
[04:23.65] "There, you can breathe now," she whispered.
[04:32.05] For the rest of that week, Mary tended the garden.
[04:38.04] It was such a peaceful place.
[04:42.71] There was nothing within its walls to make her feel angry, or cross, or unwanted.
[04:52.94] There was only a calm feeling that made her feel she was wrapped in a warm blanket.
[05:01.83] If only she could do more.
[05:07.27] The sticks she used to clear the ground kept breaking.
[05:13.71] She wished she had tools like a proper gardener.
[05:20.02] She also wished she knew more about gardening.
[05:26.66] "Martha," she asked the girl one lunchtime, "do you know where I can get a small spade to dig with?"
[05:37.69] "Well, there's a shop in Thwaight that sells things like that.
[05:42.27] Why?"
[05:46.90] "I," Mary hesitated.
[05:52.74] She couldn't tell Martha about the secret garden.
[05:57.68] "I I've found a patch of ground in one of the gardens.
[06:04.68] I thought it would be nice to dig in it.
[06:09.89] Oh, that's a lovely idea.
[06:13.89] You could plant some seeds, too."
[06:18.84] "Seeds?"
[06:22.63] "Ay, seeds.
[06:25.82] You sprinkle them in the ground and flowers grow."
[06:32.37] Mary's eyes lit up.
[06:35.76] Flowers growing again in the secret garden.
[06:42.77] Imagine.
[06:46.62] Our Dickon could get them for you.
[06:50.99] Could he?
[06:53.85] That would be wonderful.