The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1911)
27 chapters
311 pages
Chapter 1 There’s
No One Left
Until one
day when her circumstances drastically changed…
On this
dreadful morning, Mary woke up and was not pleased to learn her Ayah (the face
she woke up to every morning who did everything for her including dressing her
and even scratching her mistress’ nose when it itched) is taking a sick day
today-practically unheard of! Despite Mary’s tantrum her Ayah never comes. No
one does. Instead, the entire household (including both parents) succumbs to
the cholera outbreak and dies. Everyone, that is, except Mary. All remaining
servants who survived the death plague fled the house as fast as they could.
Therefore, Mary is quite alone until discovered by two soldiers who tsk and
declare how very sad this entire situation is.
At wit’s
end, the clergyman summons Mary to inform her she is to be sent off to England
to live with her horrid, mysterious (rich as a rajah) hunchback uncle,
Archibald Craven. Mary understands she really doesn’t have much choice in the
matter and is almost relieved to go. She is so bored.
Disembarking
from the boat, Mary is met by Mrs. Medlock, the Head Housekeeper, who, like
everyone else in this story, is quick to comment on Mary’s sour looks,
unattractive figure and manner. Mrs. Medlock is your stereotypical middle aged,
respectable, no nonsense kind of woman. She was not thrilled when her
boss called her into his office with instructions to fetch his deceased
wife’s brother’s daughter from the docks to the London train
station. Once they disembark, the next leg of their journey is by carriage to
Misselthwaite Manor or should we say “Downton Abbey” for, as they travel, Mrs.
Medlock informs Mary the place she’s being taken to live is most likely the
loneliest place on earth. The house is (I’m not kidding) HUGE, 600 years old with rooms numbering
exactly 100 located in Yorkshire (near the Scotland border) on the edge of the
famous moors. Being too young for Brontë novels, Mary is intrigued. Her queer, reclusive uncle is a widower
hunchback whose sweet, pretty wife, whom the entire household adored, died
tragically thus breaking his heart. Mrs. Medlock warns Mary she is not to go
wandering about the large house, especially the (West) wing where Mr. Craven
likes to brood, that is when he even bothers to come home for he’s often away
on “business trips” and wants no reminders of anything happy or cheerful lest
he be reminded of the blissful years he had with his wife. Being quite
reclusive herself with absolutely no friends, Mary understands.
Not once
during this entire segment does the girl tell Mary her name and Mary never
asks. Narration tells us she is called Martha who stares again at Mary in shock
when she demands Martha come outside with her to keep her company. While they
are both close in age, Martha has no time for play-dates; she’s in service and
has work to do. She points the way outside and Mary follows her directions.
Mary had no appetite for her breakfast tray, another trait that shocked Martha
whose own younger siblings would never say no to such a luxury. They are very
poor, you know.
Outside in
the walled gardens, Mary sees a robin before finding an old man working in one
of the beds, turning the soil for spring flowers. Martha had mentioned one of
the gardens had been shut up and locked for ten years-the key buried somewhere
and, by order of Master Craven, no one is allowed access. Mary asks the old man
about it but instead of answering her question, he summons the robin Mary saw
earlier. Mary asks his name-he is called Ben Weatherstaff-and he can talk to
the robin who twitters back like a human. Ben tells Mary this special robin
would most likely make friends with her, if she wanted, and for the first time
in the book Mary smiles and talks like a real human being. She would like a
friend, she realizes, and this robin is rather amusing. She is also curious
about the garden with no door. She wants to ask but Ben warns her not to go
meddlin’ and to run and play instead. He’s done talking, anyway.
Suddenly,
the howling wind outside sounds to Mary like the ghost of a woman, or perhaps a
child, crying for what was lost. Martha is quick to brush it off. Mary didn’t
hear anything but the wind, she insists.
Outside,
Mary visits with Ben Weatherstaff again who comments on the active robin who is
most likely getting ready to court a female robin and build a nest together.
Mary wanders off and, to her delight, the robin lights on a patch of bare earth
where Mary squats and starts digging where the robin had been scratching. She
finds the key! Buried these ten years. Now to find the door…
It’s MAGIC,
people!
Standing
below where the robin is perched, Mary pulls away the ivy and-there it is!-a
doorknob. She inserts the key, turns it and…
SHE HAS
FOUND THE SECRET GARDEN
Most of the
afternoon was spent in talking and composing the letter to Dickon. Mary
comments how she heard the cry again and who it could be for she KNOWS it’s
human. Martha quickly excuses herself and exits the room. “What a strange
house,” Mary wonders aloud before retiring to bed early. All that fresh air and
digging in her secret garden has made her very tired and for the first time in
life she is full from eating three square meals and actually having the
appetite for them.
He’s about
twelve, with blue eyes. A squirrel, pheasant, and two rabbits are audience to
his song. He motions for Mary to proceed with caution so as not to frighten
away his animal friends as he slowly gets to his feet. He has a red, smiling
mouth and rust colored curls under the hat he wears (at least in the picture he
does, narration doesn’t include a hat). He smells nice-like heather and grass
and leaves and the entire outdoors. He introduces himself as Dickon but talks
to Mary as if they’ve known each other for months. The robin enters the scene
and, naturally, Dickon can understand him perfectly. He nods, confirming that
this bird is, indeed, a friend of Mary’s. He’s also brought all the items Mary
requested in her letter. He’d like to see this garden plot Mary intends to
plant but Mary stiffens. Can she trust him? She explains about the garden she
found and gets very passionate, even starts to cry, for this is HER garden, she
found it, no one here appears to want it and it needs someone to care for
it-PLEASE don’t spoil this! Wide eyed, Dickon promises to keep the secret and
Mary leads him to the door in the wall still hidden under the hanging ivy.
Of course, Dickon is in his element. He knows just what to do here. Taking his pocketknife, he shows Mary how many of the trees and plants are producing new, green-wood and stalks. The two children get to work clearing more dead growth, last year’s weeds and the grass choking the new shoots. Dickon praises Mary’s previous work. Together, they will do all they can to wake up this poor neglected garden. Mary is very pleased. Dickon now makes FIVE she can count as friends: Martha, Martha’s mother (whom she still has yet to meet) Ben Weatherstaff, the robin, and now Dickon. Hearing such a queer speech, Dickon has to muffle his laughter with his arm. Mary is not offended, instead she leans close, almost whispering for she can scarcely believe anyone might return friendship to such a person as her, “Does tha’ like me?” she hesitates to ask making sure to use the correct accent lest Dickon not understand what she’s trying to say. Dickon replies he does, very much. So they are now officially friends and when the noon hour strikes and Mary has to go back to the house for lunch, Dickon reassures her, he would never tell anyone about this special, almost sacred, place. Mary and her garden are as safe as a missel thrush whose nest must be protected. Dickon is trustworthy.
Mr. Craven
is sitting in his armchair by the fire in his rooms when Mary is shown in. She
is very timid and frightened. The man with black hair, streaked with gray and
the high, lopsided shoulder sighs in frustration, reassuring her not to be
frightened. He met Mrs. Sowerby today in the village who advised him regarding
Mary’s care. He agrees with her suggestion that Mary might not like to have a governess
just yet but is there anything she might like? Mary catches her breath for she
knows just what to ask, if she might be allowed…not toys or books or dolls but…a
bit of earth? To plant things and watch them grow? Craven is amazed at such an
unusual request but it pleases him since it reminds him of his deceased wife.
Mary is allowed to plant whatever she wants, wherever she wants. Craven summons
Mrs. Medlock back into the room to inform her Mary is to be allowed as much
freedom and healthy living as she likes-within reason of course. Mrs. Medlock
is quite relieved not having to worry about babysitting Mary while Mary is
silently thrilled. Craven practically gave her permission to continue working
in the Secret Garden! She can hardly wait to tell Dickon.
Except
Mary’s interview took so long Dickon (who had a five mile walk) had already
returned home but he left a note: a picture of a nest with a bird in it and this
crude message-I will cum bak
And with that, Colin invites Mary
to sit and tell him all about herself which Mary is only too happy to do until Mary
lets drop about A Secret Garden. She knows Colin is ten, like herself, because
that’s how long the garden has been shut up and locked, thanks to his father’s
orders. Suddenly Colin is wide awake with intrigue. What garden? Where is it?
How can we find it? I want to see it. He declares he will order his servants
take him out in his chair and MAKE them open up that door to the secret garden!
Mary becomes very agitated and convinces Colin not to do it. He is then distracted
by a sudden urge to show Mary a large portrait of his deceased mother that
hangs behind an equally large curtain on the wall. Then he tells Mary he shall
inform one of the lesser caretakers, Martha-yes THAT Martha-to inform Mary when
it is safe to come and visit Colin again for he wants Mary to be a secret too.
Mary sits by Colin’s bed, strokes his hand singing a Hindustani lullaby her
Ayah used to sing to help her fall asleep. Probably the first unselfish gesture
Mary has ever made toward someone else. Colin drifts off, content.
One morning, Mary awakens with the
dawn, rushes to open her window and sees the Magic on the Moor. Spring has
officially arrived! Impulsively she decides to go see what the Secret Garden
looks like as it has been many days since she had a chance to visit. Rain
prevented it until today.
She is
surprised to see Dickon already beat her there and she is delighted to see him.
His two animal friends, a fox named Captain and a large bird/rook/crow named
Soot are not afraid of Mary and lounge about like humans, watching the children
who exclaim (softly of course for talking or even laughing loudly in such a
sacred place would be like laughing in church) over the new buds and leaves.
Mary even gets down on hands and knees to kiss the tiny new flowers poking out
of the earth. Dickon points out the robin, busy building a nest for his new mate
who is helping, is just like Dickon and Mary are doing in the garden, building their
own “nest.”
(She observed to Dickon today how
she’s getting fatter and fatter as
this was written decades before little girls needed to start worrying about
their weight. Dickon, naturally, is glad to see her looking so alive and
healthy with thicker hair and glowing skin)
She skips into Colin’s room ready
to tell him all about her lovely day outdoors but Colin pouts and turns away.
He’ll not have any competition when it comes to his life. He will send this
Dickon away if it interferes with Mary’s visits to him for everyone has to do
what HE tells them and that includes Mary who stamps her foot and declares-SHE
WON’T! The two children glare at each other. Colin insults Dickon whom Mary
declares an angel-worth ten of such nasty, selfish brats as Colin. He screams
at her to get out. Her retort is pretty much, “With pleasure!” Mary is
surprised to find Colin’s nurse laughing silently into her handkerchief. She
heard the whole thing and about time someone stood up to that wretched little
boy. Mary returns to her room to find her uncle sent her a box full of lovely
things-books about gardens, games and a writing box for her to practice her
penmanship. Mary decides she will write a thank you letter and tomorrow, even
though she said she would never visit him again…perhaps she will go see Colin
after all. It’s nice to have someone to share the good things of life with.
Mary does
just that, storming into the room, shouting at Colin to stop all this nonsense
(else you or I die this instant!) he did NOT feel a lump on his back and he is
NOT going to die. She orders the nurse, Mrs. Medlock and Martha-both hovering
in a corner wringing their hands-to come help her turn Colin over so she can
inspect his back herself and prove to him there is no lump. The boy is so
skinny Mary can almost count his ribs and declares his spine, while protruding,
is just as normal as hers and she should know for she used to be just as
emaciated until she came here and took up gardening and eating healthy meals.
Colin finally stops heaving and calms down. Is it true? He will live and not
die? Mary exhorts him to do what that doctor from London told him years ago-get
outside, breathe fresh air and think about living. Colin hiccups, he should
like to do that if Mary and Dickon will take him out.
The
hysterics over, everyone steals out of the room. Mary dismisses the nurse and
sits by her cousin’s bedside, talking low about the secret garden and what it
might look like until Colin falls asleep.
Today
Dickon has two squirrel friends, Nut and Shell who know their names and come
when Dickon calls them. He also has pony named Jump which he rode today so as
to get here sooner (five mile walk, remember). The Fox and Crow are there too
in the garden. Mary tells Dickon about last night’s scene. Hearing the story,
Dickon breaks into a speech full of broad Yorkshire how Colin must get out and
breathe fresh air and soak up sunshine and they “munnot lose no time about it.”
Mary tries to talk back in the same language which makes Dickon chuckle yet
Mary is in earnest. She WANTS to learn to speak the local dialect. Dickon tells
her to try it out on Colin, and if it doesn’t make him laugh and improve his
health, he’s out of ideas.
Mary does
speak Yorkshire to Colin and both are laughing when Mrs. Medlock, coming to
check on her charge, hears the noise and decides not to open the door but leave
the two young children to make their own medicine. Mary tells Colin all about
Dickon’s animals who can understand everything he says to them. Colin apologizes
for speaking ill of Dickon before. He would like to meet and make friends with
him. Deciding she can trust Colin, Mary tells him she DID find the key to the
secret garden weeks ago. She showed it to Dickon and now, she wants to show it
to him. But first, she will bring Dickon here, to this very room with his
creatures to meet Colin.
Outside,
Mrs. Medlock shares with the doctor the last conversation she had with Mrs.
Susan Sowerby who, while of the common folk, does have a bit of wisdom. For
example, Susan shared with Medlock a teaching moment she recently had with her
children when she caught them squabbling over some trivial thing: “Children,”
she told them, “the world is like an orange and nobody owns the whole orange so
it’s best you remember that in life, you have to allow others part of the whole
and be content with your own quarter else nobody will get any.” Wise words. We
also learn Mrs. Medlock’s Christian name is Sara Ann. She and Susan went to
school together in the village growing up and Susan has always been the village
wise woman when it comes to children. Everyone knows and respects her (unlike
her husband?)
Next day,
Colin loves how Mary smells of fresh air and all the outdoors when she comes
running in to visit him. It has come! She declares. Spring is really and truly
here. Colin tells her to throw open the window, let it in and let us welcome
it! Mary says Dickon says when he breathes in the moor air, he feels as if he
could live forever. Colin takes deep draughts and feels better already.
Mary has
the most wonderful thing to tell him. Dickon found an orphaned lamb out on the
moor next to its dead mother. Messiah-like he carried it home and today he
brought it to the garden so Mary might meet it and he will come up to the house
later after breakfast with all his animal friends so he and Colin might finally
meet. With a wave of his hand, Colin gives the order to the nurse to let the
downstairs servants know to expect a boy, Martha’s brother, who will be calling
on him today. That’s all. The nurse tries not to laugh as she is dismissed.
Almost
immediately, the nurse is back to announce, if you please, Dickon and his
creatures have arrived and the menagerie (sans pony) marches in. While the
nurse hopes nothing will bite, she and the other servants ought to be more
worried about what the animals might do on their clean floors and carpets!
Carrying his lamb, the fox trotting next to him, two squirrels perched on each
shoulder and his crow complete the picture. Dickon places the newborn lamb in
Colin’s lap and offers the bottle of milk, speaking soft and gentle so as not
to alarm neither boy nor lamb. Colin is all wide eyed wonder. He asks Dickon
many questions about the outdoors and they all look at the books about flowers
and gardens. Colin declares he SHALL live to go out and see all of it.
Mary
concludes in very bad Yorkshire “Aye, that tha’ mun an’ tha’ munnot lose no
time about it.”
One day, Mr. Roach the head
gardener is summoned to the young Rajah’s rooms where he is given very
particular orders: all workmen and under gardeners must stay clear of the walks
today, more specifically between the hours of 2pm and suppertime this afternoon
as Colin is going out in his chair with his two companions and no one is to see
him, for everyone knows how much it upsets him when normal people stare and he
is reminded of his condition. Mr. Roach snaps his heels, salutes and with a
wave of his hand, Colin dismisses him.
Mary recounts all the familiar
places she previously told him about as Dickon pushes Colin’s chair through the
gardens until they come to the long ivy covered wall enclosing the secret
garden. Mary opens the door and they all enter. Taking another deep breath of
fresh, outdoor air, Colin says he shall get well and will live forever and
ever.
There’s
just something about this garden.
The sun is
setting and while they know they should be getting back to the house, nobody
wants to leave. Suddenly, Colin spots a face peering over the wall. It is Ben
Weatherstaff, glaring at them! He starts haranguing them until Mary marches up
to him explaining it was the robin who showed her how to get in but Ben doesn’t
believe her. Colin speaks up and Ben does a double take as Colin demands, “Do
you know who I am?”
Ben shrugs, sure, he’s the poor,
half-witted cripple with the crooked back and legs. Colin goes quite livid. To
the astonishment of all, he starts to rise up, calls to Dickon to come help him
while Mary begins to chant furiously “He can do it, he can do it. He CAN!” and
Ben nearly falls off his ladder on the other side of the wall as Colin stands
up and shows him just how normal he is. Tears run down the old man’s weathered
face as Colin orders him to come around to the door and come on inside. They
have no choice but to let him be part of the secret now…
queer rude and condescending Colin is to everyone around him,
except Mary of course but only because Mary won’t stand for it. Yet, Colin
takes Mary’s words to heart.
“Am I
queer?” he asks her in all seriousness (MY how times have changed in the last
100 years with that word!) yet he knows if he continues to go to the garden, as Mary did when
she first came here, he won’t be so “queer” and it will be good for him. Something is in that garden, he can feel
it, Mary can feel it as well. The miracle of things swelling and sprouting and
beginning to grow from good seeds planted thus strengthening their faith (and
NO this author has probably never read Alma 32 but she might as well have!)
Next day,
Colin summons Ben Weatherstaff to the garden so he, Dickon and Mary can listen
to an incredibly long-winded, egotistical sermon about Magic and the Great
Experiment he’s decided he wants to begin this very moment. He’s only ten, mind
you, yet he will be High Priest in this temple that is their garden wherein
dwells Magic. He will chant and they will chant with him-Magic is in the
sunlight, Magic is in all the growing things, the flowers, trees and even in
themselves. He calls upon all the Magic here in this garden to come and help
him get well and strong again! Ben has been dozing throughout this entire scene;
he mumbles something about somebody waking him before collection so he can get
out. He does wake up enough to watch as the two children help Colin walk the
entire circumference of the garden and when he completes the circuit declares
his first “scientific experiment” a success. The Magic worked! Ben grunts Colin’ll
be tearing through phone books any day now and body slamming pro-wrestlers when
he grows up, wait and see. Colin scowls. The very idea. Him an athlete? He is
going to be the next Einstein, not the next Schwarzenegger.
Mrs.
Sowerby’s blue eyes (same color as her son’s) widen as she hears the inspiring
story of two children and their self-cure for what ailed them after discovering
the garden of Lady Craven. She chuckles as Dickon tells her the great charade
Colin and Mary are putting on for the grown up servants (Martha too?) with Colin
pretending to be just as sickly and afraid as always with Mary fretting over
him. Both reluctantly are turning away their food trays to keep up the charade,
yet they are so hungry it is becoming harder to keep up the lie. Wanting to
help, Mrs. Sowerby promises to send over some of her fresh baked bread and
sweet buns and a pail of new milk with Dickon every morning to take the edge off their ravenous appetites between meals.
Yet, it is
becoming clear they will need to reveal themselves very soon as Dr. Craven
remarks during another check-up on Colin about the weight he’s gained. His
color and general appearance are much improved. Perhaps he WILL live to grow up
after all. Colin hems and haws and tries to dissuade his thinking for the plan
is to wait until his father returns from his current trip so he can march into
his father’s room and give him the shock of his life. Until then, no one must
know. Colin switches gears to his “But I’m a DYING BOY!” act and the doctor quickly reassures him that no
one will write to his father about anything until the young master gives
permission.
Dickon
brings the food next morning to the garden and the two children are very
grateful as they dig in. What a kind, clever woman is Mrs. Sowerby. She has
Magic too (runs in the family-except Martha, apparently!). Dickon builds a
small oven in the garden and starts bringing eggs and potatoes to cook so now
it is very easy for Mary and Colin to send back food and keep up the act of
being sickly and weak children. The staff below stairs are quite confused-first
their charges were cleaning their plates, now suddenly they’ve lost their
appetites.
All enjoy a
good laugh out in the garden where Dickon has more information to share. He
talked to the village strong man and he taught him some upper and lower body
exercises which Dickon then teaches Colin so he can begin building up his
muscles (and grow up to be a body builder after all?).
Dr. Craven
and Mrs. Medlock don’t know what to think as they discuss the situation. Both
agree the children can’t be sneaking food or finding it outside on the grounds
yet the girl is obviously filling out, has grown downright PRETTY even and
Colin’s 180 degree turn is nothing short of miraculous. They conclude it must
be the laughter and company of being around each other-they are both children
after all. So, let them laugh.
Chapter 25 The
Curtain
We now get the POV of the robin who has always thought Dickon another bird-like creature that understood his language. The other two humans, well, they were something to think about. The boy creature can’t even walk on two legs but is always pushed into the garden in a thing with wheels. The robin is very protective of his mate and the eggs she is currently sitting on. After many days of observation, the robin and his mate conclude the boy, like a young fledgling, is learning to fly or, rather, to walk and good for him yet they are both confident their own eggs will be much more cleverer and learn to fly much faster than this boy. The strange up and down motions they make with their arms and legs while remaining stationary also puzzles the robin, but, as long as the eggs are as safe, as if they were locked in a bank vault, let the clumsy humans do what they like.
On rainy
days, the children stayed indoors but Colin has grown so strong, his legs are
restless. He wants to be up and about moving. Mary suggests they get a servant
to push Colin in his chair to that part of the house no one goes into and show
him some of the rooms she explored on her first rainy day. They spend many
subsequent days rambling about making new discoveries. Collin gets out of his
chair, has a good run up and down one of the long corridors and they do their
exercises.
Finally, one
day, Mary notices something is different in Colin’s room. His mother’s portrait
is no longer covered up by the curtain. He tells her he woke up one night to
his room filled with moonlight and he felt the Magic which prompted him to get
up and draw back the covering. He doesn’t hate the picture anymore for laughing
at him. His mother had Magic. Mary tells him he does too. Colin wonders if he
were to share this testimony with his father, perhaps he might like him more
and want to stay home and, you know, actually be a father.
They get to work weeding in quiet
contemplation and contentment, when Colin suddenly gets to his feet to
announce: Look at me. Look at where I am. Look at where I started. The fact
that I’m alive is a miracle. I’m a real boy now. I’m NORMAL. A miracle
happened, I’m well! In fact, I think I feel a SONG coming on. Let’s sing. What
shall we sing? Ben suggests the Doxology except it’s been so long since he was
in church he never really learned it. Dickon knows it, of course, and his
mother believes the birds sing it every morning; a very fitting song for such a
spiritual moment. Mary and Colin have never been in church so they can only
take Dickon’s word for it as he instructs them all to stand up and for the males
to remove their hats. All listen to Dickon’s strong voice as he sings the
traditional Christian hymn probably one of the oldest hymns in history as it’s
been around since the 1600s! Taken from Psalm 100, “Praise Jehovah” and only
one stanza long, they make Dickon sing it again and this time they join in.
They have
just finished when Colin sees a strange woman, standing there taking in the
whole scene as if she belonged there, which she does for it is Mrs. Sowerby.
Dickon cries out and runs to her. She greets Colin and Mary calling them “Dear
lad” and “lass” both glow under her inspection. Their small hearts have grown
three sizes since they first heard of this angel of a woman, this Lady
Bountiful whose wisdom might just save the world. Ben greets her by her
Christian name-Susan Sowerby. She looks over Colin and Mary and pronounces them
good and they proceed to give her a tour of the garden. They ask for her wisdom
in Magic which she prefers to call “Th’ Big Good Thing” who works miracles in
everything that might believe and have joy therein. The children are filled
with hope. Mrs. Sowerby brought a basket of food and they all eat and plan their
future trip to the famous Sowerby Cottage (good enough for Kings) so they might
meet the rest of Dickon’s family.
Colin
almost gets emotional when it is time to take their leave. He wishes Mrs.
Sowerby were his mother too. Mum is also touched as she hugs Colin telling him
his mother is here in this garden and his father must come very soon to see all
of this. Aye, that he mun.
The first three pages of this chapter are the author’s own explicit narrative on how thoughts-both good and bad, like the Butterfly Theory-affect mankind, even the whole world. Take Mary and Colin. Once they let go of their bad thoughts and embraced healthy living they were able to push the bad thoughts out and grow up into fine, healthy children.
Too bad
Archibald Craven, wandering like Bigfoot all over Europe, taking long nature
hikes but not really seeing the beauty, staying only at the finest hotels, but
thinking dark, self-pitying thoughts, could not also find this ideal way of
living as Colin and Mary did.
But that’s
about to change.
One
beautiful day, as Craven is lounging about by an Austrian lake on a hill
covered with blue flowers, the most extraordinary feeling comes over him. Little
does he know this exact same time and day is when Colin, back in Chapter 20,
first entered the garden and declared that he would live forever and ever! When
Craven returns to his room that night, he sleeps better than he has in a long
time.
This same feeling stays with him
for the rest of summer and when autumn arrives he takes an extra-long hike one
gorgeous day in the Italian Alps. He wanders so far that the moon comes up and
he is marveling at the beauty all around him as he sits and meditates until he
falls asleep. What happened next, Craven could never tell if he was awake or
dreaming, for he heard a very familiar, happy voice, calling his name,
“Archie!” over and over. Springing to his feet he answers, “Lilias, (first time
we learn her name) where are you?”
“In the
garden (you idiot)!”
“Ok, I’ll
be right there!”
Except,
next thing Craven knew he woke up in his hotel bed and a servant was standing
over him with his mail. He opens a letter from Susan Sowerby which pretty much
says, I’d come home, sir, if I was you.
This decides him. He will leave at once.
During the
long journey back to Yorkshire, Craven worries it may be too late for him to
come home and start being a father to his poor, invalid boy. Narration says
he’d been like a madman those first dark days as the child was alive while the mother
was dead. It was just too much to bear so he’d refused to even see Colin and
stayed away as often as he could, leaving his boy in the care of others. He’d
hardly thought of him all these last ten years, but ever since that feeling he
got over the summer he’d been contemplating the idea of returning home, facing his
grief, manning up.
He even
stops by the Sowerby cottage on his way home where (almost) the entire family
is outside romping about. The next oldest child informs the gentleman Lady
Bountiful Susan Sowerby is off at a neighbor’s helping with a new baby and brother
Dickon is at the manor garden where he goes several times a week to do whatever
he does there. Craven gives the oldest girl left in charge some money and they
all grin and bob curtseys in their gratitude.
He is
received by the usual ceremony at the house when he pulls up (in a carriage we
assume as narration only says he took a train then traveled to his lonely manor
house). He summons Mrs. Medlock who tells him all the peculiar changes that
have been going on with the two children. When she informs him they are both
“in the garden” with Dickon, he stands and exits the room almost in a daze. In the garden. There’s only one garden
Medlock could’ve been talking about, even if she didn’t realize it.
As he nears
where he remembers the door to be, he can hear scuffling and suppressed
laughter. Suddenly the door under the ivy bursts open and a boy comes running
out, nearly knocking over Mr. Craven. It is Colin! Recognizing his father,
Colin breathlessly tells him-he is well! He is healthy! He can walk! He can
beat other children in races. Indeed, here comes Mary now, rushing out after
Colin.
Craven is
escorted back inside the secret garden where he sits on the grass while Colin,
standing proudly, tells him the entire story. Craven laughs and cries in all
the right places. It really is a miracle. The Mystery, the Magic, the wild
creatures, the coming of spring which started the whole thing and when the tale
is concluded, Colin announces he will WALK back to the house by his father’s
side. He’s waited months for this moment.
Mrs.
Medlock is sitting in the kitchen with Ben Weatherstaff on their break,
drinking their favorite beverages, just in time to catch the sight of father
and boy strolling up the garden paths together. She gives a little shriek and
throws up her hands for it is…Master Colin!
THE END
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