The Secret Garden

Mary Lennox was a little girl who lived in India. She was thin and pale and often felt sick. She had a sour, grumpy look on her face most of the time. Her parents were very busy and did not spend time with her. Servants took care of Mary instead, and they gave her whatever she wanted. This made Mary quite spoiled and hard to get along with.

One strange morning, everything felt different. The house was very quiet. People whispered and hurried around with worried faces. Mary did not understand what was happening. No one would tell her anything. She played alone in the garden, poking flowers into the dirt. Then she waited and waited in the nursery by herself. When helpers finally came, they told Mary something very sad. Her parents were gone forever. There was no one left to take care of her in India. Mary stood all alone, not knowing what would happen next.

Mary Lennox was a small girl who mostly thought about herself. She did not know her mother very well at all. When she had to leave India, she was not scared. She just hoped her new family would be nice to her.

First Mary stayed with a clergyman and his five children. The children played rough and grabbed each other's toys. Mary was so grumpy that no one wanted to be her friend. A boy named Basil made up a silly song about her. He called her "Mistress Mary, quite contrary" because she was always cross. This made Mary very angry indeed.

Then Mary learned she was going to England. She would live with her uncle in a big old house called Misselthwaite Manor. A woman named Medlock came to take her there. On the train, Medlock told Mary about the huge house with a hundred rooms. Most of the rooms were locked up tight. Her uncle was sad and liked to be alone. As rain pattered against the window, Mary fell asleep. She was traveling toward a house full of secrets.