Читать книгу Таинственный сад / The secret garden - Фрэнсис-Элиза Ходжсон Бёрнетт - Страница 9

“I’ve brought you a present,” Martha said in the morning, with a cheerful grin.

“A present!” exclaimed Mary.

“Yes. It’s a skipping-rope.”

She brought it out from under her apron and exhibited it quite proudly. It was a strong, slender rope with a striped red and blue handle at each end. Mary gazed at it with a mystified expression.

“What is it for?” she asked curiously.

“Just watch me!” cried out Martha.

And she ran into the middle of the room and, taking a handle in each hand, began to skip, and skip, and skip.

“I could skip longer than that,” Martha said when she stopped. “But I’m fat now.”

Mary was excited.

“It looks nice,” she said. “Do you think I could ever skip like that?”

“You just try it,” urged Martha.

Mary’s arms and legs were weak, but she liked it so much that she did not want to stop. She opened the door to go out, and then suddenly thought of something and turned back rather slowly.

“Martha,” she said, “the money for this rope was your wages. Thank you.”

She said it stiffly and held out her hand[17] because she did not know what else to do.

Martha laughed. Mary felt a little awkward as she went out of the room.

The skipping-rope was a wonderful thing. She counted and skipped, and skipped and counted, until her cheeks were quite red. The sun was shining and a little wind was blowing. She skipped round the fountain garden, and up one walk and down another. She skipped at last into the kitchen-garden and saw Ben Weatherstaff digging and talking to his robin, which was hopping about him. She skipped down the walk toward him and he lifted his head and looked at her with a curious expression.

“Well!” he exclaimed. “Upon my word![18] You have child’s blood in your veins instead of sour buttermilk.”

“I never skipped before,” Mary said. “I’m just beginning.”

“Keep on,” said Ben.

Mary skipped round all the gardens and round the orchard. The robin followed her and greeted her with a chirp. The girl laughed.

“Yesterday you showed me the key,” she said. “Show me the door today!”

The robin flew to the top of the wall and sang a loud, lovely trill. One of the nice little gusts of wind rushed down the walk. It waved the branches of the trees. Mary stepped close to the robin, and suddenly the gust of wind swung aside some loose ivy trails. She saw a round knob which was covered by the leaves. It was the knob of a door.

She put her hands under the leaves and began to pull and push them aside. Mary’s heart began to thump and her hands to shake a little in her delight and excitement. What was this under her hands which was square and made of iron?

It was the lock of the door! She put her hand in her pocket, drew out the key and put the key in and turned it.

The door opened slowly. She slipped through it, and shut it behind her. She was standing inside the secret garden.