Chapter 8 Chapter 8 The Mockingbird Leading the Way

She looked at the key for a long time.She turned it over and over, thinking about it.As I said earlier, she was never taught as a child to ask permission, or to ask an adult about things.All she thought about the key was if it led to the locked garden, if she could find out where the door was, maybe she could open the door and see what was in the wall, what happened to those old rose trees .Because it has been closed for many years, she wants to see it even more.It seemed that it must be different from other places, that strange things must have happened in ten years.Besides, if she likes it, she can go in every day and close the door behind her back, and she can invent the game by herself, and play alone, because no one knows where she is, and thinks the door is still locked and the key is still buried in the ground .The thought pleased her.

A life like that, all by herself, in a mysterious house of a hundred closed rooms, to amuse herself with nothing to do, set her dull mind to work, her imagination aroused.No doubt the fresh, strong, pure air of the wilderness had much to do with it.Just as the wind gave her appetite, and fighting the wind stirred her blood, the same thing stirred her mind.In India she was always too hot, too listless, too weak to care about anything, but here she cared and was willing to try.She felt less "awkward" already, though she didn't know why yet. She put the keys in her pocket and walked up and down the aisle.Nobody ever seemed to come here but herself, so she could walk slowly and look at the wall, or rather, the ivy growing on it.Ivy is a confusing thing.No matter how carefully she looked, she could see nothing but dense, glossy dark green leaves.She was rather disappointed.She was pacing up and down the aisle, looking at the treetops in there, and the awkwardness came up again.How stupid, she thought, not to be able to get in so close.When she returned to the house, she carried the key in her pocket.She decided to always take the key with her when she went out so that she would be ready if she found the hidden door.

Mrs. Medlock allowed Martha to spend the night at her family's farmhouse, but she came back to work in the morning, more flushed than ever, and in the best spirits. "I get up at four o'clock," she said, "ah! the moor is beautiful, the birds are up, the rabbits are jumping around, and the sun is coming up. I didn't come all the way. A man gave me a ride in a buggy , I am very happy." She is full of happy stories from a day out.Her mother was happy to see her and they did all the baking and washing.She even made dough cakes for each of the kids, with a little brown sugar.

"They came back from playing in the moor and I made the cakes steaming hot. The whole house smelled nice, clean, hot baking, and the fire was burning brightly, and they all squealed with joy. We di Ken says our farmhouse is good enough for a king." They sat around the fire in the evening, and Martha and her mother patched the rags and darned the socks, and Martha told them about a little girl from India who had served her by what Martha called "blacks," who had always been there. Speaking of her not knowing how to put on socks by herself. "Ah! They really like to hear about you," said Martha. "They want to know all about the niggers and the ship you came on. I can't tell them enough."

Mary thought for a moment. "I've got a lot more to tell you before your next day off," she said, "so you'll have more to talk about. I bet they want to hear about elephant rides, camel rides, and officers out hunting and hunting." tiger." "My God!" exclaimed Martha happily, "it's going to overwhelm their heads. Would you really do it, miss? It's like the wild animal we once heard about in Yorkshire." exhibition." "India is very different from Yorkshire," said Mary slowly, as she pondered the matter, "and it never occurred to me. Would Dickon and your mother like to hear you talk about me?"

"Of course, our Dickon's eyeballs were about to fall out and get so round," Martha answered, "but Mum doesn't like it when you seem to be alone. She said, 'Mr. Craven didn't find her A governess, or a nurse?' I said, 'No, but Mrs. Medlock says Mr. Craven will when he thinks about it, but she says he probably won't remember it for two or three years.'" "I don't want a governess," said Mary stiffly. "But Mama said it's time for you to learn to read by yourself, and it's time for a woman to take care of you, and she said, 'Well, Martha, just think about what it's like to be in such a big place, wandering around by yourself, no Mom. You're going to do what you can to cheer her up.' She said that, and I said I would."

Mary looked at her long and calmly. "You really cheer me up," she said, "I love hearing you talk." Masha left the room at once, and came back with something in her hands, which she put under her apron. "What do you think," she grinned happily, "I brought you a present." "A present!" exclaimed Miss Mary.How can a farmhouse full of fourteen hungry people give a gift! "A man was riding through the fields," Martha explained, "and he stopped by our house. He had pots and pans, all kinds of things, but Mom didn't have money for any of them. When he was leaving, our house Elizabeth Allan cried, 'Mother, he has a jumping rope, with red and blue handles.' Mother she cried out suddenly, 'Oh, stop, sir! How much is that?' He said 'Two pennies' , mother she began to fumble in her pockets, and she said to me, 'Martha, you're a good girl, you keep giving me my wages, and I'll break a penny into four petals, but I'll take two pennies out of it, Buy that kid a skipping rope.' She bought one, and here it is."

She took the skipping rope from under her apron and displayed it proudly.It was a strong, slender rope with red and blue strips on the handles at each end, but Mary Lennox had never seen a skipping rope.She stared at it bewilderedly. "What is this for?" she asked curiously. "What the hell!" cried Martha. "You mean there's no skipping rope in India, because they've got elephants and tigers and camels! No wonder they're mostly black. They're made for that, look." She ran to the center of the room, took a handle in each hand, and started jumping, jumping, jumping, and Mary turned from her chair to stare at her, and those strange faces in the old portraits seemed to be staring at her too, wondering This ordinary little mud leg has such a thick skin under their noses.But Martha didn't notice them at all.Delighted by the interest and curiosity on Miss Mary's face, she danced and counted until she reached a hundred.

"I could have jumped more," she paused. "I did five hundred when I was twelve, but I wasn't as fat as I am now, and I practiced a lot." Mary rose from her chair, feeling herself growing excited. "It looks good," she said. "Your mother is a kind person. Do you think I can dance like you one day?" "You try it," Martha encouraged, handing her the skipping rope. "You can't do a hundred jumps at first, but as you practice it will increase. That's what my mother said. She said, 'For her, no Better than skipping rope. It's the most sensible of a child's toys. Let her jump in the fresh air, stretch her limbs, and give her limbs some strength.'”

When Miss Mary first started dancing, her hands and feet were obviously weak.She's not that nimble, but she loves it and doesn't want to stop. "Put on your clothes and run out and dance," said Martha. "Mother said I must tell you to stay out of the house as much as possible, even if it rains a little, as long as you dress warmly." Mary put on her coat and put the skipping rope over her arm.She opened the door and went out, suddenly remembered something, and turned around slowly. "Martha," she said, "that's your wages. It's your twopence actually. Thanks," she said stiffly, for she was not used to thanking people and not noticing what was done for her. . "Thanks," she said, holding out her hands because she didn't know what else to do.

Martha shook her hand a little awkwardly, as if she wasn't used to it either.Then she laughed. "Ah! Na's a queer, old woman," she said. "If Na was our Elizabeth Allen, she'd give me a kiss." Mary stiffened even more. "Do you want me to kiss you?" Martha laughed again. "No, I didn't," she replied. "If Na was not like that, I'm afraid Na would want to kiss me. But you don't want to. Go out and play with Na's jump rope." Miss Mary felt a little awkward as she went out.People in Yorkshire seemed queer, and Martha had always been a mystery to her.She hated her so much at first, but now she doesn't.Jumping rope is a treasure.She counted and danced and danced and counted until her cheeks were flushed.Never in all her life had she felt so much fun.The sun was shining brightly, and there was a breeze—not a rough wind, but a pleasant gust, with the fresh smell of freshly turned earth.She danced around the fountain garden, up this walk and back down that.Finally she hops into the vegetable garden and sees Ji-won-ben digging while talking to his robins, who are bouncing around him.She jumped down the road toward him, and he looked up at her with a curious expression on his face.She hadn't been sure he'd noticed her.She wanted him to see her jump rope. "Ouch!" he exclaimed, "My God. I'm afraid you're a young man after all, and I'm afraid it's a child's blood flowing in your veins, not sour leftover milk. You must be blushing, or I won't It's called Ji Yuanben. I didn't believe you could do this." "I've never skipped before," said Mary. "I'm just starting. I can only skip up to twenty." "You continue to practice," said Old Ji, "you have been with people who don't believe in God, and your body is considered good enough to skip rope. See how it observes you." He flicked his head at the robin, "yesterday It follows you. It will follow you today. Now it swears to find out what a skipping rope is. It has never seen it before. Ah!" He shook his head at the bird, "If you don't pay more attention, one day your curiosity will cost you your life." Mary danced around all the gardens, and around the orchard, and rested for a few minutes.Finally she came to her own special aisle and decided to try and see if she could jump the whole distance.The distance was long, and she got up slowly, but before she jumped halfway, she was hot and out of breath, and was forced to stop.She didn't care much because she had already counted to thirty.She stopped with a pleasant chuckle, and there, lo and behold, the robin swayed along a long branch of ivy.It had just followed her and greeted her with a short cry.Mary jumped towards it, feeling something heavy in her pocket every time she jumped, and when she saw the robin she laughed again. "Yesterday you showed me the key," she said, "today you should show me the door, but I don't believe you know!" The robin flew up the wall from his waving ivy bough, opened his beak, and uttered a lovely trill, purely for show.There's nothing in the world to admire more than a ostentatious robin -- and they're showing off almost everywhere. Mary Lennox had heard a lot of magic from her nanny's stories, and she always said afterwards that what happened at that moment was magic. One of those lovely little gusts of wind blowing down the walk, stronger than the others.Strong enough to shake a branch, more than a clump of unpruned ivy dragging down a wall.Mary was already getting close to the robin, when suddenly the gust of wind knocked some fluffy ivy aside, and Mary jumped forward even more suddenly, and caught something in her hands.She did this because she saw something underneath - a round handle that had been covered by the leaves hanging from it.This is the doorknob. She put her hands under the leaves and pushed the branches aside.The ivy was so thick it almost wove a loose curtain that swung in a swing, and some were already overrun with wood and iron.Mary's heart began to pound, and her hands trembled slightly with joy and excitement.The robin kept singing, melodiously, with his head on one side, and seemed as excited as she was.What is this under her hand, square, made of iron, with a hole in it when her fingers touch it? It was the lock on the door that had been closed for ten years, and she reached into her pocket, drew the key, and found it fitted the lock.She put the key in and turned it.It took two hands to be strong enough, but it did turn. Then she took a deep breath and looked to see if anyone was coming down the aisle behind her.Nobody came, so it seemed, and she took another deep breath, and because she couldn't help it, she held back the dangling ivy curtain and pushed back the door, which slowly, slowly—opened. up. Then she slid through the door, closing it behind her, leaning her back against the door, looking around, her breathing quickened by excitement and wonder and joy. She is standing in the secret garden at the moment.