Chapter 2 Chapter 1 Dongfeng

Are you looking for Cherry Tree Alley?Just ask the policeman at the intersection.He pushed his hat a little to the side, scratched his head and thought about it, and then he would stretch out his white-gloved hand, pointing with a big finger and saying, "First go to the right, then go to the left, and then make a big right turn." , we'll be there. Goodbye." Follow the path he pointed out, and you will be right in the middle of Cherry Tree Alley.There are houses on one side of the alley, and a park on the other side with long cherry trees in the middle. If you're looking for Number Seventeen--you've got to look for it, because that's the one the book's about--you'll find it right away.First, this house is the smallest in the whole alley.Second, the family's plaster is peeling off and needs to be painted.But Mr. Banks, the owner of the house, told his wife that she either wanted a beautiful, clean and comfortable house, or she wanted four children.Both are required, he does not have this condition.

After much deliberation, Mrs. Banks decided that she would prefer the eldest daughter Jane, the second child Michael, and the youngest twins - John and Barbara.So it was settled, and the Banks family took up residence on the Seventeenth.Mrs. Brill cooked for them, Ellen cooked for them, and Robertson Alley weeded, washed knives, and shone shoes.Mr. Banks used to say, "Robertson wasted his time and I wasted my money doing this kind of work." Of course, in addition to these few, there is also a nanny named Katie who helps them.But she has no reason to write in this book, because she just left Seventeen when the story begins.

"She went away without telling you, and without saying hello. What shall I do?" said Mrs. Bankes. "Get in the papers, my dear," said Mr. Bankes, putting on his shoes. "I really hope that Robertson Ai will leave without saying a word, because he wiped one shoe and forgot the other. I wear it out and become a pair of yin and yang shoes." "It's no big deal," Mrs. Banks said. "But you haven't told me what's going on with Nanny Katie." "She's gone, and I don't see what you can do with her," replied Mr. Bankes. "I would have dragged someone into the Morning Post and put an ad that Jane, Michael, John and Barbara the Bankses (not to mention their mother) were in dire need of a nanny, as nice as possible , the wages should be as little as possible. Then I wait for the nanny to come to the gate of the front yard and wait in a long line. They will definitely make me angry: I have to pay him a salary for obstructing traffic and causing trouble to the police. Ling. Well, now I have to go. Well, it's as cold as at the North Pole. What's the wind blowing today?"

As he spoke, Mr. Banks put his head out of the window and looked down at Admiral Boom's house at the mouth of the alley.This house is the most majestic in the alley, and the whole alley is proud of it, because it is built like a ship.There was a flagpole in the garden, and a gilded weathercock on the roof that looked like a telescope. "Ha!" Mr. Banks drew his head in quickly. "The admiral's telescope says east wind. I thought so too. It's cold to the bone, and I'll have to wear two coats." He kissed his wife absently on the nose, waved to the children, He went out and went into the city.

Mr Banks was in town every day, except, of course, on Sundays and bank holidays.There he sat and worked on a large chair behind a large desk.He works all day, counting bills and coins.He has a small black leather bag for change.Go home sometimes to Jane and Michael, let them put in the piggy bank.When he can't save any money, he will say: "The bank is bankrupt." Everyone knows that he has no money left that day. Well, Mr. Banks left with his little black leather bag.Mrs Bankes went into the drawing room and sat there all day writing letters to the papers, begging them to get her a nurse right away, and she was waiting.Jane and Michael looked out of the upstairs nursery window, wondering who was going to come to their house.They were glad Nanny Katie was gone because they didn't like her.She was old and fat, and she smelled of barley tea.They thought that no matter who came, it was better than her, even if it was only a little bit better.

When the sun started to go down behind the park, Mrs. Brill and Ellen came up to give them supper and bathe the twins.Jane and Michael sat at the window after dinner and waited for Pa to come home, listening to the east wind whistling through the bare branches of the cherry trees in the alley.The trees swayed back and forth, side to side, in the dim light, as if mad, trying to spring their roots from the ground. "Daddy's coming!" Michael said suddenly, pointing to a figure slamming on the yard gate.Jane stared into the growing twilight. "That's not Dad," she said. "It's someone else."

"Then the figure, tossed to and fro by the wind, stooped and unbolted the gate of the yard. They saw that it was a woman, with one hand over her hat, and the other with a handbag. Jane and Michael watched and saw a strange thing. As soon as the woman entered the yard gate, she seemed to be blown by a gust of wind and sent straight to the front of the house. It looked like this: the wind blew her to the yard gate first, so that She opened the yard door and blew her out to the front door with her bag etc. The two watching children heard only a loud bang and the whole house shook when she landed on the front door.

"How funny!" I've never seen anything like that," said Michael. "Let's go see who she is!" said Jane, grabbing Michael's arm and pulling him away from the window, through the nursery, and out to the landing.From the stairs, they have always been able to clearly see what happened in the hall. Now they saw their mother coming out of the living room, followed by a visitor.Jane and Michael saw that the newcomer had shiny black hair. "Like a Dutch puppet," whispered Jane.That said, she was thin, big-handed, and had small, staring blue eyes. "You'll see they're good kids," their mother said.

Michael elbowed Jane's waist hard. "They ain't naughty," Mama said, but she didn't know it, as if even she didn't quite believe her own words.They heard the newcomer grunt, and she didn't seem to believe it either. "Well, as for the letter..." continued Mrs. Bankes. "Oh, I have a rule, never that letter," said the man emphatically.Mrs Bankes stared at her wide-eyed. "But I thought it was the rule to take it out," she said. "I mean, I know everybody does it." "I think it's an old eighteenth generation thing," Jane and Michael heard the firm voice say. "It's old and outdated, it can be said that it is already out of date."

What Mrs. Bankes hated most was being outdated, and she couldn't bear it.So she went on: "Okay then. We don't care about that. Of course, I'm just asking, because maybe, er, maybe you'll have to take it out. The nursery is upstairs..." She led the way upstairs. , Talking endlessly all the way, just talking, and didn't see the movement behind.But Jane and Michael watched from the stairs upstairs, and they could clearly see the strange behavior of the newcomer at this time.She followed Mrs. Bankes upstairs, of course, but she did so in a different way.Holding the handbag in both hands, she sat down neatly on the banister and slid up the stairs.Mrs. Bankes came to the landing on the upper stairs, and she arrived at the same time.Jane and Michael knew that this had never happened.There are often times when they slide down, and they often do it themselves, but there has never been such a thing as sliding up!They stared curiously at the new weirdo.

"Okay, then it's all settled." The children's mother breathed a sigh of relief. "It's all settled. As long as I like," said the visitor, wiping his nose with a bandanna with red and white flowers. "Children," said Mrs. Bankes, seeing them suddenly, "what are you doing here? This is your new nurse, Aunt Mary Poppins. Say 'Hello', Jane, Michael! This is... She waved to the two dolls on the crib, "Twins." Aunt Mary watched them closely, from one thing to another, as if deciding whether she liked them or not. "Should we talk?" Michael said. "Michael, don't be naughty," his mother said. Aunt Mary continued to look at the four children, and then she took a long and loud breath, as if to show that she had made up her mind.She said, "I do." Mrs. Banks told her husband afterwards: "It seemed like she was doing us a favor." "Perhaps so," said Mr. Banks, rubbing his nose at the corner of the newspaper for a moment, and then raising his head quickly.As soon as Mom left, Jane and Michael leaned over to Aunt Mary.She stood like a telegraph pole with her hands folded across her chest. "How did you get here?" Jane asked her. "It looks like a gust of wind has brought you here." "Yes," replied Aunt Mary.Then she unfastened her neckerchief, took off her hat, and hung it on a bedpost.It seemed that Aunt Mary didn't want to say anything more—although she hummed many times—and Jane didn't speak either.But when Aunt Mary stooped to open her bag, Michael couldn't help it. "What a fun bag!" he said, squeezing it between his fingers. "It's a blanket," said Aunt Mary, putting the key in the lock. "You mean with a blanket?" "No, it's made of blankets." "Oh," Michael said, "I see." He didn't really understand. At this time, the handbag was opened, and Jane and Michael saw that there was nothing inside, and they were even more surprised. "Why," said Jane, "there's nothing in it!" "Nothing—what are you talking about?" asked Aunt Mary, getting up and looking angry. "You said there was nothing in it?" She said, taking a starched white apron from the empty bag and wrapping it around her.Then she produced a large bar of Sunshine soap, a toothbrush, a pack of hair clips, a bottle of perfume, a little camp chair, and a bottle of lozenges.Jane and Michael stared round their eyes. "But I just saw that the bag was empty," Michael whispered. "Hush!" said Jane, and Aunt Mary produced a large bottle now, with a label on it saying: "A teaspoon before bedtime." A spoon hung from the neck of the bottle, and Aunt Mary poured out a spoon full of crimson water. "Is it the potion you drank?" Michael asked curiously. "No, you drank it," said Aunt Mary, holding out the spoon to him.Michael looked at him, wrinkling his nose in refusal. "I don't want to drink, I don't need to drink. I don't want to drink!" But Aunt Mary's eyes were fixed on him, and Michael realized suddenly that you couldn't look at Aunt Mary without listening to her.There was something queer about her--something frighteningly indescribably exciting.The spoon is getting closer and closer.He held his breath, closed his eyes, and grunted.Mouth full of sweetness.He turned his tongue and swallowed it all at once, with a smile on his face. "Iced strawberry juice," he said, ecstatically. "More to drink, more to drink, more to drink!" But Aunt Mary's face was still so stern, and she poured Jane a spoon.The pourable water shone silver, green, and yellow.Jane tasted it. "It's orange juice," she said, licking her lips.But as soon as she saw Aunt Mary walking towards the twins with the bottle, she ran to her. "Oh no, please don't give them. They're too small. It's not good if they can't drink. Thank you!" Aunt Mary ignored her, gave her a hard look to keep her still, and poured the tip of the spoon into John's mouth.John drank vigorously, and Jane and Michael decided from the few drops on their bibs that this time they were drinking milk.Then Barbara had her share too, gulped it down, and licked the spoon twice. Aunt Mary just poured out a spoonful and drank it by herself solemnly. "Well, rum," she said, smacking her lips, and re-corked the bottle. Jane's and Michael's eyes bulged with astonishment, but they had no time to think, for Aunt Mary had put the strange bottle on the mantelpiece, and turned to them. "Okay," she said, "in bed now." She began to undress them.They saw that the buttons and clasps took a lot of trouble for Aunt Catty to undo, but they were all undone in Aunt Mary's hands in a second.In less than a minute they were in bed, watching Aunt Mary take out the rest in the dim light. From the blanket tote she produced seven woolen pajamas, four cloth pajamas, a pair of high shoes, a pair of dominoes, two shower caps, and a postcard book.The last thing to come out was a folding camp bed, with woolen blanket and eiderdown, and she set it up between John and Barbara's cot. Jane and Michael watched happily, too surprised to speak.But both of them understood that something very strange happened at No. 17, Cherry Alley, Tree Alley. Aunt Mary pulled a woolen nightgown over her head for a curtain, and undressed under it.Michael, fascinated by the new eccentric, could bear it no longer, and called out to her, "Aunt Mary, will you never leave us again?" There was no answer from under the pajamas.Michael couldn't bear it again. "You won't leave us, will you?" he cried anxiously. Aunt Mary's head stuck out of her pajamas, looking fierce. "If someone talks over there again," she said threateningly, "I'll call the police." "I'm just saying," Michael began timidly, "we hope you won't be leaving anytime soon..." He stopped, feeling flushed and confused. Aunt Mary moved her eyes from him to Jane, and said nothing.Then she sniffed loudly. "I'll stay till the wind turns," she said simply, blowing out her candle, and going to bed. "That's all right," said Michael, speaking half to himself and half to Jane.But Jane wasn't listening.She was thinking about what happened, thinking about... This is how Aunt Mary went to No. 17, Cherry Tree Alley.Although everyone sometimes yearned for the quieter, more normal days when Aunt Katie was housekeeper, on the whole they were glad that Aunt Mary was here.Mr. Banks was pleased because she came alone, out of traffic, and he didn't have to tip the police.Mrs. Bankes was pleased because she could tell people that her children's nurse was so fashionable that no one would see the letter.Mrs. Brill and Ellen were happy because they could drink strong tea in the kitchen all day instead of going to the nursery for dinner.Robertson Ai was also happy, because Aunt Mary had only one pair of shoes, and she polished them herself. As for Aunt Mary herself, no one knows, because she never talks much to everyone...