秘密花园 - 02 玛丽在约克郡的日子

They arrived at a very large old house．It looked dark and unfriendly from the outside．Inside，Mary looked around the big shadowy hall，and felt very small and lost．They went straight upstairs．Mary was shown to a room where there was a warm fire and food on the table．

　　‘This is your room，’said Mrs Medlock．‘Go to bed when you've had some supper．And remember，you must stay in your room！Mr Craven doesn't want you to wander all over the house！’

　　When Mary woke up the next morning，she saw a young servant girl cleaning the fireplace．The room seemed dark and rather strange，with pictures of dogs and horses and ladies on the walls．It was not a child's room at all．From the window she could not see any trees or houses，only wild land，which looked like a kind of purple sea．

　　‘Who are you？’she asked the servant coldly．

　　‘Martha，miss，’answered the girl with a smile．

　　‘And what's that outside？’Mary continued．

　　‘That's the moor，’smiled Martha．‘Do you like it？’

　　‘No，’replied Mary immediately．‘I hate it．’

　　‘That's because you don't know it．You will like it．I love it．It's lovely in spring and summer when there are flowers．It always smells so sweet．The air's so fresh，and the birds sing so beautifully．I never want to leave the moor．’

　　Mary was feeling very badtempered．‘You're a strange servant，’she said．‘In India we don't have conversations with servants．We give orders，and they obey，and that's that．’

　　Martha did not seem to mind Mary's crossness．

　　‘I know I talk too much！’she laughed．

　　‘Are you going to be my servant？’asked Mary．

　　‘Well，not really．I work for Mrs Medlock．I'm going to clean your room and bring you your food，but you won't need a servant except for those things．’

　　‘But who's going to dress me？’

　　Martha stopped cleaning，and stared at Mary．

　　‘Tha’canna'dress thysen？’she asked，shocked．

　　‘What do you mean？ I don't understand your language！’

　　‘Oh，I forgot．We all speak the Yorkshire dialect here，but of course you don't understand that．I meant to say，can't you put on your own clothes？’

　　‘Of course not！My servant always used to dress me．’

　　‘Well！I think you should learn to dress yourself．My mother always says people should be able to take care of themselves， even if they're rich and important．’

　　Little Miss Mary was furious with Martha．‘It's different in India where I come from！You don't know anything about India，or about servants，or about anything！You… you…’She could not explain what she meant．Suddenly she felt very confused and lonely．She threw herself down on the bed and started cryiny wildly．

　　‘Now，now，don't cry like that，’Martha said gently．‘I'm very sorry．You're right，I don't know anything about anything．Please stop crying，miss．’

　　She sounded kind and friendly，and Mary began to feel better and soon stopped crying．Martha went on talking as she finished her cleaning，but Mary looked out of the window in a bored way，and pretended not to listen．

　　‘I've got eleven brothers and sisters，you know，miss． There's not much money in our house．And they all eat so much food！Mother says it's the good fresh air on the moor that makes them so hungry．My brother Dickon，he's always out on the moor．He's twelve，and he's got a horse which he rides sometimes．’

　　‘Where did he get it？’asked Mary．She had always wanted an animal of her own，and so she began to feel a little interest in Dickon．

　　‘Oh，it's a wild horse，but he's a kind boy，and animals like him，you see．Now you must have your breakfast，miss．Here it is on the table．’

　　‘I don't want it，’said Mary．‘I'm not hungry．’

　　‘What！’ cried Martha．‘My little brothers and sisters would eat all this in five minutes！’

　　‘Why？’asked Mary coldly．

　　‘Because they don't get enough to eat，that's why，and they're always hungry．You're very lucky to have the food， miss．’Mary said nothing，but she drank some tea and ate a little bread．

　　‘Now put a coat on and run outside to play，’said Martha．‘It'll do you good to be in the fresh air．’

　　Mary looked out of the window at the cold grey sky．‘Why should I go out on a day like this？’she asked．

　　‘Well，there's nothing to play with indoors，is there？’

　　Mary realized Martha was right．‘But who will go with me？’she said．

　　Martha stared at her．‘Nobody．You'll have to learn to play by yourself Dickon plays by himself on the moors for hours， with the wild birds，and the sheep，and the other animals．’She looked away for a moment．‘Perhaps I shouldn't tell you this， but—but one of the walled gardens is locked up．Nobody's been in it for ten years．It was Mrs Graven's garden，and when she died so suddenly，Mr Craven locked it and buried the key— Oh，I must go，I can hear Mrs Medlock's bell ringing for me．’

　　Mary went downstairs and wandered through the great empty gardens．Many of the fruit and vegetable gardens had walls round them，but there were no locked doors．She saw an old man digging in one of the vegetable gardens，but he looked cross and unfriendly，so she walked on．

　　‘How ugly it all looks in winter！’she thought．‘But what a mystery the locked garden is！Why did my uncle bury the key？If he loved his wife，why did he hate her garden？Perhaps I'll never know．I don't suppose I'll like him if I ever meet him．And he won't like me，so I won't be able to ask him．’

　　Just then she noticed a robin singing to her from a tree on the other side of a wall．‘I think that tree's in the secret garden！’she told herself．‘There's an extra wall here，and there's no way in．’

　　She went back to where the gardener was digging，and spoke to him．At first he answered in a very badtempered way，but suddenly the robin flew down near them，and the old man began to smile．He looked a different person then，and Mary thought how much nicer people looked when they smiled．The gardener spoke gently to the robin，and the pretty little bird hopped on the ground near them．

　　‘He's my friend，he is，’said the old man．‘There aren't any other robins in the garden，so he's a bit lonely．’He spoke in strong Yorkshire dialect，so Mary had to listen carefully to understand him．

　　She looked very hard at the robin．‘I'm lonely too，’she said．She had not realized this before．

　　‘What's your name？’she asked the gardener．

　　‘Ben Weatherstaff．I'm lonely myself．The robin's my only friend，you see．’

　　‘I haven't got any friends at all，’said Mary．

　　Yorkshire people always say what they are thinking，and old Ben was a Yorkshire moor man．‘We're alike，you and me，’he told Mary．‘We're not pretty to look at，and we're both very disagreeable．’

　　Nobody had ever said this to Mary before．‘Am I really as ugly and disagreeable as Ben？’she wondered．

　　Suddenly the robin flew to a tree near Mary and started singing to her．Ben laughed loudly．

　　‘Well！’he said．‘He wants to be your friend！’

　　‘Oh！Would you please be my friend？’she whispered to the robin．She spoke in a soft，quiet voice and old Ben looked at her in surprise．

　　‘You said that really nicely！’he said．‘You sound like Dickon，when he talks to animals on the moor．’

　　‘Do you know Dickon？’asked Mary．But just then the robin flew away．‘Oh look，he's flown into the garden with no door！ Please，Ben，how can I get into it？’

　　Ben stopped smiling and picked up his spade．‘You can't， and that's that．It's not your business．Nobody can find the door．Run away and play，will you？I must get on with my work．’And he walked away．He did not even say goodbye．

　　In the next few days Mary spent almost all her time in the gardens．The fresh air from the moor made her hungry，and she was becoming stronger and healthier．One day she noticed the robin again．He was on top of a wall，singing to her．‘Good morning！Isn't this fun！Come this way！’he seemed to say， as he hopped along the wall．Mary began to laugh as she danced along beside him．‘I know the secret garden's on the other side of this wall！’she thought excitedly．‘And the robin lives there！But where's the door？’

　　That evening she asked Martha to stay and talk to her beside the fire after supper．They could hear the wind blowing round the old house， but the room was warm and comfortable． Mary only had one idea in her head．

　　‘Tell me about the secret garden，’she said．

　　‘Well，all right then，miss，but we aren't supposed to talk about it，you know．It was Mrs Graven's favourite garden，and she and Mr Craven used to take care of it themselves．They spent hours there，reading and talking．Very happy，they were． They used the branch of an old tree as a seat．But one day when she was sitting on the branch，it broke，and she fell．She was very badly hurt and the next day she died．That's why he hates the garden so much，and won't let anyone go in there．’

　　‘How sad！’said Mary．‘Poor Mr Craven！’It was the first time that she had ever felt sorry for anyone．

　　Just then，as she was listening to the wind outside，she heard another noise，in the house．

　　‘Can you hear a child crying？’she asked Martha．

　　Martha looked confused．‘Er—no，’she replied．‘No，I think…it must be the wind．’

　　But at that moment the wind blew open their door and they heard the crying very clearly．

　　‘I told you！’cried Mary．

　　At once Martha shut the door．‘It was the wind，’she repeated．But she did not speak in her usual natural way，and Mary did not believe her．

　　The next day it was very rainy，so Mary did not go out．Instead she decided to wander round the house，looking into some of the hundred rooms that Mrs Medlock had told her about． She spent all morning going in and out of dark，silent rooms， which were full of heavy furniture and old pictures．She saw no servants at all，and was on her way back to her room for lunch， when she heard a cry．‘It's a bit like the cry that I heard last night！’she thought．Just then the housekeeper，Mrs Medlock， appeared，with her keys in her hand．

　　‘What are you doing here？’she asked crossly．

　　‘I didn't know which way to go，and I heard someone crying，’answered Mary．

　　‘You didn't hear anything！Go back to you room now． And if you don't stay there，I'll lock you in！’

　　Mary hated Mrs Medlock for this．‘There was someone crying，I know there was！’she said to herself．‘But I'll discover who it is soon！’She was almost beginning to enjoy herself in Yorkshire．

她们来到一座很大的旧房子前，从外面看上去黑暗而冷漠。玛丽走进投满阴影的大厅，觉得自己非常渺小，不知身在何处。她们径直上了楼，玛丽被带进一个房间，里面生着火，很暖和，桌上摆着食物。

　　“这就是你的房间，”梅洛太太说。“吃点东西就睡吧。记住，你必须呆在自己的房间里！克莱文先生可不想看见你在房子里乱逛！”

　　第二天一早玛丽醒来时，看见一个年轻的女仆正在清理壁炉。房间看上去很暗，有点古怪，墙上挂着狗、马还有女人的画像，一点也不像个孩子的房间。从窗子望出去，她看不到任何树或房屋，只有荒原，看上去像一片紫色的海。

　　“你是谁？”她冷冷地问那个仆人。

　　“我叫玛莎，小姐。”女孩笑着回答。

　　“外面是什么？”玛丽又问道。

　　“那是荒原，”玛莎笑着。“你喜欢吗？”

　　“不，”玛丽很快地答道，“我讨厌它。”

　　“那是因为你还不了解它。你会喜欢它的。我喜欢它。春天和夏天都开满了花，可爱极了，连空气都是甜的。那儿的空气新鲜极了，鸟也叫得那么动听，我从来都不想离开它。”

　　玛丽感到很懊恼。“你可真怪，”她说，“在印度我们从来不跟用人交谈。我们下命令，他们服从，这就够了。”

　　玛莎对玛丽的小姐脾气好像并不在意。

　　“我知道我说得太多了！”她笑着说。

　　玛丽问道，“你会给我做用人吗？”

　　“嗯，也不全是。我为梅洛太太工作。我要打扫你的房间，给你拿吃的东西，可除此之外你并不需要一个用人。”

　　“那谁给我穿衣服呢？”

　　玛莎停下手里的活儿，瞪着玛丽。

　　“你自个儿不会穿衣服？”她惊讶地问。

　　“你是什么意思？我听不懂你的话！”

　　“噢，我忘了。我们这儿都说约克郡的方言，当然你是听不懂的。我是说，你自己不能穿衣服吗？”

　　“当然不能，总是用人给我穿的。”

　　“哈！我看你得学着自己穿衣服。我妈妈常说不管一个人多有钱，多尊贵，他都得能自己照顾自已。”

　　玛丽小姐有些生玛莎的气了。“我从印度来，我们那儿就不这样！你根本不知道印度，不知道用人，什么都不知道！你……你……”她没法表达清楚自己的意思。突然间觉得非常困惑，非常孤单，索性倒在床上大哭起来。

　　“好啦，好啦，别哭啦，”玛莎轻轻地说。“对不起，你是对的，我是不知道。请你别哭了，小姐。”

　　她的声音和善而友好，玛丽感觉好了一些，很快止住了哭泣。玛莎打扫完继续说着话，可玛丽却无聊地望着窗外，假装根本不去听她讲话。

　　“你看，小姐，我家有11个兄弟姐妹，家里没什么钱，他们又都吃得那么多！我妈妈说是荒原上清新的空气让他们这么饿的。我弟弟狄肯总是在荒原上，他今年12岁，有一匹马，偶尔他会骑一骑。”

　　“他的马是从哪儿来的？”玛丽问。她一直都想有只属于自己的动物，因此开始对狄肯有了一点兴趣。

　　“哦，那是匹野马，可狄肯是个好孩子，动物都喜欢他。这会儿你该吃早餐了，就放在桌子上呢。”

　　“我不想吃，”玛丽说，“我不饿。”

　　“什么！”玛莎叫道，“我的弟弟妹妹们可要不了5分钟就能把它们都吃光！”

　　“为什么？”玛丽冷冷地问。

　　“因为他们没有足够的东西吃，就因为这个，他们总是觉得饿。你有饭吃可是很幸运的，小姐。”玛丽什么也没说，不过她喝了点茶，还吃了点面包。

　　“好了，穿上外套跑到外面去玩儿吧，”玛莎说，“新鲜空气对你有好处。”

　　玛丽望了望窗外冷暗的灰色天空，问道，“这种天气干嘛要出去玩呢？”

　　“因为屋子里也没什么可玩的，对不对？”

　　玛丽觉得玛莎说得不错，又说，“可是谁跟我一块去呢？”

　　玛莎瞪着她，“没人会去。你得学会自己玩，狄肯一个人在荒原能玩上几个小时，他跟飞鸟、羊还有其他动物一起玩。”她把目光移开，停了一会儿，“也许我不该告诉你这个，不过——不过有一座被墙围住的花园是上了锁的。有10年没人进去过了，那是克莱文太太的花园，她死得那么突然，克莱文先生就把它锁上了，还把钥匙也埋了起来——哦，我得走了，我听见梅洛太太在摇铃叫我呢。”

　　玛丽下了楼在空旷的花园中闲逛。很多果园和菜园周围都有围墙，可没有锁上门的。她看见一个老人在其中一个菜园中挖地，不过他看上去脾气不好，也不和善，于是玛丽继续往前走。

　　“冬天一切看上去都那么丑！”她想。“可那座锁上的花园多神秘啊！舅舅为什么要把钥匙埋起来呢？要是他爱他妻子，他干嘛那么讨厌她的花园呢？也许我永远也不会知道了。我看就是看到他我也不会喜欢他，他也不会喜欢我的，所以我还是没法儿问他。”

　　正在这时，她看到一只知更鸟在一堵墙后面的树上冲她叫着，“我看那棵树就在秘密花园里！”她自己说着，“那儿另外有一堵墙，而且没有进去的路。”

　　她回到园丁挖土的地方，跟他搭话。一开始他的回答很不耐烦，可是突然那只知更鸟飞到他们身旁，老人开始有了笑容。这会儿他看上去像换了个人。玛丽想，人微笑的时候看着就要好许多。园丁温和地跟知更鸟说话，而那漂亮的小鸟就在他们旁边的地上跳来跳去。

　　“他是我的朋友，他是，”老人说，“园子里没有别的知更鸟，所以它觉得有点孤独。”老人说话带着浓重的约克郡口音，所以玛丽得非常仔细才能听得懂他的话。

　　她紧紧盯着那只知更鸟，说，“我也很孤独。”在这之前她从没有意识到这一点。

　　“你叫什么名字？”她问园丁。

　　“本·威瑟斯塔夫。我自己也很孤独，瞧，这只知更鸟是我唯一的朋友。”

　　“可我什么朋友都没有。”玛丽说。

　　约克郡人从来都是心直口快，本这个老头正是约克郡荒原上的人。“你和我，咱俩差不多。”他对玛丽说，“长得丑，脾气还不好。”

　　以前从来没有人对玛丽说过这些。她有些怀疑，“我真是像本一样又丑又不招人喜欢吗？”

　　突然，知更鸟飞到玛丽近旁的一棵树上，开始对着她唱歌。本大声笑起来。

　　“看哪！”他说，“他想做你的朋友呢！”

　　“哦！你愿意做我的朋友吗？”她小声地对知更鸟说。她的声音又轻又柔，本老头惊奇地望着她。

　　“你说的真好！”他说，“你听起来像狄肯，他在荒原上跟动物说话时就是这样。”

　　“你认识狄肯吗？”玛丽问道。但就在这时知更鸟飞走了。“哦，看哪，他飞到那个没有门的花园里去了！本，请问，我怎么才能进去呢？”

　　本收起了笑容，拾起他的铲子。“你不能进去，就是不行。那不是你的事儿，没人能找到那扇门。到别的地方去玩吧，好吗？我得接着干活儿了。”然后他就走开了，甚至连再见也没说。

　　以后的几天，玛丽几乎所有的时间都呆在花园里。荒原上吹来的新鲜空气让她感到饥饿，而她也变得强壮，变得健康了。一天，她又看见了知更鸟。他好像是在说，“早上好！多好玩啊！上这儿来！”一边沿着围墙跳着。玛丽一边跟在他旁边跳着，一边放声笑起来。“我知道秘密花园在这堵墙的那一边！”她兴奋地想着。“知更鸟就住在那儿！可是门在哪儿呢？”

　　那天晚饭后她让玛莎留下，在壁炉边上陪她说话。她们听到风在房子周围盘旋，而屋子里又暖和又舒适。玛丽的脑子里只有一个念头。

　　“给我讲讲那个秘密花园吧。”她说。

　　“嗯，那好吧，小姐，不过你知道我们是不许谈论它的。那是克莱文夫人最喜欢的花园，她和克莱文先生曾亲自打理它。他们时常在里面呆上几个小时，读书，谈心，他们非常幸福。他们拿一棵老树的枝当座椅。可是有一天，当克莱文夫人坐在上面时，树枝断了，她摔下来，伤得很重，第二天就死了。这就是为什么克莱文先生那么讨厌那个花园，而且不让任何人进去的原因。”

　　“太惨了！”玛丽说。“可怜的克莱文先生！”这是玛丽第一次为别人感到难过。

　　就在这时，当她倾听着外面的风时，她听到了另一个声音，就在这房子里面。

　　“你听到小孩在哭吗？”她问玛莎。

　　玛莎看上去很为难，“嗯——没有，”她答道，“不，我想——肯定是风。”

　　可是这时风把她们的门吹开了。她们真切地听到了哭声。

　　“我说的没错吧！”玛丽大声说。

　　玛莎立刻把门关上，还是说，“那就是风声。”可她的声音不像平时那么自然，所以玛丽根本不相信她。

　　第二天雨下得很大，玛丽没有出去，而是打定主意在房子里转转，看看梅洛太太讲过的那上百个房间。她整个上午都在出入那些昏暗寂静的房间，房间里满是笨重的家具和古旧的油画。她没看到一个用人，当她转身回房间吃午饭时，听到有人哭泣的声音。“听起来很像昨天晚上的哭声。”她想。就在这时管家梅洛太太出现了，手里拎着大串钥匙。

　　“你在这里干什么？”她生气地问道。

　　“我不知道该从哪儿出去，我听见有人在哭。”玛丽回答。

　　“你什么也没听见！现在就回你的房间去，你要是不呆在那儿，我就把你锁起来！”

　　玛丽不喜欢梅洛太太这种样子，“就是有人在哭嘛，我知道肯定有！”她自言自语道。“不过我会很快弄清楚是谁的！”她几乎开始喜欢在约克郡的生活了。