我的秘密花园

Chapter Four: Dickson

One day Mary saw a boy sitting under a tree. He seemed about twelve years old. He played on a pipe. Two rabbits and a squirrel were near him.

They seemed to listen to the tune he played.

The boy got up carefully because he didn't want to frighten the animals.

He had blue eyes and a round, pink face. 'I'm Dickson,' he said to Mary. 'I've brought the garden tools and some flower seeds.'

Dickson had a kind and gentle smile and Mary felt that she knew him quite well. She felt that if the wild animals could trust him, then she could trust him, too.

'Do you know about the secret garden?' asked Mary.

'I've heard about it,' Dickson answered. 'But I don't know where it is.'

'Come with me,' Mary said.

Mary was careful that no one saw them, and then she took Dickson through the door in the wall. Dickson was very surprised. 'This is a strange,

pretty place,' he said. 'It's like being in a dream.'

Dickson looked around at all the plants and trees which Mary thought were dead. 'All of these will grow,' he said. 'There'll be flowers and roses everywhere in a few weeks.'

Dickson and Mary worked together to clear away the weeds and dead wood. Mary felt that she had never known anyone like Dickson. She tried to speak in a warm, friendly voice, like Dickson's and Martha's.

'Do you like me?' she asked.

'Yes, I do,' he laughed. 'The robin likes you, too.'

That evening, after dinner, Mrs Medlock took Mary to see Mr Craven.

'He's going abroad tomorrow, and he wants to see you first,' she said.

Mary felt a little afraid. She felt sure that she would not like Mr Craven and that he would not like her. But she found that Mr Craven wasn't really frightening, and that his back wasn't really crooked. His face was handsome , but he looked sad and worried. He asked Mary if there was anything that she would like. Mary asked for a piece of garden in which to grow her own flowers.

'Of course,' said her uncle. 'You may take any bit that is not used.' Mary was delighted . Now she could have the secret garden for herself!

That same night, Mary was awakened by the wind roaring around the house. She couldn't sleep, and as she lay in bed, she heard the crying noise again.

'That's not the wind,' she thought. 'I'm going to find out where that noise is coming from.'

Mary took a candle to light her way along the dark corridors.

Suddenly, she noticed a light from under one of the doors. The crying sound came from behind the door, and Mary knew that it was a child. She gently opened the door, and saw that a young boy lay on the bed, crying.

When the boy saw Mary, he stopped crying at once. 'Are you a ghost?' he asked. He looked very frightened.

'No, I'm Mary Lennox,' she answered. 'Who are you?'

Chapter Five: Colin

'I'm Colin, Mr Craven's son,' said the boy.

'Then I must be your cousin,' Mary said. 'Don't you know that I came to live here?'

'No,' he answered. 'No one told me.'

'Why?' asked Mary.

'Because I am afraid that people will see me. I won't let people see me and talk about me.'

'Why?' asked Mary. She felt more puzzled with each moment that passed. 'Because I'm always ill, and I must stay in bed. The servants are not allowed to speak about me. My father won't let anyone mention me. He's afraid I'll grow up to have a crooked back. My father hates me because my mother died when I was born.'

'Have you always been here?' asked Mary.

'Nearly always,' said Colin. 'If I go out, people stare at me, and I hate it.'

'If you don't like people to see you,' Mary said, 'shall I go away?'

'Oh, no!' Colin replied quickly. 'You must stay and talk to me.'

Mary put her candle down on a table near the bed and sat on a chair. They talked for a long time. Colin wanted to know all about Mary and about her life at Misselthwaite. He told her how unhappy and lonely he was, even though he was given anything that he wanted.

'Everyone must do as I say,' Colin said. 'I will be ill if they don't.'

'Do you think you will get well?' Mary asked.

'I don't suppose I will,' Colin answered. 'No one believes I will live until I

grow up. Let's talk about something else. How old are you?'

'I'm ten, like you,' Mary said.

'How do you know I'm ten?' he asked.

'Because when you were born, your father locked the garden door and buried the key. It's been locked for ten years,' Mary answered.

'What garden?' Colin asked.

'It was the garden Mr Craven hates,' said Mary, nervously . 'He locked the door. No one knew where he buried the key.'

'What's the garden like?' Colin persisted.

'It's been locked for ten years,' Mary said, carefully. She did not want him to know that she had found it. But it was too late to be careful. Colin was very excited at the idea of a hidden garden.

'I will make them open the door,' he said.

'Oh, no!' cried Mary. 'Let's keep it a secret. If they open the door, it will never be a secret again. If we find the door one day, we can go inside and no one will know about it except us.'

'I would like that,' said Colin. 'I've never had a secret before.'

He was tired from talking, and as he fell asleep, Mary went quietly away.

小气财神

Chapter Five: The Last of the Spirits

Another phantom was coming towards him. It was tall and silent. Scrooge couldn't see its face or its body because it was wearing long, black clothes and a black hood . There was something mysterious about it. When it came near him, Scrooge was very frightened. It didn't speak or move.

'Are you the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come ?' he asked.

The Spirit didn't answer, but its long, white hand came out from the black clothes and pointed down.

'Are you going to show me things from the future?' Scrooge asked.

His legs were trembling a lot and so he couldn't follow the Ghost when it moved away. It stopped and waited for him. He couldn't see its eyes but he felt that they were looking at him. This Ghost was the most frightening of the three.

'Ghost of the Future!' he cried. 'I'm very frightened of you! But I know that you want to help me so I'll go with you. Please speak to me!'

It made no reply. Its long hand pointed ahead .

'All right, I'll come,' said Scrooge.

So the Ghost carried him to the centre of London. At a place called the Exchange he saw a lot of businessmen. Their pockets were full of money.

They were walking around and talking to each other. They often jingled the money in their pockets and looked at their watches. Scrooge knew many of them. When the Ghost stopped near three men, he could hear their conversation.

'No, I don't know much,' said one very fat man. 'I only know he's dead.'

'When did he die?' another man asked. 'Last night, I think.'

'I thought he would never die. Was he very ill?'

'God knows .'

'What about his money?' asked a man with a very red face.

'I don't know,' replied the fat man. 'He hasn't left it to me.'

Everybody laughed.

'The funeral will be very cheap because only a few people will go,' the fat man continued.

'I'll go if there's a big lunch,' the red-faced man said.

Another laugh. And then the men went away. Scrooge looked at the Ghost.

'Who are they talking about?' he asked.

But the Ghost said nothing. It went into the street and showed Scrooge two men. He knew them. They were rich and important businessmen. First they said hallo. Then one of them said:

'Well, he's finally dead.'

'Yes, I've heard,' answered his companion. 'Cold, isn't it?'

'Very cold. But it's the right weather for Christmas. Would you like to come ice-skating?'

'No, thank you. I'm too busy. Good morning.'

That was the end of their conversation. Scrooge was surprised. Who were they talking about? He couldn't think of anybody. Old Marley died seven years ago and this Ghost was showing him the future. He decided to wait ① God knows：我不知道。30 / 38

and see. He looked around but couldn't see himself anywhere. Wasn't he there in the future? Silent and black, the Ghost stood near him. He knew that it was watching him and he trembled.

They went into a poor part of the city where the streets were dirty and narrow. There were dark shops and houses, and the people looked ugly and miserable . A lot of them were drunk . Rubbish was everywhere, and there were bad smells. The quarter was full of dangerous criminals.

Scrooge followed the Ghost into a small, dark shop. It was full of dirty, old things—bottles, clothes, keys, chains. A man of about seventy with grey hair sat near a fire and smoked his pipe. Then a woman came in with a big, heavy box in her arms. She put it on the floor and sat down.

'Open it, Old Joe,' she said, 'and give me the money.'

The man opened the box. 'What are these?' he said. 'Bed-curtains! Did you take them while he was in bed?'

'Yes. Why not? There was nobody with him. There are blankets too.'

'His blankets ?'

'Of course! He won't need them where he's going. Here's a beautiful,expensive shirt too. He was wearing it for his funeral. I thought, "What a pity! This is a very fine shirt but nobody will wear it again." So, I took it off him.'

'You did well, madam,' laughed Old Joe. 'You're a clever woman and you'll make a fortune one day.'

'I must think of myself, like him. He was a selfish old miser. I cleaned his rooms and his clothes. I worked very hard for him but he never gave me anything. I wanted to take more things but his housekeeper took them before me.'

Just then the housekeeper came in. She had a large bag full of sheets ,

towels, clothes, and shoes.

'Now look in my bag, Old Joe,' she said, 'and tell me how much you'll give me.'

Old Joe counted up the money for each thing in the box and the bag and wrote some numbers on the wall.

'That's how much I'll give you,' he said. 'And no more. I always give too much and so I'm poor.' Then he opened a dirty bag and put the money on the floor. 'When he was alive, he frightened people and they hated him. So we get the profits now that he's dead. Ha, ha, ha!'

Scrooge watched this in horror. 'Spirit! I see and I understand. This could happen to me. Oh God, what's this now?'

The scene changed and he was near a bed. It had no blankets or curtains.

There was only an old sheet with something under it — the body of a dead man. The Ghost pointed at the head, but Scrooge couldn't pull down the sheet and look at the dead man's face. He was shaking with terror. The body was cold, rigid, and alone in that dark room. 'How terrible!' thought Scrooge.

'Not a man, woman or child to say that he was kind to them in life and to remember him with love!' Then he heard the sound of rats behind the walls.

Were they waiting, were they going to jump on the bed and . ?

'Spirit!' he said. 'What a horrible place! I'll always remember this scene.

Can we go now?'

But the Ghost still pointed at the dead man's head.

'I understand,' Scrooge said. 'But I can't do it. I ask you to show me somebody who is sorry that this man is dead.'

The Ghost took him to Bob Cratchit's house. The mother and children were sitting round the fire. They were quiet, very quiet. The little Cratchits sat like statues in a corner. Peter was reading.

'When is Father coming?' he asked. 'He's late. But I think he walks slower now.'

'I remember when he walked very fast with — with Tiny Tim on his shoulder,' said the mother. 'But Tiny Tim was very light — and his father loved him so much. Ah, there's your father at the door!'

Bob came in. He drank some tea while the two little Cratchits put their faces close to his, saying, 'Don't be sad, Father!'

So Bob tried to be cheerful; but suddenly he cried, 'My little child! My little boy!'

He went to a room upstairs. It looked as bright and happy as Christmas. He sat on a chair next to the bed. There was a little child on it. It was Tiny Tim,

and he wasn't sleeping. He was dead. Bob kissed the little face; then he went downstairs.

'I met Mr Scrooge's nephew in the street,' he told the family.

'He asked me why I was so sad. When I told him, he said he was very sorry and wanted to help us. I think he's going to find a job for Peter.'

'He's a very good man,' said Mrs Cratchit.

'Yes. Children, when you all leave home in a few years, you won't forget Tiny Tim, will you?'

'Never, Father!' they all cried.

'Thank you. I feel happier now,' Bob said.

Scrooge said to the Ghost, 'Oh, please tell me who that dead man was!'

The Ghost took him near his office, but it didn't stop.

'Wait!' said Scrooge. 'My office is in that house. Let me go and see what I'll be in the future.'

The Ghost continued walking. Scrooge ran to the window of his office and looked in. He saw an office, but it wasn't his. Everything was different,including the man at the desk. He followed the Ghost again. It stopped at the gate of a cemetery.

'Am I going to learn the dead man's name now?' asked Scrooge.

The Spirit led him to a grave.He went near it, trembling.

'Before I look at the name,' he said, 'answer me one question. Is it really necessary for these things to happen or are they only possible?'

The Ghost didn't answer.

'I mean, if men change their lives and become better, will the future change too? Is this what you want to tell me?'

The Ghost was silent. Scrooge went slowly towards the grave, still trembling. He read the name on the gravestone: EBENEZER SCROOGE.

He fell on his knees. I was the dead man in the bed! Oh, Spirit! Oh no, no!

Listen, I've changed. I won't be the same man as before. Tell me there is still hope — please! Tell me that if I change my life, the things that you have shown me will be different!'

The Spirit's hand trembled.

'I will celebrate Christmas with all my heart!' Scrooge continued. 'And I'll always try to have the Christmas spirit—every day of the year! I will live in the past, the present and the future. I will not forget the lessons that they teach.34 / 38

Oh, tell me that I can clean the name off this stone!'

Scrooge held up his hands to the Ghost but suddenly it vanished. There was only a bed—curtain in front of his eyes.35 / 38

Chapter Six: 'A Merry Christmas, Mr Scrooge!'

The bed was his, the room was his, and best of all, he still had time to be a better man. He jumped out of bed.

'I will live with the spirits of the past, present and future in me!' he said, on his knees and with tears in his eyes. 'Thank you, Jacob Marley! God bless Christmas!'

Then he put on his clothes.

'My clothes are here: I am here. But the future is not here yet and I can change it!' he said, laughing and crying at the same time. 'What shall I do first? Oh, I feel as light as a feather! I'm as happy as an angel! A Merry Christmas to everybody! A Happy New Year to all the world!'

He danced in the sitting-room and looked around.

'There's the door where Jacob Marley came in. There's the place where the Ghost of Christmas Present sat. There's the window where I saw the ghosts in the air, It's all right, it's all true, it all happened!'

And he laughed and laughed, Then the church bells rang —ding, dong,

ding, dong! It was a glorious sound! He opened the window and put out his head, No fog, It was a bright, sunny day, and the air was cold and sweet.

'What's today?' Scrooge shouted to a boy in the street.

'Eh?' The boy looked very surprised.

'What's today, my boy?'

'It's Christmas Day.'

'Christmas Day!' Scrooge said happily to himself. 'So the Spirits did ① glorious：美妙的。36 / 38

everything in one night. Hey, boy! Do you know the butcher's shop in the next street?'

'Of course!'

'You're an intelligent boy! Do you know if they've sold that big turkey in the window?'

'You mean the one as big as me?'

'What a nice boy!' said Scrooge. 'Yes, that one.'

'No. It's still there.'

'Is it? Oh, good! Go and buy it for me, will you? Tell them to bring it here.

If you come back in five minutes, I'll give you half-a-crown.'

The boy ran as fast as possible to the shop.

'I'll send it to Bob Cratchit,' Scrooge said. 'Ha, ha! He won't know who sent it!'

And he wrote Bob's address on a piece of paper. When the butcher's man arrived with the enormous turkey, Scrooge told him to call a cab . He paid for the turkey and the cab, and he gave the boy half-a-crown. He was laughing all the time. Then he put on his coat and walked along the street.

He looked at all the people with a happy smile.

'Good morning!' people said to him. 'A Merry Christmas to you!'

And Scrooge answered in the same way.

'Ah, there are the two gentlemen who were asking for money in my office yesterday,' he said. 'How do you do, my dear sirs! A Merry Christmas to you!'

'Mr Scrooge?' asked one of them.

'Yes. That's my name and perhaps you don't like me. Please excuse me for yesterday. Listen... '

Scrooge spoke quietly in the man's ear.

'Are you serious, Mr Scrooge?' The man was very surprised. 'Of course.

Can you do me that favour?'

'My dear Scrooge, that's very generous! I don't know what to say to thank you.'

'Don't say anything. Come and see me tomorrow. I'll give it to you then.

All right?'

Then Scrooge continued walking. He watched the people, he kissed little children, he played with some dogs, he looked at everything with love, and he felt very happy.

In the afternoon he went to his nephew's house. Everybody was in the dining-room.

'Fred!' said Scrooge at the door.

'My God! Who's that?' cried Fred.

'It's your Uncle Scrooge. I have come to dinner. Can I come in, Fred?'

'Come in? Of course, uncle! You're very welcome.'

Everybody was happy to see Scrooge and he was happy to see them. They ate a wonderful dinner, and then they played wonderful games and had a wonderful time!

Scrooge was in his office early the next morning. He was waiting for Bob Cratchit. Of course, he knew Bob would be late. Nine o'clock and no Bob. A quarter past nine. No Bob. At nine-twenty Bob ran in. He went into his room immediately and started to work fast.

'Hallo!' Scrooge said in his old angry voice. 'You're late!'

'I'm very sorry, sir!' Bob answered.

'Are you? Come here, Cratchit.''It's only once a year, sir,' said poor Bob. 'It won't happen again.'

'Well, my friend, I hope not,' Scrooge said with a big smile. 'Because I'm going to give you a bigger salary!'

Bob trembled. He couldn't believe his ears.

'A merry Christmas, Bob!' said Scrooge. 'This will be your happiest Christmas! Yes, I'm going to give you a lot more money and I'm going to help your poor family. Come on, make a very big fire and let's have a drink,

Bob Cratchit!'

Scrooge gave Bob more money, helped his family and did much more.

Tiny Tim did NOT die and Scrooge was a second father to him. He became a good friend, a good manager and a good man. A few people laughed at him, of course, but he knew that some people always laugh at anything new,

strange, and good. He often laughed now, and that was the most important thing to him. He didn't see the Spirits again, and he celebrated every Christmas with all his heart. And, like Tiny Tim, he said, 'God bless everyone!'