9 Such a Strange Place

CHAPTER 9 Such a Strange Place The garden was the most Mysterious place anyone could imagine. Its walls were covered with bare branches. Wintry brown grass covered the ground. There were clumps of bare bushes and little trees. Mary knew that they were rose plants like she had seen in India. There were other kinds of trees. The climbing rose canes hung down like curtains, and the vines had grown together, making

这花园是任何人所能想象到的最神秘的地方。 墙上挂满了光秃秃的树枝。 冬天的棕色草覆盖了地面。 那里有一丛丛光秃秃的灌木和小树。 玛丽知道那是玫瑰，就像她在印度看到的那样。 还有其他种类的树。 攀缘的玫瑰藤蔓像窗帘一样垂下来，藤蔓长在一起，形成了

little bridges between the trees. The tangle of branches and vines made the garden seem so mysterious. It was very quiet. Even the robin in the treetop didn't move. In a whisper she said, "I am the first person to speak in this place in ten years!" She walked over the brown grass. Stopping under one of the vine bridges, she wondered if they were all quite dead. She hoped not. Even so, she was inside the garden: a world of her own at last. The sun was shining, and the sky looked even bluer here. The robin flitted from one tree to the next. He chirped busily, telling her about the garden. She forgot to feel lonely. She kept thinking how beautiful it would be if the garden came alive. She began to skip around the garden, taking it all in. There were little paths in the

树间的小桥。 纠结的树枝和藤蔓使花园显得那么神秘。 非常安静。就连树梢上的知更鸟也一动不动。 她低声说：“我是十年来第一个在这个地方讲话的人！”她走过棕色的草地。 她在一座藤桥下停了下来，想知道他们是不是都死了。 她希望不会。即便如此，她还是在花园里：终于有了自己的世界。 阳光灿烂，这里的天空看起来更蓝了。 知更鸟从一棵树飞到另一棵树。 他忙着叽叽喳喳地给她讲花园的事。 她忘记了孤独。 她一直在想，如果花园活了起来，该有多漂亮啊。 她开始在花园里跳来跳去，尽情欣赏。 树林里有几条小路

grass, stone benches, and moss-covered urns. Then she noticed a flowerbed full of dried grass with little green shoots sticking out of the ground. She remembered what Ben had told her. "There are things growing here!" she exclaimed. "It isn't quite dead!" She looked about carefully. She found many more pale green shoots among the old beds. Although she had never been a gardener, she thought she could help tend the little plants. She found a sharp stick. With great care, she dug away the grass around a few plants. She dug up some little white things that looked like onions and then replanted them. When she'd cleared a space, she said, "Now the plants can breathe." She decided to do more each day until she had done them

草地、石凳和长满青苔的骨灰盒。 然后，她注意到一个花坛，里面长满了干草，地上露出了绿色的小芽。 她想起了本告诉她的话。 “这儿有东西在生长！”她叫道。 “它还没完全死呢！”她仔细地环顾四周。 她在旧床间发现了更多的嫩绿嫩芽。 虽然她从来没有当过园丁，但她认为她可以帮助照顾这些小植物。 她找到了一根锋利的棍子。她小心翼翼地挖掉了几株植物周围的草。 她挖出一些看起来像洋葱的白色小东西，然后重新种植。 清理完一块空地后，她说：“现在植物可以呼吸了。” 她决定每天多做一点，直到做完为止

all. Mary almost forgot about lunch and had to run back to the house. Martha was very surprised to see Mary's rosy cheeks and bright eyes. She was even more surprised when Mary asked for double helpings of meat and rice pudding. While eating, Mary asked, "What are those white things in the ground that look like onions?" "They're bulbs," Martha said. "The little ones are snowdrops and crocuses. The bigger ones are daffodils, and the biggest are lilies and irises. Those flowers live a long time— they spread out and have little ones. Dickon planted bulbs all around our cottage." "Does Dickon know about flowers?" Mary asked. "Our Dickon can make flowers grow on a stonewall," Martha said with pride. "Mother

所有人。玛丽差点忘了午饭，只好跑回了家。 玛莎看到玛丽红润的脸颊和明亮的眼睛，感到非常惊讶。 更让她吃惊的是，玛丽要了两份肉和米饭布丁。 吃的时候，玛丽问：“地上那些看起来像洋葱的白色东西是什么？”“它们是球茎，”玛莎说。 “小的是雪花莲和番红花。 较大的是水仙花，最大的是百合和鸢尾。 那些花寿命很长——它们伸展开来，长出小花朵。 狄肯在我们的小屋周围种了很多球茎。” “狄肯知道花的事吗？”玛丽问道。 “我们的狄肯能让花长在石墙上。”玛莎自豪地说。 “妈妈

says he just whispers things out of the ground." Mary finished her pudding and went to sit by the fireplace. "I wish I had a little spade," she said. "Whatever for?" Martha asked. Mary didn't want to give away her secret. If Mr. Craven found out, she feared, he might lock up the garden forever. After a minute she said, "I don't have much to do here. I only have you and Ben Weatherstaff to talk to, and you're both so busy. If I had a spade and some seeds, I could make a little garden." Martha's face lit up. "Why, that's what Mother said! You could grow parsley and radishes." "Your mother knows so many things, doesn't she?" Mary said. "She says that a mother who raises twelve

他说他只会在地里低声说话。” 玛丽吃完布丁，走到壁炉旁坐下。 “我希望我有一把小铲子，”她说。 “什么?”玛莎问。 玛丽不想泄露她的秘密。 她担心，如果克雷文先生发现了，他可能会把花园永远锁起来。 过了一会儿，她说：“我在这儿没什么事要做。 我只能跟你和本·威瑟斯塔夫说话，而你们俩都这么忙。 如果我有一把铲子和一些种子，我就能造一个小花园。” 玛莎的脸亮了起来。“啊，妈妈就是这么说的！”你可以种欧芹和萝卜。” “你妈妈知道这么多事情，不是吗？”玛丽说。 “她说一个养了十二个孩子的母亲

children learns more than the ABCs," Martha chuckled. "Now, I've seen little garden sets at the shop in Thwaite. There's a spade, a rake, and a fork that cost but two shillings." "I have that!" Mary almost shouted. "Mrs. Medlock gives me a shilling every week." Martha said, "If we write Dickon a letter, he can buy the tools. And some flower seeds, too. Can you print?" Mary nodded eagerly. "I have some chores to do for Mrs. Medlock," Martha said, "but I'll come back as soon as I can with some paper and a pen and ink." So Mary didn't get to go back to the garden that day. When Martha returned much later, together they printed a nice letter to Dickon and Martha signed it. "Put your money in the envelope. Dickon will buy your tools, and he can bring them to

孩子们学到的不仅仅是abc，”玛莎轻声笑着说。 “现在，我在斯韦特的商店里看到了小花园布景。 一把铁锹、一把耙子和一把叉子只要两先令。” “我有！”玛丽几乎喊了出来。 “梅德洛克太太每星期给我一先令。” 玛莎说：“如果我们给狄肯写封信，他就可以买工具了。 还有一些花籽。 你会打印吗？”玛丽急切地点点头。 “我要为梅德洛克太太做些家务，”玛莎说，“但我会尽快带些纸、笔和墨水回来的。” 所以玛丽那天没能回到花园。 很久以后玛莎回来了，他们一起印了一封漂亮的信给狄肯，玛莎签了名。 “把钱放进信封里。 狄肯会买你的工具，他会把它们带来