The secret garden — Chapter Seven The key to the garden

　　Suddenly Mary heard a bird singing. She looked at the ground mad there was the little robin! He was eating worms and seeds that had fallen on the ground, and pretending not to notice her. But Mary knew he had been following her. "You de, remember me!" Mary cried. "Oh, you are prettier than anything in the world!"

　　The robin sang and hopped along the ground. Mary laughed and talked back to him. The robin looked like a little person, with his tiny bright red chest and his bright eyes. He was beautiful. Mary forgot she had ever been angry or unhappy in her life.

　　As Mary stood there, talking to the pretty robin, she saw him hop over to a little place on the ground where the earth had been turned up. It was like a very small hill of dirt, under some bushes. A dog had been digging there, looking for a rabbit. Mary looked at this area, without knowing why. She saw something lying in the dirt that was a little bit shiny. She walked over to look at it. It was a large, old key, with a thick metal ring attached to it.

　　Mary picked it up and looked at it. She was amazed and a little bit frightened, although she didn"t know why. "Perhaps this key has been buried in the ground for ten years," she whispered. "Maybe it"s the key to the secret garden!"