"It must be very early," she said. "The little
clouds are all pink and I've never seen the sky
look like this. No one is up. I don't even hear
the stable boys."

A sudden thought made her scramble to her
feet.

"I can't wait! I am going to see the garden!"

She had learned to dress herself by this time
and she put on her clothes in five minutes. She
knew a small side door which she could unbolt herself
and she flew down-stairs in her stocking feet
and put on her shoes in the hall. She unchained
and unbolted and unlocked and when the door was
open she sprang across the step with one bound,
and there she was standing on the grass, which
seemed to have turned green, and with the sun
pouring down on her and warm sweet wafts about
her and the fluting and twittering and singing coming
from every bush and tree. She clasped her
hands for pure joy and looked up in the sky and
it was so blue and pink and pearly and white and
flooded with springtime light that she felt as if
she must flute and sing aloud herself and knew that
thrushes and robins and skylarks could not possibly
help it. She ran around the shrubs and paths
toward the secret garden.

"It is all different already," she said. "The
grass is greener and things are sticking up

[[194]]

p193 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p194w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p195

v?