Sample
from

The Secret Garden



Oxford Progressive English Readers
Grade 1


retold by

Kieran McGovern

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Mary goes to England


There was no one left to look after Mary in India, so she was sent to live with her uncle in England. The wife of a soldier travelled with her on the long journey across the sea.

'Where am I going?' Mary asked.

'To live with your uncle, Mr Archibald Craven,' said the woman kindly. 'They say he lives in a big house called Misselthwaite Manor. I'm sure you'll like it there.'

At the railway station in London, one of the servants from Misselthwaite Manor came to meet Mary. Her name was Mrs Medlock. She was a fat woman with very red cheeks and black eyes. She wore a purple dress and a black hat with purple flowers. Mary did not like her, but she almost never liked anyone. And it was clear that Mrs Medlock did not like Mary.

'What an ugly little girl she is!' she said to the soldier's wife. 'And we heard that her mother was beautiful.'

'Perhaps she will improve as she grows older,' said the woman. 'She does look so pale and thin and she never smiles. But children can change so much.'

Mrs Medlock looked again at Mary. The little girl had a thin face and a thin little body. Even her hair was thin and yellow.

'She will have to change a lot,' she answered.

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More of this story in

The Secret Garden



Oxford Progressive English Readers
Grade 1
ISBN 0 19 586634 7

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This text is copyright Oxford University Press 1994.

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If you can read this sample easily, you can enjoy any Oxford Progressive English Reader in Grade1.

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