October 6, 2021 • 10 mins
Welcome to Bite at a Time Books where we read you your favorite classics, one bite at a time. Join Host Bree Carlile as she reads the first chapter of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:01):
Welcome to bite at a time books wherewe've read you your favorite classics.
One bite at a time.
My name is Bree Carlile and I love toread and wanted to share my passion
with listeners like you today, wewill be reading the secret garden by
Frances Hodgson Burnett chapter one.
There's no one left.
(00:22):
When Mary Lennox was sent to Misslethwaitemanner to live with her uncle.
Everybody said she was the mostdisagreeable looking child ever.
It was true too.
She had a little thin face anda little thin body thin light
hair and a sour expression.
Her hair was yellow and her facewas yellow because she'd been
born in India and had alwaysbeen ill in one way or another.
(00:44):
Her father had held a positionunder the English government and had
always been busy and ill himself.
And her mother had been a greatbeauty who cared only to go to
parties and amuse herself with gay.
She had not wanted a little girl at all.
And when Mary was born, she handed herover to the care of an Aja who was made
to understand that if she wished to pleasethe memes, the heap, she must keep the
(01:06):
child out of sight as much as possible.
So when she was a sickly, fretful, uglylittle baby, she was kept out of the way.
And when she became a sickly,fretful, toddling thing,
she was kept out of the way.
All.
She never remembered seeing familiarlyanything, but the dark faces of her
AIA and the other native servants.
(01:26):
And as they always obeyed her andgave her her own way and everything,
because the memes, he would be angryif she was disturbed by her crying.
By the time she was six years old,she was as tyrannical and selfish.
A little pig has ever lived the youngEnglish governess who came to teach her
to read and write disliked her so muchthat she gave up her place in three.
(01:47):
And when other governesses came totry to fill it, they always went away
in a shorter time than the first one.
So if Mary had not chosen to reallywant to know, to read books, she would
never have learned her letters at all.
One frightfully hot morning when she wasabout nine years old, she awakened feeling
very cross and she became crosser still.
When she saw that the servant whostood by her bedside was not her Ayah.
(02:10):
Why did you come?
She said to the strange woman, Iwill not let you stay, send my at.
The woman looked frightened, but she onlystammered that the AIA could not come.
And when Mary threw herself into a passionand beat and kicked her, she looked only
more frightened and repeated that it wasnot possible for the AIA to come to Missy.
So he.
(02:31):
There was something mysteriousin the air that morning, nothing
was stunned in its regular order.
And several of the nativeservants seemed missing.
Well, those who Mary saw slunk orhurried about with ashy and scared
faces, but no one would tell heranything and her eyes did not come.
She was actually left alone as the morningwent on and it last, she wandered out
(02:52):
into the garden and began to play byherself under a tree near the Vernon.
She pretended that she was making a flowerbed and she stuck big Scarlet hibiscus
blossoms into little heaps of earth allthe time, growing more and more angry
and muttering to herself, the things shewould say and the name she would call
Sadie when she returned pig pig, daughterof pigs, she said, because to call a
(03:15):
native, a pig is the worst insult of all.
She was grinding her teeth andsaying this over and over again.
When she heard her mothercome out on the veranda with.
She was with a fair youngman and they stood talking
together in low, strange voices.
Mary knew the fair youngman who looked like a boy.
She had heard that he was a veryyoung officer who had just come from
(03:36):
England, the child stared at him,but she stared most at her mother.
She always did this when she had achance to see her because the mem
Sahib, Mary used to call her thatoften her than anything else was
such a tall, slim, pretty personand wore such lovely clothes.
Her hair was like curly silk.
And she had a delicate little nose,which seemed to be disdaining things.
(03:58):
And she had large laughing eyes.
All her clothes were thin and floating.
And Mary said they were full of lace.
They looked fuller of lacethan ever this morning, but her
eyes were not laughing at all.
They were large and scaredand lifted imploringly to
the fair boy officer's face.
Is it so very bad.
Oh, is it Mary heard her.
(04:19):
Awfully the young man answeredin a trembling voice awfully Mrs.
Lennox, you ought to have goneto the Hills two weeks ago.
The mimosa he brung her hands.
Oh, I know.
I thought she cried.
I only stayed to go tothat silly dinner party.
What a fool.
I was at that very moment, sucha loud sound of whaling broke out
(04:39):
from the servant's quarters thatshe clutched the young man's arm.
And Mary stood shivering from head.
The whaling grew Wilder and Wilder.
What is it?
What is it?
Mrs.
Lennox, gasped.
Someone has died.
Answered the boy officer.
You did not say it had brokenout among your servants.
I did not know the mem Sahibcried come with me, come with me.
(05:01):
And she turned and ran into the house.
After that appalling things happenedin the mysteriousness of the morning
was explained to Mary the colorhad broken out in its most fatal
form and people were dying like.
The idea had been taken ill in the night.
And it was because she had just died thatthe servants had wailed in the huts before
(05:21):
the next day three other servants weredead and others had run away in terror.
There was panic on every side and dyingpeople in all the bungalows during
the confusion and bewilderment of thesecond day, Mary hit herself in the
nursery and was forgotten by everyone.
Nobody thought of her.
Nobody wanted her and strange thingshappened of which she knew nothing.
(05:42):
Mary alternately cried andslept through the hours.
She only knew that peoplewere ill and that she heard
mysterious and frightening sounds.
Once she crept into the dining roomand found it empty though, a partly
finished meal was on the tableand chairs and plates looked as if
they'd been hastily pushed back.
When the diners rose suddenly, forsome reason, the child ate some
(06:02):
fruit and biscuits and being thirsty.
She drank a glass of wine,which stood, nearly filled.
It was sweet and shedid not know how strong.
Very soon, it made her intensely drowsyand she went back to her nursery and
shut herself in again, frightened by cry.
She heard in the huts and by thehurrying sound of feet, the wine
made her so sleepy that she couldscarcely keep her eyes open.
(06:24):
And she laid down on her bed andknew nothing more for a long time.
Many things happened during thehours in which she slept so heavily,
but she was not disturbed by thewhales and the sound of things being
carried in and out of the bungalow.
When she awakened, shelay and stared at the.
The house was perfectly still.
She had never known it to be sosilent before she heard neither
(06:46):
voices nor footsteps and wonderedif everybody had got well of the
cholera and all the trouble was over.
She wondered also who would takecare of her now, her Iowa's dead.
There would be a new idea.
And perhaps she wouldknow some new stories.
Mary had been rathertired of the old ones.
She did not cry becauseher nurse had died.
She was not an affectionate childand had never cared much for any.
(07:09):
The noise and hurrying about and wailingover the cholera had frightened her.
And she had been angry because no oneseemed to remember that she was alive.
Everyone was too panic strickento think of a little girl.
No one was fond of whenpeople had the cholera.
It seemed that they rememberednothing but themselves.
But if everyone had got well again,surely someone would remember and
come to look for her, but no onecame and as she lay waiting, the
(07:34):
house seemed to grow more and more.
She heard somethingrustling on the matting.
And when she looked down, she sawa little snake gliding along and
watching her eyes like jewels.
She was not frightened becausehe was a harmless little
thing who would not hurt her.
And he seemed in a hurryto get out of the room.
He slipped under the doors.
She watched him how queer and quiet it is.
(07:55):
She said, it sounds as if there wereno one in the bungalow, but me and
the snake almost the next minute,she heard footsteps in the compound.
And then on the Vernon.
They were men's footsteps.
And the men entered the bungalowand talked in low voices.
No one went to meet or speakto them and they seem to open
doors and look into rooms.
What desolation?
She heard one voice saythat pretty pretty woman.
(08:18):
I suppose the child too.
I heard there was a child though.
No one ever saw her.
Mary was standing in the middle ofthe nursery when they opened the door.
A few minutes later, she looked an uglycross little thing and was frowning
because she was beginning to be hungryand feel disgracefully Nicholas.
The first man who camein was a large officer.
She had once seen talking to her father.
(08:40):
He looked tired and troubled, butwhen he saw her, he was so startled
that he almost jumped back Barney.
He cried, there's a child here,her child alone in a place like
this mercy on us, who is she?
I am Mary Linux.
The little girl saiddrawing herself up stiffly.
She thought the man was very rude tocall her father's bungalow a place like.
(09:02):
I fell asleep when everyone had thecholera and I've only just awakened.
Why does nobody come?
It is the child.
No one ever saw exclaimed.
The man turning to his companions.
She has actually been forgotten.
Why was I forgotten?
Mary said stamping her foot.
Why does nobody come?
The young man whose name was Barneylooked at her, very sadly, Mary even
(09:25):
thought she saw him wink his eyes as ifto wink tears away, whore little kid.
He said there is nobody left to come.
It was in that strange and sudden waythat Mary found out that she had neither
father nor mother left, that they haddied had been carried away in the night.
And that the few native servants whohad not died also had left the house
as quickly as they could get out of it.
(09:46):
None of them even rememberingthat there was a Missie Sahib.
That was why the place was so quiet.
It was true that there wasno one in the bungalow, but
herself and the little rustling.
So.
Thank you for joining bite at a timebooks today, while we read a bite
of one of your favorite classics.
If you enjoyed today's bite,please drop us a review on
(10:06):
your favorite podcast platform.
Also be sure to check us on our website,www.biteatatimebooks.com or all the
social media at byte at a time books.
Again, my name is Bree Carlyle, and Ihope you come back tomorrow while we
take the next bite of the secret garden.
Welcome to bite at a time books wherewe've read you your favorite classics.
One bite at a time.
My name is Bree Carlile and I love toread and wanted to share my passion
with listeners like you today, wewill be reading the secret garden by
Frances Hodgson Burnett chapter one.
There's no one left.
(00:22):
When Mary Lennox was sent to Misslethwaitemanner to live with her uncle.
Everybody said she was the mostdisagreeable looking child ever.
It was true too.
She had a little thin face anda little thin body thin light
hair and a sour expression.
Her hair was yellow and her facewas yellow because she'd been
born in India and had alwaysbeen ill in one way or another.
(00:44):
Her father had held a positionunder the English government and had
always been busy and ill himself.
And her mother had been a greatbeauty who cared only to go to
parties and amuse herself with gay.
She had not wanted a little girl at all.
And when Mary was born, she handed herover to the care of an Aja who was made
to understand that if she wished to pleasethe memes, the heap, she must keep the
(01:06):
child out of sight as much as possible.
So when she was a sickly, fretful, uglylittle baby, she was kept out of the way.
And when she became a sickly,fretful, toddling thing,
she was kept out of the way.
All.
She never remembered seeing familiarlyanything, but the dark faces of her
AIA and the other native servants.
(01:26):
And as they always obeyed her andgave her her own way and everything,
because the memes, he would be angryif she was disturbed by her crying.
By the time she was six years old,she was as tyrannical and selfish.
A little pig has ever lived the youngEnglish governess who came to teach her
to read and write disliked her so muchthat she gave up her place in three.
(01:47):
And when other governesses came totry to fill it, they always went away
in a shorter time than the first one.
So if Mary had not chosen to reallywant to know, to read books, she would
never have learned her letters at all.
One frightfully hot morning when she wasabout nine years old, she awakened feeling
very cross and she became crosser still.
When she saw that the servant whostood by her bedside was not her Ayah.
(02:10):
Why did you come?
She said to the strange woman, Iwill not let you stay, send my at.
The woman looked frightened, but she onlystammered that the AIA could not come.
And when Mary threw herself into a passionand beat and kicked her, she looked only
more frightened and repeated that it wasnot possible for the AIA to come to Missy.
So he.
(02:31):
There was something mysteriousin the air that morning, nothing
was stunned in its regular order.
And several of the nativeservants seemed missing.
Well, those who Mary saw slunk orhurried about with ashy and scared
faces, but no one would tell heranything and her eyes did not come.
She was actually left alone as the morningwent on and it last, she wandered out
(02:52):
into the garden and began to play byherself under a tree near the Vernon.
She pretended that she was making a flowerbed and she stuck big Scarlet hibiscus
blossoms into little heaps of earth allthe time, growing more and more angry
and muttering to herself, the things shewould say and the name she would call
Sadie when she returned pig pig, daughterof pigs, she said, because to call a
(03:15):
native, a pig is the worst insult of all.
She was grinding her teeth andsaying this over and over again.
When she heard her mothercome out on the veranda with.
She was with a fair youngman and they stood talking
together in low, strange voices.
Mary knew the fair youngman who looked like a boy.
She had heard that he was a veryyoung officer who had just come from
(03:36):
England, the child stared at him,but she stared most at her mother.
She always did this when she had achance to see her because the mem
Sahib, Mary used to call her thatoften her than anything else was
such a tall, slim, pretty personand wore such lovely clothes.
Her hair was like curly silk.
And she had a delicate little nose,which seemed to be disdaining things.
(03:58):
And she had large laughing eyes.
All her clothes were thin and floating.
And Mary said they were full of lace.
They looked fuller of lacethan ever this morning, but her
eyes were not laughing at all.
They were large and scaredand lifted imploringly to
the fair boy officer's face.
Is it so very bad.
Oh, is it Mary heard her.
(04:19):
Awfully the young man answeredin a trembling voice awfully Mrs.
Lennox, you ought to have goneto the Hills two weeks ago.
The mimosa he brung her hands.
Oh, I know.
I thought she cried.
I only stayed to go tothat silly dinner party.
What a fool.
I was at that very moment, sucha loud sound of whaling broke out
(04:39):
from the servant's quarters thatshe clutched the young man's arm.
And Mary stood shivering from head.
The whaling grew Wilder and Wilder.
What is it?
What is it?
Mrs.
Lennox, gasped.
Someone has died.
Answered the boy officer.
You did not say it had brokenout among your servants.
I did not know the mem Sahibcried come with me, come with me.
(05:01):
And she turned and ran into the house.
After that appalling things happenedin the mysteriousness of the morning
was explained to Mary the colorhad broken out in its most fatal
form and people were dying like.
The idea had been taken ill in the night.
And it was because she had just died thatthe servants had wailed in the huts before
(05:21):
the next day three other servants weredead and others had run away in terror.
There was panic on every side and dyingpeople in all the bungalows during
the confusion and bewilderment of thesecond day, Mary hit herself in the
nursery and was forgotten by everyone.
Nobody thought of her.
Nobody wanted her and strange thingshappened of which she knew nothing.
(05:42):
Mary alternately cried andslept through the hours.
She only knew that peoplewere ill and that she heard
mysterious and frightening sounds.
Once she crept into the dining roomand found it empty though, a partly
finished meal was on the tableand chairs and plates looked as if
they'd been hastily pushed back.
When the diners rose suddenly, forsome reason, the child ate some
(06:02):
fruit and biscuits and being thirsty.
She drank a glass of wine,which stood, nearly filled.
It was sweet and shedid not know how strong.
Very soon, it made her intensely drowsyand she went back to her nursery and
shut herself in again, frightened by cry.
She heard in the huts and by thehurrying sound of feet, the wine
made her so sleepy that she couldscarcely keep her eyes open.
(06:24):
And she laid down on her bed andknew nothing more for a long time.
Many things happened during thehours in which she slept so heavily,
but she was not disturbed by thewhales and the sound of things being
carried in and out of the bungalow.
When she awakened, shelay and stared at the.
The house was perfectly still.
She had never known it to be sosilent before she heard neither
(06:46):
voices nor footsteps and wonderedif everybody had got well of the
cholera and all the trouble was over.
She wondered also who would takecare of her now, her Iowa's dead.
There would be a new idea.
And perhaps she wouldknow some new stories.
Mary had been rathertired of the old ones.
She did not cry becauseher nurse had died.
She was not an affectionate childand had never cared much for any.
(07:09):
The noise and hurrying about and wailingover the cholera had frightened her.
And she had been angry because no oneseemed to remember that she was alive.
Everyone was too panic strickento think of a little girl.
No one was fond of whenpeople had the cholera.
It seemed that they rememberednothing but themselves.
But if everyone had got well again,surely someone would remember and
come to look for her, but no onecame and as she lay waiting, the
(07:34):
house seemed to grow more and more.
She heard somethingrustling on the matting.
And when she looked down, she sawa little snake gliding along and
watching her eyes like jewels.
She was not frightened becausehe was a harmless little
thing who would not hurt her.
And he seemed in a hurryto get out of the room.
He slipped under the doors.
She watched him how queer and quiet it is.
(07:55):
She said, it sounds as if there wereno one in the bungalow, but me and
the snake almost the next minute,she heard footsteps in the compound.
And then on the Vernon.
They were men's footsteps.
And the men entered the bungalowand talked in low voices.
No one went to meet or speakto them and they seem to open
doors and look into rooms.
What desolation?
She heard one voice saythat pretty pretty woman.
(08:18):
I suppose the child too.
I heard there was a child though.
No one ever saw her.
Mary was standing in the middle ofthe nursery when they opened the door.
A few minutes later, she looked an uglycross little thing and was frowning
because she was beginning to be hungryand feel disgracefully Nicholas.
The first man who camein was a large officer.
She had once seen talking to her father.
(08:40):
He looked tired and troubled, butwhen he saw her, he was so startled
that he almost jumped back Barney.
He cried, there's a child here,her child alone in a place like
this mercy on us, who is she?
I am Mary Linux.
The little girl saiddrawing herself up stiffly.
She thought the man was very rude tocall her father's bungalow a place like.
(09:02):
I fell asleep when everyone had thecholera and I've only just awakened.
Why does nobody come?
It is the child.
No one ever saw exclaimed.
The man turning to his companions.
She has actually been forgotten.
Why was I forgotten?
Mary said stamping her foot.
Why does nobody come?
The young man whose name was Barneylooked at her, very sadly, Mary even
(09:25):
thought she saw him wink his eyes as ifto wink tears away, whore little kid.
He said there is nobody left to come.
It was in that strange and sudden waythat Mary found out that she had neither
father nor mother left, that they haddied had been carried away in the night.
And that the few native servants whohad not died also had left the house
as quickly as they could get out of it.
(09:46):
None of them even rememberingthat there was a Missie Sahib.
That was why the place was so quiet.
It was true that there wasno one in the bungalow, but
herself and the little rustling.
So.
Thank you for joining bite at a timebooks today, while we read a bite
of one of your favorite classics.
If you enjoyed today's bite,please drop us a review on
(10:06):
your favorite podcast platform.
Also be sure to check us on our website,www.biteatatimebooks.com or all the
social media at byte at a time books.
Again, my name is Bree Carlyle, and Ihope you come back tomorrow while we
take the next bite of the secret garden.
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