growing things before the springtime was over.
There ll be apple blossoms an cherry blossoms overhead, Dickon said,
working away with all his might. An there ll be peach an plum trees
in bloom against th walls, an th grass ll be a carpet o flowers.
The little fox and the rook were as happy and busy as they were, and
the robin and his mate flew backward and forward like tiny streaks of
lightning. Sometimes the rook flapped his black wings and soared away
over the tree-tops in the park. Each time he came back and perched near
Dickon and cawed several times as if he were relating his adventures,
and Dickon talked to him just as he had talked to the robin. Once when
Dickon was so busy that he did not answer him at first, Soot flew on to
his shoulders and gently tweaked his ear with his large beak. When Mary
wanted to rest a little Dickon sat down with her under a tree and once
he took his pipe out of his pocket and played the soft strange little
notes and two squirrels appeared on the wall and looked and listened.
Tha s a good bit stronger than tha was, Dickon said, looking at her
as she was digging. Tha s beginning to look different, for sure.
Mary was glowing with exercise and good spirits.
I m getting fatter and fatter every day, she said quite exultantly.
Mrs. Medlock will have to get me some bigger dresses. Martha says my
hair is growing thicker. It isn t so flat and stringy.
The sun was beginning to set and sending deep gold-colored rays
slanting under the trees when they parted.
It ll be fine tomorrow, said Dickon. I ll be at work by sunrise.
So will I, said Mary.
She ran back to the house as quickly as her feet would carry her. She
wanted to tell Colin about Dickon s fox cub and the rook and about what
the springtime had been doing. She felt sure he would like to hear. So
it was not very pleasant when she opened the door of her room, to see
Martha standing waiting for her with a doleful face.
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