Mary went and leaned against his bed.
I won t be long, she said. I m going to Dickon, but I ll come back.
Colin, it s it s something about the garden.
His whole face brightened and a little color came into it.
Oh! is it? he cried out. I dreamed about it all night. I heard you
say something about gray changing into green, and I dreamed I was
standing in a place all filled with trembling little green leaves and
there were birds on nests everywhere and they looked so soft and still.
I ll lie and think about it until you come back.
In five minutes Mary was with Dickon in their garden. The fox and the
crow were with him again and this time he had brought two tame
squirrels.
I came over on the pony this mornin , he said. Eh! he is a good
little chap Jump is! I brought these two in my pockets. This here one
he s called Nut an this here other one s called Shell.
When he said Nut one squirrel leaped on to his right shoulder and
when he said Shell the other one leaped on to his left shoulder.
When they sat down on the grass with Captain curled at their feet, Soot
solemnly listening on a tree and Nut and Shell nosing about close to
them, it seemed to Mary that it would be scarcely bearable to leave
such delightfulness, but when she began to tell her story somehow the
look in Dickon s funny face gradually changed her mind. She could see
he felt sorrier for Colin than she did. He looked up at the sky and all
about him.
Just listen to them birds th world seems full of em all whistlin
an pipin , he said. Look at em dartin about, an hearken at em
callin to each other. Come springtime seems like as if all th world s
callin . The leaves is uncurlin so you can see em an , my word, th
nice smells there is about! sniffing with his happy turned-up nose.
An that poor lad lyin shut up an seein so little that he gets to
thinkin o things as sets him screamin . Eh! my! we mun get him out
here we mun get him watchin an listenin an sniffin up th air an
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