FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76  
77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   >>   >|  
t, and the washhand-stand with the riveted willow-pattern jug, and the faded curtains, and the dull light of indoors on a wet day. Through the arch showed the gleam of soft green leaves and white blossoms. They stepped forward quite happily. Even Jane felt that this did not look like lions, and her hand hardly trembled at all as she held the charm for the others to go through, and last, slipped through herself, and hung the charm, now grown small again, round her neck. The children found themselves under a white-blossomed, green-leafed fruit-tree, in what seemed to be an orchard of such trees, all white-flowered and green-foliaged. Among the long green grass under their feet grew crocuses and lilies, and strange blue flowers. In the branches overhead thrushes and blackbirds were singing, and the coo of a pigeon came softly to them in the green quietness of the orchard. 'Oh, how perfectly lovely!' cried Anthea. 'Why, it's like home exactly--I mean England--only everything's bluer, and whiter, and greener, and the flowers are bigger.' The boys owned that it certainly was fairly decent, and even Jane admitted that it was all very pretty. 'I'm certain there's nothing to be frightened of here,' said Anthea. 'I don't know,' said Jane. 'I suppose the fruit-trees go on just the same even when people are killing each other. I didn't half like what the learned gentleman said about the hanging gardens. I suppose they have gardens on purpose to hang people in. I do hope this isn't one.' 'Of course it isn't,' said Cyril. 'The hanging gardens are just gardens hung up--_I_ think on chains between houses, don't you know, like trays. Come on; let's get somewhere.' They began to walk through the cool grass. As far as they could see was nothing but trees, and trees and more trees. At the end of their orchard was another one, only separated from theirs by a little stream of clear water. They jumped this, and went on. Cyril, who was fond of gardening--which meant that he liked to watch the gardener at work--was able to command the respect of the others by telling them the names of a good many trees. There were nut-trees and almond-trees, and apricots, and fig-trees with their big five-fingered leaves. And every now and then the children had to cross another brook. 'It's like between the squares in Through the Looking-glass,' said Anthea. At last they came to an orchard which was quite different from the other orchards.
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76  
77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

gardens

 

orchard

 

Anthea

 

flowers

 

children

 
suppose
 

leaves

 

hanging

 

people

 
Through

houses

 
killing
 

learned

 

purpose

 

gentleman

 

chains

 

apricots

 

almond

 

telling

 

respect


fingered

 

Looking

 

squares

 

orchards

 

command

 

separated

 

stream

 

gardener

 

gardening

 

jumped


slipped

 
trembled
 

blossomed

 

leafed

 

curtains

 
pattern
 

washhand

 

riveted

 

willow

 

indoors


stepped

 

forward

 

happily

 

blossoms

 

showed

 

flowered

 
whiter
 

greener

 

bigger

 

England