The Secret Garden Chapter 24 Summary

"Let Them Laugh"

  • Dickon also keeps up a garden for his mother, which he works on in the late evenings when Colin and Mary are inside.
  • Mrs. Sowerby (Dickon's mother) likes to come and spend time there when she can.
  • Unlike Mary and Colin's garden, this one is mostly functional—it helps to feed Dickon's family—but he adds flowers in the corners to keep it cheerful.
  • Mary and Colin give Dickon permission to tell his mom all about the Secret Garden, which he does.
  • Mrs. Sowerby thinks this is all hilarious, especially when she hears that Colin pretends he still needs his wheelchair to keep up the air of mystery.
  • Mrs. Sowerby offers to bake them some bread and buns so that when Mary and Colin are home, they don't have to eat huge meals—that will really convince Dr. Craven and the rest that Mary and especially Colin are still kind of sickly.
  • Colin almost throws a real tantrum when Dr. Craven offers to write to his father about Colin's improving health, since it's the one surprise Colin really cares about.
  • In the Secret Garden, they keep up their rituals of thinking of the Magic. And Colin gets stronger and stronger every day.
  • Dickon shows Colin some exercises to improve his muscle strength. This Dickon kid can do anything: gardener, animal tamer, and now amateur physiotherapist.
  • Dr. Craven and Mrs. Medlock can't figure out where all this newfound health is coming from, but as long as Mary and Colin are improving without any work from them, it's probably fine to just leave them alone.