The Secret Garden Chapter 8 Summary

"The Robin Who Showed the Way"

  • The Secret Garden sometimes reads like a PSA for fresh air and exercise: The more time Mary spends outside, the better she feels about life in general.
  • The next morning, Martha comes back from a visit with her family.
  • Martha has a present for Mary from her mother: a jump rope, so she'll have something to play with.
  • Mary isn't very strong, so she can't skip for long, but she likes her new toy.
  • Mary takes her new jump rope out to the garden to show Ben Weatherstaff how much she can skip.
  • He's impressed to see Mary acting like a kid instead of a sour old woman.
  • As Mary is skipping about, she sees the robin again, and a gust of wind exposes the hidden knob of a door in the ivy-covered wall.
  • Mary puts the key in the door and turns the knob.
  • She opens the door to the secret garden. (Hey there, major plot point.)