Free Mary-Mary by Joan G. Robinson Page A

said Meg, and stopped playing.
    â€œWould you like to hear what I’ve found?” said Mary-Mary.
    â€œNo, I wouldn’t,” said Meg. “Can’t you see I’m practising?”
    â€œWhat are you practising for?” said Mary-Mary.
    â€œFor the school concert,” said Meg. “And it’s jolly hard.”
    â€œIt sounds it,” said Mary-Mary. “Is it about a giant? Or is it elephants playing ball?”
    â€œDon’t be silly,” said Meg. “It’s called Spring Song. Now do go
away
and stop bothering.”
    So Mary-Mary did go away; and, because there was no one else to tell about the primrose, she went out of the front door and down the front path, and started swinging on the front gate. It was warm and sunny, and some birds in the tree close by were chirping and twittering loudly.
    Mr Bassett came along the road, whistling to himself. He smiled when he saw Mary-Mary, and said, “Hallo.”
    â€œHallo,” said Mary-Mary. “Why are you whistling?”
    â€œBecause it’s such a lovely day,” said Mr Bassett. “Spring is coming, Mary-Mary.”
    â€œI know,” said Mary-Mary. “It’s come already in our house.”
    â€œHow do you mean?” said Mr Bassett.
    â€œWell,” said Mary-Mary, “Mother’s spring-cleaning, and Miriam’s got a spot on her nose (and she says that’s the spring), and I jumped on a chair and it made a funny noise (and Martyn said
that
was the spring, too), and Mervyn’s putting a new spring in his motor-boat, and Meg’s playing a piece like elephants dancing on the piano (and she said
that
was a Spring Song), so I think we’ve got a lot more spring than we need in our house.”
    â€œOh, dear,” said Mr Bassett, “I didn’t mean spring-cleaning and things like that. I was thinking about the birds all nesting in the trees, and the ice being melted on the pond, and the spring flowers that will soon be coming up in the garden.”
    Then Mary-Mary said, “Guess what I’ve found!”
    And Mr Bassett said, “A crocus?”
    And Mary-Mary said, “No. A primrose.”
    And Mr Bassett said, “Well, that really
is
a bit of spring! They must all be coming up in Bramley Woods too.”
    â€œThe others are all too busy to come and see my primrose,” said Mary-Mary; “so they don’t know about it yet.”
    â€œThen you’ll have to take it to them,” said Mr Bassett.
    So Mary-Mary went and picked her primrose, and, as she hadn’t got a vase, she put it in a jam-jar filled with water. Then, when it was dinner-time, while Mother was fetching the plates in from the kitchen, Mary-Mary put the primrose in the jar on the table in front of Mother’s place.
    â€œWhatever’s that?” said Miriam.
    â€œOne flower,” said Martyn.
    â€œIn a great big jam-jar,” said Mervyn.
    â€œIt looks silly all by itself,” said Meg.
    Then they all said together, “Don’t put it there, Mary-Mary.” “Mother won’t have room to put the plates down.” “You’re spilling the water on the cloth.” “The jar’s too big for it.”

    Then Mary-Mary suddenly began shouting out in a loud, cross voice, “I think you’re all jolly silly. If you weren’t so cross and busy and beastly, bothering about spring-cleaning and spring spots and broken chair-springs and motor-boat springs and lumpy old Spring Songs on the piano you might have found this primrose yourselves, and
then
you might have remembered that it was really spring.”
    Just then Mother came in with the plates, and when she saw the primrose in the jam-jar she said, “Oh, it’s a lovely little primrose! The first I’ve seen this year. Who found it?”
    But Mary-Mary was still talking to the others (though she wasn’t shouting quite so loudly now) “—and if one primrose