The Gardening Overall

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20851, 18 April 1931, Page 4 (Supplement)

The Gardening Overall

There was once a littlo girl called Marcia-Jane, who lived in the country and could play all day long on soft lawns and in tho sunny, high-walled gardens at the back of her house. But she did not enjoy herself much, for she had no one to play with and was not very good at making up games for herself. When she went out sho wore a gardening overall, a green linen ono that her aunt had made for her. It had a path fringed with ' lovely flowers embroidered all round thi j herri Mareia-Jane never die' anything interesting enough to make it dirty, but she loved it moro than all the clothes she had and used to trace the path with her finger and wonder where it went. One day sho caught cold and was ill for moro than a week. When she was well enough to go out, the first thing she asked was: "Nanny, where is my overall ?"

"It's been given away," said Nanny: " it's far too short, and won't let down." Marcia-Jane went sadly into the garden, wondering how she would ever find out where the path went to now. Then she saw, kneeling by the pond, a little redhaired girl, with hundreds and thousands of freckles all over her face. " Hullo!" said the little girl. "Hullo!" said Marcia-Jane. "Oh! You're wearing my overall." " It's mine now," said the little girl. " You can have all my other clothes if you give it back." said Marcia-Jane. The little girl shook her head. " I don't think any of them have paths on them, unless your underclothes have." " Do you know where that path goes to?" asked Marcia-Jane. " Of course I do," said the litlte girl. " Sit down." . So they sat down, and the little girl — whose name was Anne Smith —told Mar-cia-Jane how the path left the flowerbeds and entered a wood. The trees grew taller and the path more shadowy, till it turned a corner and slopped at a little open glade. Anne told Marcia-Jane about the cottage in (he glade, and was just beginning the story of the dwarfs who lived in the cottage when Marcia-Jane jumped up. " That's my mummie calling," she said. " I shall play with you again to-morrow." " We'll wear the overall in turns," said Anne.

The doctor was in the drawing-room, talking to Marcia-Jane's mother. " Marcia-Jane needs someone to play with." he said.

" There are absolutely no neighbours with children." said Marcia-Jane's mother; " but 1 believe the new gardener has a very nice little girl. She must be about the' same age, for nurse has just given her an overall of Marcia-Jane s. So Anne and Marcia-Jane played together in the garden every day. Anne told thrilling stories about where the make-believe pat lis went, and they both played hide-and-seek in and out of the real paths, and dug and watered their own little gardens. It was not very long before Marcia-Jane was just as full of fun as Anne and had even more freckles on her face.