Jemima leaped into the pool. Mary followed, and they splashed joyfully through the water, spraying droplets in all directions. Jumping out, they hurried on together until they reached a grassy clearing with overgrown mounds of scarlet flowers and red-barked dogwood trees all around. Mary sank back in the grass, panting for breath. Why was this garden hidden away behind such a high wall? Gardens weren’t usually secret places. They were for people to walk in and enjoy, but this place felt as if no one had been in it for a very long time.

Hearing a bird singing, Mary glanced around. A robin with a bright red breast was perched on top of an old stone statue of a giant broken head that was covered with thick moss. The robin gave her a beady look and twittered again.

“Hello to you too,” said Mary with a smile, wondering if it was the same robin she had seen when she’d first arrived at Misselthwaite.

The robin sang and fluttered its wings. Mary had the strangest feeling that it was trying to tell her something “What is it?” she asked.

The little bird flew into the statue’s open mouth. Then it popped its head out and twittered at Mary again. Jemima barked.

Mary was sure that both animals were trying to get her to do something. She scrambled to her feet and went over to the statue. The robin’s insistent singing grew louder as Mary got closer, and she had the strangest feeling that it was encouraging her.

“Is there something inside there?” she whispered. “Something you want me to find.” Standing on tiptoes, she reached into the mouth. She felt dry moss, and then her fingertips touched something hard and metallic. What was it? It was just too far for her to reach.

Jemima woofed beside her. Mary looked down and saw that the dog had fetched a stick. She dropped it at Mary’s feet.

Mary smiled. It was just what she needed! “That’s as good an idea as any you’ve had, Jemima!”

Picking the stick up, Mary stuck it in the hole and used it to fish the metal object out. As she pulled it into the daylight, she saw that it was a large iron key covered with moss. She brushed the moss away and looked at it in astonishment. What was a key doing hidden in the statue’s mouth, and what did it unlock?

“Well?” she asked the animals. “Is that what you wanted me to find? What do I do with it?” Jemima jumped around on three legs, barking, and the robin sang.