Spots 
Raised by subservient native attendants who were ordered to keep her out of sight, Mary Lennox grows up sickly, selfish, and unloved in India. Her self-absorbed mother ignores her completely until cholera strikes the household and kills her family. Abandoned in the silence of the deserted bungalow, Mary is left entirely alone before English officers discover her.
CHAPTER I. THERE IS NO ONE LEFT
Placed temporarily with a clergyman's noisy family, Mary finds herself mocked as Mistress Mary Quite Contrary by children who despise her sour temper. She learns her destination is Misselthwaite Manor, a dark and desolate estate owned by her hunchbacked uncle, Archibald Craven. Disdainful and emotionally hardened, she embarks on the long ocean voyage to England without shedding a tear.
CHAPTER II. MISTRESS MARY QUITE CONTRARY
Travelling by train and carriage alongside the stern housekeeper Mrs. Medlock, Mary journeys across the vast and wind-swept Yorkshire moor at night. The wild darkness and rushing wind sound like a stormy sea surrounding the isolated manor. Facing a massive house with a hundred locked rooms, Mary enters her new home feeling uncertain and strangely detached.
CHAPTER III. ACROSS THE MOOR
Awakening in a tapestried room, Mary encounters Martha, a sturdy Yorkshire housemaid who refuses to act like the submissive servants of India. Martha expects the child to dress herself and speaks openly of moorland life and her animal-loving brother Dickon. Shocked by Martha's bluntness, Mary takes her first reluctant steps toward learning how to manage her own life.
CHAPTER IV. MARTHA
Walking the grand grounds to escape her gloomy room, Mary begins fighting the moor wind and gains her first real appetite eating breakfast porridge. She discovers a neglected wall overgrown with ivy and makes her first friend in a lively red-breasted robin. Late at night, a faint fretful crying echoing down the dark corridors breaks the mansion's silence.
CHAPTER V. THE CRY IN THE CORRIDOR
Trapped indoors by heavy rain, Mary listens to Martha's tales of her impoverished family and decides to explore the mansion's long corridors. Wandering through shadowy passages, she tries locked doors and uncovers antique rooms filled with forgotten treasures. The faint sound of weeping leads her to a tapestry door before Mrs. Medlock angrily catches her and sends her back.
CHAPTER VI. “THERE WAS SOMEONE CRYING—THERE WAS!”
Clear skies replace the storm, bringing the crisp promise of Yorkshire spring to the wide moorland. When Martha asks Mary how she likes herself, the blunt question forces the child to confront her own bitterness for the very first time. Out in the garden, guided by the friendly robin scratching in the dirt, Mary discovers an old brass key buried deep in the soil.
CHAPTER VII. THE KEY TO THE GARDEN
Carrying the brass key everywhere, Mary watches the robin hop near a thick spray of ivy swinging in the wind. Pushing aside the heavy leaves, she unlocks a hidden door and steps into an overgrown ten-year-old rose garden. Surrounded by gray tangles, brown grass, and dormant climbers, she vows to bring the mysterious, quiet sanctuary back to life.
CHAPTER VIII. THE ROBIN WHO SHOWED THE WAY → CHAPTER IX.
Sunshine fills the secret garden as Mary spends days clearing weeds around tiny pale green bulbs pushing through the earth. Old Ben Weatherstaff notices her cheeks growing healthier, though he remains his usual crabbed self. Soon after, Martha's brother Dickon arrives bearing seeds, garden tools, and a tame crow, bringing his effortless moorland magic directly into Mary's secret world.
CHAPTER X. DICKON
Mary reveals her hidden sanctuary to Dickon, who moves softly through the tangled branches with deep reverent wonder. Using his pocket knife, he cuts into dry boughs to show her which stems retain green, living wood beneath their gray bark. The two children pledge to keep the garden secret while pruning dead growth to let the vibrant roses bloom.
CHAPTER XI. THE NEST OF THE MISSEL THRUSH
Summoned to the study of her mysterious uncle, Archibald Craven, Mary encounters a hunched, weary man grieving his long-lost wife. Expecting harshness, she asks only for a bit of earth to plant seeds and watch things grow. Touched by her simple plea, Mr. Craven grants her full freedom to play anywhere on the estate without interference.
CHAPTER XII. “MIGHT I HAVE A BIT OF EARTH?”
Awakened by howling winds and persistent crying, Mary sneaks down dark halls until she reaches a hidden bedchamber. Inside lies Colin Craven, her fragile, bedridden cousin who is kept hidden because his father fears he will become a hunchback. Instead of panicking, the two lonely children talk softly, and Mary lulls him to sleep with stories of the secret garden.
CHAPTER XIII. “I AM COLIN”
Martha panics upon learning Mary discovered Colin, fearing immediate dismissal for breaking strict house rules. Colin, accustomed to terrorizing servants with hysterical tantrums, acts like a pampered Rajah who demands total obedience from everyone. Yet Mary's unawed demeanor and vivid tales of moorland animals fascinate him, softening his volatile temper into quiet curiosity.
CHAPTER XIV. A YOUNG RAJAH
Daily visits between the cousins strengthen their bond as Mary cautiously shares details of the moor and Dickon's animal taming. Colin admits his deep hatred of being stared at by pitying adults, but expresses interest in meeting Dickon outdoors. Outside, warm sunshine bathes Misselthwaite, filling Mary with growing excitement as nature bursts into vibrant spring life.
CHAPTER XV. NEST BUILDING
Absorbed in pruning and planting with Dickon, Mary stays outdoors all afternoon and neglects her scheduled visit with Colin. Returning home, she finds him lying in bed, furious that his commands were ignored, and threatening to banish Dickon. Refusing to yield to his self-pity, Mary fiercely matches his rage, exposing his spoiled arrogance and walking away.
CHAPTER XVI. “I WON’T!” SAID MARY
Midnight screams echo through the halls as Colin falls into a violent hysterical tantrum, convinced a hump is growing on his spine. Furious rather than frightened, Mary marches into his bedroom and commands him to stop screaming immediately. She inspects his bare back, proves there are no lumps, and lulls him to sleep by promising to bring him to the secret garden.
CHAPTER XVII. A TANTRUM → CHAPTER XVIII.
Dr. Craven arrives expecting a shaken invalid after the tantrum, but finds Colin sitting up happily reviewing garden manuals with Mary. Exercising his imperial authority, Colin informs his startled doctor that he will go outdoors pushed only by Dickon and accompanied by Mary. Dr. Craven relents when he hears Dickon is involved, marveling at the bedridden boy's rapid transformation.
CHAPTER XIX. “IT HAS COME!”
Carefully wheeled along private paths, Colin passes through the hidden door into the blooming secret garden for the very first time. Surrounded by white plum blossoms, singing birds, and tender green shoots, his pale face fills with radiant wonder. Overcome by the vibrant life around him, Colin passionately declares that he will live forever and ever.
CHAPTER XX. “I SHALL LIVE FOREVER—AND EVER—AND EVER!”
Surprised by a voice above, the children look up to see Ben Weatherstaff peering over the high brick wall in shock. Angry at finding intruders, Ben calls Colin a poor helpless hunchback, triggering an overwhelming surge of pride in the boy. Supported by sheer determination and Dickon's steady hand, Colin stands up on his feet, proving his strength to the weeping gardener.
CHAPTER XXI. BEN WEATHERSTAFF
Entering through the door, old Ben reveals he secretly climbed the wall for years to tend the garden because Colin's late mother loved it. Colin walks steadily across the grass to a central tree, demonstrating his physical recovery while claiming the sanctuary as his own. As the sun sets, the group agrees to keep Colin's rising strength a secret from the household.
CHAPTER XXII. WHEN THE SUN WENT DOWN
Believing deeply in the healing Magic of positive thought and hard work, Colin conducts daily outdoor chants while practicing his walking exercises. The garden erupts into a magnificent tapestry of blooming roses, tall delphiniums, and dancing poppies. Even Dr. Craven notices Colin gaining weight and color, though the children conceal their progress behind deliberate complaints indoors.
CHAPTER XXIII. MAGIC
Dickon's mother, Susan Sowerby, visits the secret garden and embraces the children with immense maternal warmth and joy. She marvels at Colin's straight back, healthy appetite, and robust vigor, assuring him that his father will weep with happiness upon returning. Sharing fresh baking and warm milk, she fills the sanctuary with comfort, wisdom, and unconditional love.
CHAPTER XXIV. “LET THEM LAUGH”
Inside the secret garden, the robin family successfully hatches nestlings while Colin and Mary perform vigorous daily exercises to build muscle. Back in his room, Colin pulls aside the curtain hiding his late mother's portrait, no longer fearing her image or his own destiny. He embraces life fully, eager to meet his father face to face as a healthy, standing boy.
CHAPTER XXV. THE CURTAIN
Traveling in Europe, Archibald Craven receives a dream of his late wife calling him back to her garden, alongside a letter from Susan Sowerby. Returning to Misselthwaite Manor, he walks out to the secret wall and hears joyful children's laughter inside. Stepping through the door, he is stunned as a tall, handsome boy runs straight out into his arms—restoring father and son to life and love.
CHAPTER XXVI. “IT’S MOTHER!” → CHAPTER XXVII. IN THE GARDEN
A neglected orphan discovers a hidden sanctuary that heals her bitter spirit and transforms a bedridden boy.