Every Goose a Swan The summer day was hot and still. The cherry-trees that bordered the Lane could feel their cherries ripening the green slowly turning to yellow and the yellow blushing red. The houses dozed in the dusty gardens with their shutters over their eyes. Do not disturb us! they seemed to say. We rest in the afternoon. And the starlings hid themselves in the chimneys with their heads under their wings. Over the Park lay a cloud of sunlight as thick and as golden as syrup. No wind stirred the heavy leaves. The flowers stood up, very still and shiny, as though they were made of metal. Down by the Lake the benches were empty. The people who usually sat there had gone home out of the heat. Neleus, the little marble statue, looked down at the placid water. No goldfish flirted a scarlet tail. They were all sitting under the lily-leaves using them as umbrellas. The Lawns spread out like a green carpet, motionless in the sunlight. Except for a single, rhythmic movement, you might have thought that the whole Park was only a painted picture. To and fro, by the big magnolia, the Park Keeper was spearing up rubbish and putting it into a litter-basket. He stopped his work and looked up as two dogs trotted by. They had come from Cherry-Tree Lane, he knew, for Miss Lark was calling from behind her shutters. Andrew! Willoughby! Please come back! Don't go swimming in that dirty Lake! Ill make you some Iced Tea! Andrew and Willoughby looked at each other, winked, and trotted on. But as they passed the big magnolia, they started and pulled up sharply. Down they flopped on the grass, panting with their pink tongues lolling out. Mary Poppins, neat and prim in her blue skirt and a new hat trimmed with a crimson tulip, looked at them over her knitting. She was sitting bolt upright against the tree, with a plaid rug spread on the lawn around her. Her hand-bag sat tidily by her side. And above her, from a flowering branch, the parrot umbrella dangled. She glanced at the two thumping tails and gave a little sniff. Put in your tongues and sit up straight! You are not a pair of wolves. The two dogs sprang at once to attention. And Jane, lying on the lawn, could see they were doing their very best to put their tongues in their cheeks. And remember, if you're going swimming, Mary Poppins continued, to shake yourselves when you come out. Don't come sprinkling us! Andrew and Willoughby looked reproachful. As though, Mary Poppins, they seemed to say, we would dream of such a thing! All right, then. Be off with you! And they sped away like shots from a gun. Come back! Miss Lark cried anxiously. But nobody took any notice. Why cant I swim in the Park Lake? asked Michael in a smothered voice. He was lying face downwards in the grass watching a family of ants. You're not a dog! Mary Poppins reminded him. I know, Mary Poppins. But if I were Was she smiling or not?he couldn't be sure, with his nose pressed into the earth. Well what would Excerpted from Mary Poppins in the Park by Pamela L. Travers, P. L. Travers All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
