We didn't know the difference either Sean said Then someone in second grade stuck Sonia with a pencil and told her she had lead poisoning I was scared Sonia said Then my mom told me it wasn't real lead Lead is some kind of soft squishy metal Sean said David nodded and turned back to his book and read Perhaps she slept here once said Mary She stares at me David stopped reading and his head popped up I want to make a prediction about the book I think there's going to be a ghost in the house It's going to be the girl Mary Lennox keeps seeing in the pictures The ghost is the one crying Everyone wrote down David's prediction Meri wrote it too though she didn't think there was going to be a real ghost The big house in the book was mysterious but she didn't think it was haunted
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Did writers put ghosts in really old books like this Sean asked Sure his sister answered Remember A Christmas Carol It has ghosts and it was written a long long time ago I don't think I would like Mary Lennox Jasmine said She's mean sometimes She even called people names at the beginning That's true Meri said But she never really had any friends and she barely saw her parents And then she had to live with strangers at Misselthwaite Manor Oh Jasmine's eyes widened Maybe that's what the author was trying to do in the book She's trying to show what happens when someone doesn't have any love Jasmine quickly wrote that down in her reading journal Sean's nose wrinkled and he poked at the book So it's a lesson book I hate stories with lessons Meri wasn't sure Almost all books had little bits of lessons but The Secret Garden
seemed to be about more than that It has good stuff too she said Like this part where Mary's exploring the creepy house It also had that snake in the beginning David said David liked books with animals in them especially dangerous animals like snakes and sharks And I still think there's going to be a ghost She hoped David wouldn't be disappointed but Meri still didn't think there would be a real ghost She looked down at the pages of the book Meri spoke very quietly talking to herself I could ask Mary Oh what are you going to ask yourself Jasmine teased Not herself Sean said the book girl Do you talk to your book like Sonia does I don't talk to books that much his sister said poking him in the arm Only during the really exciting parts Meri was glad when the twins teased back and forth and completely forgot about Meri's
