More about Mary Poppins / И снова о Мэри Поппинз

Mary Poppins sat between them, offended and silent, and presently, because they were very tired, they crept closer to her and leant up against her sides and fell asleep, still wondering…

Miss Lark’s Andrew

Miss Lark lived Next Door.

But before we go any further I must tell you what Next Door looked like. It was a very grand house, by far the grandest in Cherry-Tree Lane. Even Admiral Boom had been known to envy Miss Lark her wonderful house, though his own had ship’s funnels instead of chimneys and a flagstaff in the front garden.

Over and over again the inhabitants of the Lane heard him say, as he rolled past Miss Lark’s mansion: “Blast my gizzard!* What does she want with a house like that?”

And the reason of Admiral Boom’s jealousy was that Miss Lark had two gates. One was for Miss Lark’s friends and relations, and the other for the Butcher and the Baker and the Milkman.

Once the Baker made a mistake and came in through the gate reserved for the friends and relations, and Miss Lark was so angry that she said she wouldn’t have any more bread ever.

But in the end she had to forgive the Baker because he was the only one in the neighbourhood who made those little flat rolls with the curly twists of crust on the top. She never really liked him very much after that, however, and when he came he pulled his hat far down over his eyes so that Miss Lark might think he was somebody else. But she never did.

Jane and Michael always knew when Miss Lark was in the garden or coming along the Lane, because she wore so many brooches and necklaces and earrings that she jingled and jangled just like a brass band.

And, whenever she met them, she always said the same thing,

“Good-morning!” (or “Good-afternoon!” if it happened to be after luncheon), “and how are we today?”

And Jane and Michael were never quite sure whether Miss Lark was asking how they were, or how she and Andrew were.

So they just replied, “Good-afternoon!” (or, of course, “Good-morning!” if it was before luncheon).

All day long, no matter where the children were, they could hear Miss Lark calling, in a very loud voice, things like:

“Andrew, where are you?” or

“Andrew, you mustn’t go out without your overcoat!” or

“Andrew, come to Mother!”

And, if you didn’t know, you would think that Andrew must be a little boy. Indeed, Jane thought that Miss Lark thought that Andrew was a little boy.