Charlotte 's Ladies Just as soon as dinner was over at the asylum , Charlotte sped away to the gap in the fence -- the northwest corner gap . There was a gap in the southeast corner , too -- the asylum fence was in a rather poor condition -- but the southeast gap was interesting only after tea , and it was never at any time quite as interesting as the northwest gap . Charlotte ran as fast as her legs could carry her , for she did not want any of the other orphans to see her . As a rule , Charlotte liked the company of the other orphans and was a favourite with them . But , somehow , she did not want them to know about the gaps . She was sure they would not understand . Charlotte had discovered the gaps only a week before . They had not been there in the autumn , but the snowdrifts had lain heavily against the fence all winter , and one spring day when Charlotte was creeping through the shrubbery in the northwest corner in search of the little yellow daffodils that always grew there in spring , she found a delightful space where a board had fallen off , whence she could look out on a bit of woodsy road with a little footpath winding along by the fence under the widespreading boughs of the asylum trees . Charlotte felt a wild impulse to slip out and run fast and far down that lovely , sunny , tempting , fenceless road . But that would have been wrong , for it was against the asylum rules , and Charlotte , though she hated most of the asylum rules with all her heart , never disobeyed or broke them . So she subdued the vagrant longing with a sigh and sat down among the daffodils to peer wistfully out of the gap and feast her eyes on this glimpse of a world where there were no brick walls and prim walks and never-varying rules . Then , as Charlotte watched , the Pretty Lady with the Blue Eyes came along the footpath . Charlotte had never seen her before and had n't the slightest idea in the world who she was , but that was what she called her as soon as she saw her . The lady was so pretty , with lovely blue eyes that were very sad , although somehow as you looked at them you felt that they ought to be laughing , merry eyes instead . At least Charlotte thought so and wished at once that she knew how to make them laugh . Besides , the Lady had lovely golden hair and the most beautiful pink cheeks , and Charlotte , who had mouse-coloured hair and any number of freckles , had an unbounded admiration for golden locks and roseleaf complexions . The Lady was dressed in black , which Charlotte did n't like , principally because the matron of the asylum wore black and Charlotte did n't -- exactly -- like the matron . When the Pretty Lady with the Blue Eyes had gone by , Charlotte drew a long breath . `` If I could pick out a mother I 'd pick out one that looked just like her , '' she said . Nice things sometimes happen close together , even in an orphan asylum , and that very evening Charlotte discovered the southeast gap and found herself peering into the most beautiful garden you could imagine , a garden where daffodils and tulips grew in great ribbon-like beds , and there were hedges of white and purple lilacs , and winding paths under blossoming trees .
It was such a garden as Charlotte had pictured XXXXX happy dreams and never expected to see in real life .
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