Mistress Mary: Mistress Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow? With dingle bells and cockle shells And cowslips, all in a row.

Written by L. Frank Baum

Narrated by Philip Chenevert

Mary was the beloved daughter of a sailor and his wife who lived on a hill close to the sea. The rhyme calls her "Mistress Mary, quite contrary" because sad to say she was a contrary child often doing the exact opposite of what her mother and father advised for no reason but that she did not wish to follow their advice. But her parents loved her and knew that she would some day grow out of this peevish behavior. One day her father and brothers were to leave on a long sea journey and she asked him " And how long will you be gone, papa?" He responded Why, just this, sweetheart," returned the sailor gravely; "all the time that it takes the cowslips and dingle-bells and cockle-shells to sprout from the ground, and grow big and strong, and blossom into flower, and, yes—to wither and die away again—all that time shall your brothers and I sail the seas. But when the cold winds begin to blow, and the flowers are gone, then, God willing, we shall come back to you; and by that time you may have grown wiser and bigger, and I am sure you will have grown older. So one more kiss, sweetheart, and then we must go, for our time is up."

After he left, Mistress Mary decided to plant a garden of these flowers to know when her father and brothers would return and that garden is what the poem is talking about. But it did not happen as she expected! Oh no! Listen to this delightful story to see how Mary learned to not be so contrary.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Philip Chenevert
• Release date: Nov 15, 2023
• ISBN: 9798868741838

L. Frank Baum

L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) published The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900 and received enormous, immediate success. Baum went on to write seventeen additional novels in the Oz series. Today, he is considered the father of the American fairy tale. His stories inspired the 1939 classic film The Wizard of Oz, one of the most widely viewed movies of all time. MinaLima is an award-winning graphic design studio founded by Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima, renowned for establishing the visual graphic style of the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts film series. Specializing in graphic design and illustration, Miraphora and Eduardo have continued their involvement in the Harry Potter franchise through numerous design commissions, from creating all the graphic elements for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Diagon Alley at Universal Orlando Resort, to designing award-winning publications for the brand. Their best-selling books include Harry Potter and the Philospher’s Stone, Harry Potter Film Wizardry, The Case of Beasts: Explore the Film Wizardry of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, The Archive of Magic: Explore the Film Wizardry of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, and J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts screenplays. MinaLima studio is renowned internationally for telling stories through design and has created its own MinaLima Classics series, reimagining a growing collection of much-loved tales including Peter Pan, The Secret Garden, and Pinocchio.