Mary Lennox lived in India. She was a thin, yellow, unhappy child, and she was not pretty at all. Her mother went to parties and never looked at her. Her father worked all day and was always tired. The servants gave Mary everything she asked for, so she grew cross and rude. One hot morning the cholera came to the house. People ran away or died. Mary fell asleep in her room and nobody remembered her. When two soldiers found her, the house was empty and quiet. The child is alone, one of them said. So they sent Mary across the sea to England, to an uncle she had never seen. His name was Mr Archibald Craven, and he lived in a very big old house on the moor.