Misty lived on a farm with her mother and father.  They had not always lived on a farm, 
but last year when the factory that Daddy had worked in closed down, Mommy and 
Daddy decided to buy a farm.  They had both grown up on a farm so it wasn’t something 
they had to learn how to do.  Besides, factories were always running out of work and even 
if Daddy had found another job, he would have always had to worry about it shutting or 
being laid off.


It didn’t take Misty long to get used to the farm.  She was very happy.  I suppose it was 
because her Mommy and Daddy were very happy.  She would get up real early every 
morning and take care of her chores.  Then she would wash herself clean, put on her 
school clothes and come down for breakfast.  Mommy would have a delicious breakfast 
waiting and they would all sit and eat together.  When they were finished, Misty would 
give her Mommy and Daddy a hug and a kiss, pick up her school things along with the 
lunch that Mommy had packed and run off to school with Frosty.


Frosty was Misty’s puppy.  He had shaggy white fur and he liked to play.  Misty and 
Frosty became friends on the first day she came to the farm.  It was almost as though he 
had been waiting there for her.   As soon as she got out of her Daddy’s truck, Frosty came 
out of nowhere, ran right up to Misty and started barking and wagging his tail.  It was 
love at first sight.  Now this is where the story really begins.


It was a beautiful bright spring Sunday morning.  Mommy, Daddy, and Misty had gone to 
church.  When they returned, they were surprised to find Aunty Sarah and Uncle Alec 
sitting on the porch talking to Frosty, who had his ears perked up listening.  Mommy was 
so happy she started to cry:  Aunty Sarah was her sister.   Daddy was happy too because 
he and Uncle Alec liked talking about things that Mommy and Aunty never talked about.  
Besides, bringing Mommy and Daddy a nice house gift, Aunty Sarah had made Misty a 
pretty dress.  It had a pretty white blouse with pretty needlepoint flowers on the collar and 
sleeves, a full red skirt with matching red straps and a pretty matching cape and hat to go 
with it.


After things had settled down, Mommy, Misty, and Aunty Sarah set the table and they all 
had lunch.  After lunch, Misty asked, "Mommy, can Frosty and I go out to play?"  


"You may, Misty," replied her mother, "but don’t go too far.  Don’t get your Sunday dress 
dirty and don’t go near ‘Haunted Acres’."   


"Haunted Acres, what’s that all about," asked Aunty Sarah a little alarmed?  


"Oh, I don’t know, that’s what folks around here call it.  It’s a funny looking piece of 
ground right behind our barn.  It’s overgrown with bushes and thorns.  Some say it’s 
cursed."  


"Cursed?"


"Well, yes, you must have seen it coming up the road.  Right behind the barn."   


Misty and Frosty didn’t wait around to hear the rest.  She had heard the story so many 
times before and besides she would never go there anyway.  She and Frosty had so much 
to do if Mommy stopped telling her not to go there, she would have never even wondered 
about it.


"First, we’ll go to the pasture and say hello to Franchise," she said to Frosty.  Franchise 
was the brown and white riding pony that Daddy had bought for her.


"Then, we’ll go to the barn and say hello to Gertrude and Baby Flossie."   Gertrude was 
their milk cow and Flossie was her calf.  


And there were the piggies and the sheep.  And, of course, there was that mean old red 
rooster, Atlas.  They would chase him all around the barnyard and when Atlas got tired, 
he’d find a high place and sit there looking at them.  Frosty and Misty always had fun 
when they visited the barn.  They knew all the animals there and all the animals knew 
them.


While they were visiting and playing, the sky suddenly darkened and it started to rain.  
Misty was tired so she scooped up some hay and made a soft bed so she and Frosty could 
lay down.  They waited for the rain to stop.


After she had laid there awhile looking at the rafters, she realized that Frosty was not at 
her side.  She found him in a dark corner in back of the barn growling at something.  
Probably a squirrel or a rabbit, she thought.  He was always chasing something.  When 
she came to where Frosty was growling, she got the surprise of her life.  There at the 
bottom of the wall was an opening.


It was certainly big enough for her and Frosty to crawl through, and there was sunshine 
on the other side.  She wondered why she hadn’t noticed it before.  As she knelt down to 
look through the opening, she felt a warm refreshing fragrance blowing through.  It 
smelled sweet and clean, not like the smell inside the barn.  And what Misty saw when 
she finally looked through the opening almost took her breath away.  There on the other 
side of the barn’s back wall, a place where no one went, the place that everyone said was 
cursed, was the most beautiful garden she had ever seen.


"Oh, my goodness," said Misty as she and Frosty crawled through the hole into the 
garden.


"It’s like a dream, Frosty.  Just look at it.  It looks like all the flowers on the world are 
here, and they’re all blooming at the same time."  



As she breathlessly stared at the beauty around her, she saw butterflies and birds flying in and out of the beautiful flowers and shrubs.  They were every color of the rainbow.


"Gee, Frosty, it’s a dream -- Frosty -- Frosty -- where are you?"   Frosty was nowhere in 
sight.  


Misty walked deeper into the garden.  She was a little scared, but thrilled by all the beauty 
around her.  Finally she heard Frosty playfully barking up ahead.


When she found him, he was playfully growling at the jolliest looking old gentleman she 
had ever seen.  He had curly white hair like Frosty and a curly white beard to match.  His 
cheeks were plump like his body.  His shirt was a course brown material, his vest was 
black, he wore tan knickers, white stockings and black-buckled shoes.  It looked as 
though he’d been asleep and Frosty had woke him up.  He was sitting up yawning and it 
didn’t seem like he was paying any attention to Frosty at all.  In fact, it almost looked like 
Frosty and he knew each other.  When he saw Misty, however, he stopped yawning.  


"Well, you certainly took your sweet time getting here," he said.  


"I’m sorry if Frosty disturbed you," she responded.  "My name is..."


"Don’t tell me," laughed the old man.  "You’re Misty, and don’t fret.  Frosty didn’t 
disturb me."  


"I, I, I don’t understand -- who are you?   How do you know me?"    


"Oh, good gracious, pardon my manners," said the old man springing to his feet and 
extending his hand.  "My name is Mur." 


"Last name, I suppose."  


"Matter of fact, yes.  Last and first -- my full name is Mur Mur."   With this, he started 
laughing uncontrollably.


Misty was a little annoyed but pretty soon she was laughing just as hard as he was.  After 
they caught their breaths, Misty asked, "How did you know my name, Mr. Mur?"  


"I can’t say because I don’t really know; I’ve always had a bad memory," replied Mr. Mur 
a little puzzled.  "Oh, before I forget, I’m suppose to give you this necklace.  You must 
wear it whenever you visit the garden.  Now my work is done and you must go home, 
child.  Your Aunty Sarah and Uncle Alec will be leaving soon.  And, please, don’t tell 
anyone about me."   


"I don’t understand.  Do you know Aunty Sarah and Uncle Alec?  Whose garden is this?  
How do you know me?  Why must I keep it a secret?"  


"Please, please, no more questions."  There was a sadness in Mr. Mur’s voice.


"Will you always be here if I come back," asked Misty hopefully?  


"Please, Misty, no more questions.  Now go."  As Mr. Mur turned away from her, Misty 
was sure she saw a tear in his eye.  "Please go now," he said softly.


When Misty woke up, Frosty was licking her face.  


"I must have dreamed it all," she said as she sat up yawning.  "Oh, golly, what a beautiful 
garden that was, and Mr. Mur Mur, what a nice man," she said sadly as she felt for her 
necklace, which, of course, she couldn’t find.


She noticed that the rain had stopped and she could hear her mother calling, "Misty, come 
home, Uncle Alec and Aunty Sarah are leaving."  Misty and Frosty ran home.


For the next few days, Misty couldn’t forget the beautiful garden she had seen in her 
dreams.  She couldn’t forget how she met Mr. Mur Mur and the pretty little necklace he’d 
given her.  Everyday when Misty came home from school, she’d go to the barn and look 
for the opening on the back wall of the barn, even though she knew it wouldn’t be there.  
Then she’d search for the necklace Mr. Mur Mur had given her even though she knew she 
wouldn’t find it.  Then she’d go home and stay in her room till dinner.


She was veyr sad and when Misty’s Mommy noticed how she was acting, she would ask, 
"Anything bothering you, Misty?"    


"No, nothing, Mommy."  


Mommy would look concerned but Misty certainly wasn’t going to tell her about Haunted 
Acres and the beautiful garden she’d seen in her dreams.  Mommy would surely tell 
Daddy and then she’d never be allowed to go near the barn again -- and besides, she’d 
promised Mr. Mur Mur.


By the time, Saturday came around, Misty was almost her old self again.  She 
remembered her dream, but she was convinced it was only a dream.  There was no 
garden, no Mr. Mur Mur, and no pretty necklace.  And if things had stayed that way, no 
one would have been the worse for it.


Sunday morning Daddy had gotten up real early and gone to church without Mommy and 
Misty.  All the men in the congregation had volunteered their day of worship to paint the 
old church, so Mommy decided she and Misty would stay home and catch up with the 
housework.  Ater the housework ws done, Misty and Frosty went to the bars to give 
Franchise a  brushing and to clean his stall.  After they said good morning to all their 
barnyard friends and chased Atlas around for a while, Misty started brushing Franchise.  


Misty had just finished and was getting ready to clean Franchise’s stall when she heard 
Frosty barking.  Misty always knew by Frosty’s bark whether he was playing, whether he 
was angry, or whether he wanted her to come to him.   This time it sounded like he was 
calling her.  When she found him, he was at the same place as the opening in her dream.  
Frosty had been digging and he had found something buried under the dirt floor of the 
barn.  Misty got on her knees and finished digging it out.  It was a small metal box.  It 
was no bigger than a shoe box, but so rusty that only someone like her Daddy could open 
it.  She picked up the metal box and ran home as fast as she could.  Her Mommy got real 
excited when she saw the metal box so she took it and scraped it as clean as she could so 
Daddy could open it when he came home.


When Daddy finally got home that afternoon, he saw Mommy, Misty, and Frosty waiting 
for him on the porch with a rusty looking metal box on the porch table.  When Mommy 
told Daddy how Frosty and Misty had found it, he got real excited and ran to the tool shed 
to get some tools.  After oiling, scraping, and prying the lid of the box, it finally gave 
way.  Misty shrieked.  There sitting on the top was the very same necklace that Mr. Mur 
Mur had given her in her dream, and under it there was a letter.  Her Mommy gently 
picked up the necklace, looked at it, and gave it to Daddy.  Then she gently picked up the 
letter and started to read it out loud.



18 September 1877


To the finder:


Accept my necklace as a token of my love and gratitude.  I buried this chest at the 
entrance of my mother’s garden.  This is my grandfather’s farm.  Mother and I came here 
to live after father died in the war.  Later, my mother became ill and passed away.  My 
grandfather buried her in her garden because she loved it so much.  He promised he 
would take care of it forever, but he also took ill and couldn’t. 


After grandfather passed away, they sent me to live with my aunt in Detroit.  I had to 
leave my little white puppy here because she had no room for him.  Anyway, they buried 
grandfather next to mother and some men came from the town and closed the entrance to 
the garden.  I never saw my puppy again.  I’m sure they forgot him in the garden when 
they closed the entrance.


I know I’ll never see this place again so I’ve left this chest for you to find.  In the chest 
there are packets of my mother’s most favorite flower seeds.  Please reopen the garden 
and plant them where mother and grandfather are resting.  I love them and miss them so 
much, and my puppy too.  I pray that the necklace I left you will in some small way repay 
you for your kindness.


May God bless you and make your garden even more beautiful than when mother tended 
it.


Eternally yours,
Melisa Danly




When Mommy finished reading Melisa Danly’s letter, Misty’s Daddy turned to her and 
said, "Here, Misty, this is your necklace.  Now, let’s go find this secret garden."   


Misty’s heart was beating so hard and so fast that she thought it would burst.  Daddy first 
stopped by the tool shed again and then they all went to the barn to where Frosty and 
Misty had found the metal box.


Daddy took a kerosene lamp off one of the barn posts and started looking at the back wall 
of the barn, and sure enough, right next to the hole that the box came out of, if you looked 
very close, was the outline of an old entrance in the pattern of the stones.  He took his 
chisel and hammer and started chipping awy the mortar.  Pretty soon, he was able to pull 
a large stone out and as soon as he did, a bright shaft of sunlight came pouring through.


"Wow," was all that Daddy could say as he looked through the opening. 


Mommy and Misty could hardly wait to see, especially Misty.  Frosty was standing on his 
little hind legs and scratching at the wall and whining.


"Come, Misty, take a look," said her Daddy.


Misty was trembling as she drew closer to the opening -- she smelled the same familiar 
warm refreshing fragrance.  It was pouring through the opening just as it had in her 
dreams.  She looked throught the hole and there it was, almost as she remembered -- the 
most beautiful garden that anyone could imagine.  


After Mommy had her turn, Daddy stated taking the rest of the stones out of the sealed 
opening.  The hardest one was geting the first stone out; after that it got easier and easier.  
By early sunset, Daddy had the entrance open and they were all standing in the garden.  
Of course, it needed a lot of tending considering it had been closed for over a hundred 
years, but it still was breathtakingly beautiful.


Finally, Daddy said, "It’s getting dark.  Let’s call it a day.  We’ll have plenty of time in 
the morning."    


"Please, Daddy," Misty pleaded.  "Can I stay a little longer?"   


"Now, now, Misty," her Daddy said.  "I know how you feel but there’s not much you can 
do in the dark.  Look, this is your garden, Misty, and to celebrate, you can stay home from 
school tomorrow and spend all day out here.  Mom and I will take care of all your chores.  
OK?"    


Misty relunctantly nodded her approval and silently walked back to the house.  It was 
only after they all returned home when she realized that Frosty wasn’t with them.  They 
went back to the barn and the garden.  They searched and called, but there was no Frosty.  
After a while, Daddy told Misty and Mommy to go home.  He felt that since Frosty was a 
smart dog, he could take care of himself and that he’d probably be scratching at the 
kitchen door by morning.  Misty kept thinking about her garden and about Frosty.  She 
didn’t know if she should be happy or sad.  She kept looking out the window toward the 
barn and when her mother told her she had to go to bed, she didn’t go until she put some 
food and water on the porch in case Frosty came back while everyone was asleep.


Misty was up at the first light of dawn.  She’d been awake all night.  She was worried 
about Frosty and she was thinking about the garden and how they found it.  There was 
sitll no sign of Frosty so she dressed and ran to the barn.  As she went through the barn to 
the opening of the secret garden, she was very careful because some of the animals were 
still sleeping.  When she got into the secret garden, she had to stop and catch her breath.  


"How beatuiful," she thought to herself.


She had almost forgotten about Frosty when suddenly she heard him barking.  "Frosty, 
Frosty," she cried as she started toward the sound.


As she rain between the flowering bushes and tress, the sound of Frosty’s barking got 
louder.  Suddenly, she came to a small bed of buttercups, and there in the middle of it 
were two gravestones.  One was standing and the other had fallen, and laying down 
between them was Frosty.  He was acting funny; he was wagging his tail but he made no 
effort to run toward Misty when he saw her.  It looked like he watned Misty to come to 
him.  Misty was so happy, she ran to Frosty and scooped him up and hugged him.


"Oh Frosty, Frosty.  I thought I’d never see you again," she said half laughing, half crying.  
"Why didn’t you come when I called you?  Where have you been," she asked?  


As she was holding Frosty in her arms and talking to him, she suddenly remembered the 
gravestones.  She knelt down and started reading from the one that was still standing.


"MEGEN DANLY BELOVED DAUGHTER
    OF MURDOCH MUHR

BORN 1O JANUARY 1843
DIED 21 MAY 1876



Then she looked at the fallen stone, but it was not stone, it was wood.  It looked like the 
name had been burned into it with a hot iron, but time hd erased most of it.  All Misty 
could make out was Mur--  Mur.  


"Mur Mur," cried Misty.  "Mr. Mur Mur."  


When Mommy and Daddy found Misty and Frosty that afternoon, they were sleeping near 
the graves.  Misty’s eyes were swollen, as though she’d been crying, while Frosty was 
laying next to her quietly.  Daddy gently picked up his daughter while Mommy gently 
picked up Frosty and they carried them home.


Well, that’s about all there is to the story except that it’s been two years and Misty and 
Frosty are taking good care of the garden.  People who have seen it say it’s the most 
beautiful garden they’ve ever seen.


As for the necklace?  Misty wears her necklace constantly,.  When anyone asks her where 
she got it, she says, "Mr. Mur Mur gave it to me."    


A beautiful garden is like a mirror; it is a reflection of love.  


Joseph Vosbikian