Mabel loves to share the flowers in her garden with her friends Nigel and George, and together they enjoy and play among them. But when Nigel and George find the flowers growing in their own garden, Mabel is angry and accuses them of stealing. She builds a high wall around her own house and garden and refuses to let her friends in. When the flowers start to die because they have no sun, Mabel does her best to help them, to no avail. It is Nigel and George who help her realise that the flower seeds have come through the air and planted themselves everywhere outside her wall. She must say sorry for her selfish behaviour, and together they remove the wall. It is the illustrations that make this story extra-special. Mabel is a little girl, but her friends are magical animals - george, a giraffe, and Nigel something indeterminate and blue, with a tail. The juxtaposition of the ordinary names with the three extraordinary beings is a delight, and the lovely, lilting colours are full of joy and sombreness as appropriate. A beautiful parable.