LESSON 42

WHAT THE LEAF SAID

树叶说什么

leaf task twice sighing holidays
gay twig meant stopped different
puff edge matter autumn hundreds
lead grew rustled October trembling

  1. Once or twice a little leaf was heard to cry and sigh, as leaves often do when a gentle wind is blowing. And the twig said, "What is the matter, little leaf?"

  2. "The wind," said the leaf, "just told me that one day it would pull me off, and throw me on the ground to die."

  3. The twig told it to the branch, and the branch told it to the tree. When the tree heard it, it rustled all over, and sent word back to the trembling leaf.

  4. "Do not be afraid," it said; "hold on tight, and you shall not go off till you are ready."

  5. So the leaf stopped sighing, and went on singing and rustling. It grew all the summer long till October. And when the bright days of autumn came, the leaf saw all the leaves around growing very beautiful.

LESSON 42 - 图1

  1. Some were yellow, some were brown, and many were striped with different colors. Then the leaf asked the tree what this meant.

  2. The tree said, "All these leaves are getting ready to fly away, and they have put on these colors because of their joy."

  3. Then the little leaf began to want to go, and grew very beautiful in thinking of it. When it was gay in colors, it saw that the branches of the tree had no bright colors on them.

  4. So the leaf said, "O branch! why are you lead-colored while we are all beautiful and golden?"

  5. "We must keep on our working clothes," said the tree, "for our work is not yet done; but your clothes are for holidays, because your task is now over."

  6. Just then a little puff of wind came, and the leaf let go without thinking, and the wind took it up and turned it over and over.

  7. Then it fell gently down under the edge of the fence, among hundreds of leaves, and has never waked to tell us what it dreamed about.

【中文阅读】

1．有一两回，每当小叶子听到一阵温和的春风吹起时，便会一边流泪一边叹息。小枝条说：“怎么啦，小叶子？”

2．“是风。”叶子说，“它告诉我有一天它会把我吹掉，然后把我扔在地上摔死。”

3．小枝条把这话告诉了树枝，树枝又告诉了大树。当大树听说后，它全身沙沙作响，传话给正在发抖的叶子。

4．“不要怕。”它说，“抓紧一些，直到你准备好为止，你是不会离开的。”

5．叶子不再叹息，又继续唱起歌，沙沙作响。它在整个夏天长得长长的，直到秋天来临。当清爽明丽的秋日到来时，叶子看到周围的叶子都长得非常漂亮。

6．它们中有些呈黄色，有些是棕色，还有一些则呈现出斑斑驳驳的各种颜色。然后，叶子问大树这个现象意味着什么。

7．大树说：“所有这些叶子都准备好飞走了。他们心里都很高兴，所以才穿上了这些颜色的衣服。”

8．小叶子也开始想要走了，它变得非常漂亮，就像它所希望的那样。当它徜徉在缤纷的色彩里时，却看到大树的树枝没有变得鲜艳夺目。

9．叶子说：“噢，树枝呀！为什么当我们都变成漂亮的金色时，你们却没有变色呢？”

10．“我们必须一直穿着我的工作服。”大树说：“因为我们的工作还没完成。但你们的衣服是为假期准备的，因为你们的任务现在已经完成了。”

11．就在这时，一阵风吹来，叶子毫不犹豫地飞走了，风把它吹得高高的，在空中翩翩起舞。

12．它轻轻落在围墙边，和成百上千的叶子一起，从未醒来告诉我们：他们究竟梦到了什么。