1、TheFlax亚麻The flax was in full bloom. It had such pretty blue blossoms, as soft as the wings of a moth, and even more delicate. And the sun shone down on the flax, and the rain clouds watered it, and that was as good for it as it is for little children to be bathed and kissed by their mothers-it make
2、s them look so much prettier, and so it did the flax.People say that I stand exceedingly well, said the flax, and that I am growing so charmingly tall that Ill make a grand piece of linen. Oh, how happy I am! No one could possibly be happier! How well off I am! And Im sure Ill be put to some good us
3、e, too. The sunshine makes me so cheerful, and the rain tastes so fresh! Im exceedingly happy; yes, Im sure Im the happiest being in the world!Oh, yes, jeered the hedge stakes. But you dont know the world the way we do. There are knots in us. And then they creaked out dolefully: Snip, snap, snurre,
4、Basse lurre! The ballad is over!No, its not, said the flax. The sun will shine tomorrow, and the rain is so good for me, I can hear myself grow; I can feel that Im in blossom. Who could ever be as happy as I?But one day people came, grabbed the flax by the top, and pulled it up by the roots. Oh, how
5、 that hurt! Then it was thrown into the water as if to be drowned, and after that laid on the fire as if to be roasted. It was terrible!You cant always have what you want, said the flax. Its good to suffer sometimes; it gives you experience.But there was still worse to come. The flax was broken and
6、cracked, hackled and scalded-it didnt even know what the operations were called- and finally put on the wheel - snurre, snurre! It was impossible to think clearly.I have been very happy in the past, it thought in all its pain. You should always be thankful for the happiness youve enjoyed. Thankful,
7、oh, yes! And the flax clung to that thought as it was taken to the loom. And there it was woven into a large, beautiful piece of linen. All the flax from one field was made into one piece of cloth.But this is amazing! cried the flax. I never should have expected it! How lucky I am! What nonsense the
8、 hedge stakes used to talk with their, Snip, snap, snurre, Basse lurre!Why, the ballad is by no means over! No, it is just beginning! This is wonderful! Ive suffered, yes, but Ive been made into something through suffering. Im happier than anyone could be. How strong and yet soft I am, how white and
9、 long! This is much better than just being a plant; even if you bear flowers, nobody attends to you, and you only get watered when it rains. Now I get attention! The maid turns me over every morning, and gives me a shower bath in the washtub every evening. Why, the parsons wife herself came and look
10、ed at me, and said I was the finest piece of linen in the whole parish! Who could be any happier than I am now!Now the linen was taken into the house and cut up by the scissors. How they clipped and how they cut, and how it was pierced through with needles! Yes, thats what they did, and it was all v
11、ery unpleasant. But at last it was made up into twelve garments-garments that are unmentionable, but that people cannot do without. Twelve of them.Well, look at that! Now I am really useful! cried the linen. So this is my destiny! What a blessing! Now I am useful. And nothing brings such happiness a
12、s to be useful in the world! Now were twelve pieces, but were still one and the same. We are one dozen. What a stroke of luck!The years passed, and at last the linen pieces wouldnt hold together any longer.Everything must come to an end, said each piece. I should like to have lasted a little longer,
13、 but you shouldnt wish for things like that.Now the pieces were torn into rags and fragments, and they were sure it was going to be the end of them. They were hacked and mashed and boiled-yes, they didnt know what else was done to them-but finally they became beautiful white paper!Well, if this isnt
14、 a surprise! said the paper. And a wonderful surprise! Why, Im finer than ever! And people will write on me now. What wonderful stories theyll write! I certainly am lucky!And beautiful stories were written on the paper, and people read them and said they were very fine and would make mankind wiser a
15、nd better. The words written on that paper would bring great blessings to the world.This is more than I could ever have dreamed of, when I was a tiny blue flower in the field. How could I have expected to spread wisdom and joy to mankind? I cant yet understand it, but thats what has happened. Our Lo
16、rd knows that Ive really never done anything myself, but just tried to live as well as I could, yet He carries me one honor to another. Every time I think, Now surely the ballad is over, I am moved up to something better. Now I suppose people will send me around the world, so everybody can read me.
17、Thats most likely. For every blue flower I used to have, I will now carry a beautiful thought! How could anyone be happier!But the paper did not travel around the world-instead it went to the printer, and there everything that was written on it was printed in a book, yes, in hundreds of books. In th
18、at way a great many more people could get pleasure and benefit from the writings than if the one paper on which it was written had been sent out into the world and been worn out before it had gone very far.Yes, this is the most sensible way, thought the paper. I didnt think of it. Ill stay at home,
19、and be held in great honor, like an old grandfather. Because the book was written on me first; every word came down from the authors pen right onto me. But it is much better for the printed books to go out into the world and do good; I couldnt have wandered as far as they can go. My, how happy I am,
20、 and how lucky!Then the paper was bundled up and put away on a shelf. Its good to rest a little after working, said the paper. It gives you a chance to collect your thoughts and figure out whats inside of you. Now! I really know all that is written on me, and that means true progress. I wonder whats
21、 going to happen to me now! At any rate, I know Ill go forward again; Im always going forward.At last the paper was taken out to the stove-it was to be burnt, for everybody said it wouldnt be proper to sell that paper to the huckster for wrapping butter and powdered sugar. And all the children in th
22、e house flocked around, for they wanted to see the blaze and count the many tiny red sparks as they died out, one after another. They call these sparks the children going out of school, and the last spark of all is the schoolmaster. Sometimes they think he has gone, but then comes another-the school
23、master always come a little behind the rest.So the big bundle of paper was laid on the fire. Oh! it cried, as it suddenly burst into flame. It rose higher into the air than the flax had ever been able to send its little blue blossoms, and it shone more brilliantly than the linen had ever been able t
24、o shine. Instantly the letters written on it became fiery red, and the words and thoughts of the writer vanished in the flame.Im going straight up to the sun! said a voice in the flame. It was as if a thousand voices cried this together, as the flames burst through the chimney and out at the top. An
25、d brighter than the flames, but still invisible to mortal eyes, little tiny beings hovered, just as many as there had been blossoms on the flax long ago. They were lighter even than the flame which gave them birth, and when that flame had died away and nothing was left of the paper but black ashes,
26、they danced over the embers again. Wherever their feet touched, their footprints, the tiny red sparks, could be seen. Thus the children came out of school, and the schoolmaster came last. It was a pleasure to watch, and the children of the house sang over the dead ashes: Snip, snap, snurre, Basse lurre! The ballad is over!But the tiny invisible beings cried, The ballad is never over! That is the best of all! We know that, and therefore none are so happy as we!But the children couldnt hear or understand that. And perhaps thats just as well; children shouldnt know everything.
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