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Again, it was the growth of a plant that furnished the text for a lesson.
這樣的例子還有不少，比如，植物的生長過程就是我學習的“課本”。
We bought a lily and set it in a sunny window.
我們買來了一盆百合花，然后把它放在陽光通透的窗臺上。
Very soon the green, pointed buds showed signs of opening.
沒過多久，嫩綠挺拔的花蕾便顯露出了開放的征兆。
The slender, fingerlike leaves on the outside opened slowly, reluctant, I thought, to reveal the loveliness they hid;
最初，纖巧得如同手指一樣粗細的葉子慢慢向外張開。我想，它可能不太情愿向人展示其內在的魅力。
once having made a start, however, the opening process went on rapidly, but in order and systematically.
接著，它再一次啟動了開放進程，這個過程顯得迅速而有條不紊；
There was always one bud larger and more beautiful than the rest, which pushed her outer, covering back with more pomp,
而且，總是有一個花蕾鶴立雞群，同其余的花苞相比更大更美麗。于是，群芳就將這個最出眾的花蕾推到了舞臺上，
as if the beauty in soft, silky robes knew that she was the lily-queen by right divine,
而這個披著纖巧柔美外衣的蓓蕾似乎也知曉自己就是神圣的“百合花女王”；
while her more timid sisters doffed their green hoods shyly, until the whole plant was one nodding bough of loveliness and fragrance.
與此同時，她的那些羞怯的姊妹也紛紛摘下了綠色的頭巾，直到整盆百合變成了一個爭奇斗艷、芬芳四溢的花中翹楚。
Once there were eleven tadpoles in a glass globe set in a window full of plants.
有一次，在種滿了各類花草的窗戶邊，不知是誰放了一個球形玻璃魚缸，里面還游動著十一只蝌蚪。
I remember the eagerness with which I made discoveries about them.
至今，我仍然記得對這些蝌蚪進行探索時的強烈好奇心。
It was great fun to plunge my hand into the bowl and feel the tadpoles frisk about, and to let them slip and slide between my fingers.
我把手伸進魚缸里，讓蝌蚪在手指間穿梭游動，這帶給了我巨大的快樂。
One day a more ambitious fellow leaped beyond the edge of the bowl and fell on the floor, where I found him to all appearance more dead than alive.
一天，蝌蚪里有一只雄心勃勃的家伙蹦出了魚缸落到地上。待我摸到時，我發現它已經半死不活了，
The only sign of life was a slight wriggling of his tail.
唯一的生命跡象就是它輕輕蠕動的尾巴。
But no sooner had he returned to his element than he darted to the bottom, swimming round and round in joyous activity.
但是我很快把它放回了魚缸，于是，這只蝌蚪一頭扎進水底，歡快地在魚缸里游來游去。
