THE GOLDEN RULE.

 LIZZIE had a present of a wild bluebird from her auntie, who caught it when it was a wee baby bird. It was a beauty, and Lizzie was very happy with her pet. One day she hung the cage on the veranda¹ and saw how pleased the little creature was. Pretty soon it burst into a beautiful song, and she saw another bird near by, and that was a bluebird, too. Lizzie fancied her bird looked sad when the other one flew away, and that made her wonder if she had a right to keep a wild bird shut up in a cage. “I wouldn’t like to be caught and shut up, I know,” thought Lizzie, “and what I would not like to have done to me I ought not to do even to a bird.” And so Lizzie wrote a letter to her auntie, asking if she might set her dear bird free. Auntie said she might, and the very next morning Lizzie opened the prison door and birdie went free, all because a loving-hearted little girl was willing to do as she would like to be done by.

 

“PICK your poppies every day,” said grandma, “and then others will come to take their place; and if you leave a fine one here and there with a bit of thread of the same color tied to its stem², you will know how to sort them.”

 

So all summer Bessie picked the poppies and gave them to her friends, who cried out with delight over their lovely colors; and she did not forget the poor children who live in tenements³ without gardens, and who looked longingly⁴ at the bright bed as they passed.

 

The seeds had only cost a nickel⁵ in the springtime; and caring for the flower beds made the little girl well and strong. So it was wise in Uncle Harry⁶ to suggest this pleasant task to Bessie.

1 veranda   

n.走廊；阳台

参考例句：

• She sat in the shade on the veranda.她坐在阳台上的遮荫处。
• They were strolling up and down the veranda.他们在走廊上来回徜徉。

2 stem   

n.茎，干，船首，词干，血统；vt.堵住，阻止，抽去梗；vi.起源于，发生

参考例句：

• Cut the stem cleanly,just beneath a leaf joint.把茎切整齐点，正好切在叶根下。
• The ship was in a blaze from stem to stern.整艘船从头到尾都着火了。

3 tenements   

n.房屋，住户，租房子( tenement的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Here were crumbling tenements, squalid courtyards and stinking alleys. 随处可见破烂的住房、肮脏的庭院和臭气熏天的小胡同。 来自辞典例句
• The tenements are in a poor section of the city. 共同住宅是在城中较贫苦的区域里。 来自辞典例句

4 longingly   

adv. 渴望地 热望地

参考例句：

• He looked longingly at the food on the table. 他眼巴巴地盯着桌上的食物。
• Over drinks,he speaks longingly of his trip to Latin America. 他带着留恋的心情，一边喝酒一边叙述他的拉丁美洲之行。

5 nickel   

n.镍，（美国和加拿大的）五分钱

参考例句：

• Nickel can be used for making coins.镍可做成钱币。
• May I have a nickel?能给我五分钱吗？

6 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。