THE ROSE TREE

AROUND the garden ran a hedge of hazels；beyondthis hedge lay fields and meadows，with cows and sheep；but in the midst of the garden stood a blooming Rose

Tree；and under it lived a Snail¹，who had a good deal inhis shell-namely，himself．

"Wait till my time comes！"he said：" I shall dosomething more that produce roses and bear nuts；or givemilk，like the cows and the sheep！"

"I expect a great deal of you"，said the Rose Tree．"But may I ask when it will appear？"

"I take my time．"replied the Snail．"You are al-ways in such a hurry．You don't rouse people's interestby suspense．"

Next year the Snail lay almost in the same spot, inthe sunshine under the Rose Tree，which again bore budsthat bloomed into roses，always fresh，always new．Andthe Snail crept half-way out，put out its horns and thendrew them in again．

"Everything looks just like last year．There has beenno progress．The Rose Tree sticks to roses；it gets no far-ther．"

The summer passed，the autumn came；the Rose Tree had always flowers and buds，until the snow fell andthe weather became raw and cold； then the Rose Treebowed its head and the Snail crept into the ground．

A new year began； and the roses came out， and theSnail came out also．

"You're an old Rose Tree now！" said the Snail．"You must make haste and come to an end， for you havegiven the world all that was in you： whether it was of anyuse is a question that I have had no time to consider；butso much is clear and plain，that you have done notinng atall for your own development，or you would have producedsomething else．How can you answer for that？In a littletime you will be nothing at all but a stick．Do you under-stand what I say？"

"You alarm me！"replied the Rose Tree．"I neverthought of that at all．"

"No，you have not taken the trouble to consider anything．Have you ever given an account to yourself， why you bloomed， and how it is that your blooming comesabout-why it is thus， and not otherwise．"

"No，"answered the Rose Tree．"I bloomed in glad-ness，because I could not do anything else The sun was so warm，and the air so refreshing．I drank the pure dewand the fresh rain，and I lived，I breathed．Out of theearth there arose a power within me，from above there came down a strength：I perceived a new ever-increasinghappiness，and consequently I was obliged to bloom overand over again； that was my life； I could not do other-wise．

"You have led a very pleasant life，"observed the Snail．

"Certainly．Everything was given to me，"said the Rose Tree．"But more still was given to you．You are oneof those deep thoughtful characters，one of those highlygifted spirits，which will cause the world to marvel．"

点击收听单词发音  

1 snail
n.蜗牛
参考例句：
Snail is a small plant-eating creature with a soft body.蜗牛是一种软体草食动物。 Time moved at a snail's pace before the holidays.放假前的时间过得很慢。

2 retired
adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的
参考例句：
The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。 Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

3 bosom
n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的
参考例句：
She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。 A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。

4 spat
n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声
参考例句：
Her parents always have spats.她的父母经常有些小的口角。 There is only a spat between the brother and sister.那只是兄妹间的小吵小闹。