THERE was a proud tea-pot， proudofits porcelain，proudofits long spout¹， proudof its broad handle； it had something both before and behind， the spout before and the handle behind， and it talked about it； but it did not talkabout itslid；thatwas cracked， it was riveted， it had a de－ fect， andone does not willingly talk of one's defects； oth－ersdothat sufficiently． The cups， the cream－pot， and the sugar－basin， the whole of the tea-service would remember more about the frailty² of the lid and talk about it， thanaboutthegoodhandle andthe splendid spout； the tea－pot knew that．

"I know them!"it said to itself，"Iknow also my defect andI ad－

mit it；therein lies my humility，my modesty；

we all have defects， butone has also merits、 Thecups have a handle， thesugar－basin a lid， Ihaveboth ofthese and anoth－erthingbesides， which they neverhave， Ihave a spout， and that makes me the queen of the tea－table． To the sug－ar-basinandthe cream－pot it isgranted tobethe servantsof sweet taste， butI am the giver， the ruler of all； Idisseminate blessing among thirsty humanity； in my inside theChinese leaves are prepared in the boiling， tastelesswater．"The tea－pot said all this initsundaunted youth． Itstood on the tablelaid fortea；and itwaslifted by thefinesthand； butthe finest hand was clumsy， thetea－potfell， the spout broke off， the handle broke off， the lid isnotworth talkingabout， for enough has been saidabout it．

The tea－potlay in afaint on the floor； theboilingwater ranout of it． That was a hard blow it got， and the hardest ofallwasthat they laughed； theylaughed at it， and not atthe awkward hand．

"I shall never get that experience out of my mind， said the tea－pot， when it afterwards related its career to it－self，"Iwas called an invalid and set in a corner，and theday after， presented to a woman who begged kitchen－refuse． Icame down into poverty， stood speechless bothout and in； but there， as Istood， my better life began；one is one thing， and becomes something quite different．Earth was put into me； for a tea－pot， that is the same as tobe buried， but in the earth was put a bulb； who laid itthere， whogaveit， Iknownot， butgiven itwas， a com－pensation for the Chinese leaves and the boiling water，acompensation for thebroken-off handleandspout．And thebulb lay in the earth， the bulb lay in me， it became myheart，my living heart，and such a thing Ihad never hadbefore． There was life in me， there was strength andvigour． The pulse beat， the bulb sprouted， it was burstingwith thoughts and feelings；then itbroke out in flower；Isaw it， Icarried it， Iforgot myself in its loveliness； it is ablessedthingtoforget oneselfin others！ It did notthankme； it didnot thinkabout me： it wasadmired and praised．I wasso gladabout it； how gladmust it havebeen then！On dayIheard it said that itdeserved a betterpot．Theybrokeme through the middle； it was frightfully painful； buttheflower was put in abetter pot，andIwas thrown out in－to the yard； Ilie there like an old potsherd，—butI havethe remembrance， thatI cannot lose．"

点击收听单词发音  

1 spout
v.喷出，涌出；滔滔不绝地讲；n.喷管；水柱
参考例句：
Implication in folk wealth creativity and undertaking vigor spout.蕴藏于民间的财富创造力和创业活力喷涌而出。 This acts as a spout to drain off water during a rainstorm.在暴风雨季，这东西被用作喷管来排水。

2 frailty
n.脆弱；意志薄弱
参考例句：
Despite increasing physical frailty,he continued to write stories.尽管身体越来越虛弱，他仍然继续写小说。 He paused and suddenly all the frailty and fatigue showed.他顿住了，虚弱与疲惫一下子显露出来。