IN the windows tood a rose tree，latelyblooming withyouth，but now it look edsickly；something ailed¹ it．

Ithad got a company quartered on it which ate it up：otherwise， a very respectable companyin green uniform． Ispoke with oneofthem，hewasonly threedays old， and already a great-grandfather．Do you know what he said？ Itwas true what hesaid； he spoke² of himself and the whole company.

"Wearethe most remarkableregimentamong all the creaturesofearth． In the warm season， webear living young ones；the weather is good then， andwe betroth³ ourselves at once， and celebrate the wedding．Towards the cold season， we lay eggs and the little ones lie snug⁴ in them． That wisest of animals， the ant—we have a great respect for it—studies us and values us． It does not eat us at once， it takes our eggs，laysthem in the com－ mon ant－hill of thefamily， on thegroundfloor，lays us marked and numbered,side by side， layer on layer，so that every day afresh one canspringoutthe egg；then they set us in stalls， stroke us overthe hind⁵ legs and milk us， sothatwe die．That isextremely comfortable！ Among them we have the most charming name，'Sweet littlemilk cow！' All the animals with the understanding ofthe ant call us so； only human beings—and it is a great insultto us， it is enough toloseone's sweetness over，—can you not write against it， can you not reprimand them，these human beings？—theylook at us so stupidly， look sullen⁶ because we eat a rose－leaf， while they themselves eat all living tings，everything which is green and grows．They call us the most contemptuous name， the most disgusting name;Iwill notnameit， ugh！ it turns me sick!I cannot sayit， at least in uniform， andI am always in uniform．"

"Iwasborn on a rose－tree leaf； Iand thewhole regiment live on the rose－tree， but it lives again in us， who belong tothe higher orderofcreation． Men cannot tolerate us； theycome and murder uswithsoap-suds； it is anasty drink！ IthinkI smell it！ It is frightful to be washed， whenone isborn nottobewashed．"

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1 ailed
v.生病( ail的过去式和过去分词 )；感到不舒服；处境困难；境况不佳
参考例句：
Never in his life had Robin ailed before. 罗宾过去从未生过病。 来自《简明英汉词典》 I wasn't in form, that's what ailed me.\" 我的竞技状态不佳，我输就输在这一点上。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

2 spoke
n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说
参考例句：
They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。 The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 betroth
v.订婚
参考例句：
She is betrothed to John.她同约翰订了婚。 Her father betrothed her to him at an early age.她父亲在她年幼时已把她许配给他。

4 snug
adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房
参考例句：
He showed us into a snug little sitting room.他领我们走进了一间温暖而舒适的小客厅。 She had a small but snug home.她有个小小的但很舒适的家。

5 hind
adj.后面的，后部的
参考例句：
The animal is able to stand up on its hind limbs.这种动物能够用后肢站立。 Don't hind her in her studies.不要在学业上扯她后腿。

6 sullen
adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的
参考例句：
He looked up at the sullen sky.他抬头看了一眼阴沉的天空。 Susan was sullen in the morning because she hadn't slept well.苏珊今天早上郁闷不乐，因为昨晚没睡好。