园中开着艳艳的花，有蝴蝶儿飞，也有鸟儿叫。小姑娘叶子，唱着歌，在打旋舞。为了扑蝴蝶把裙子扯破。妈妈站在门口。

Gorgeous flowers were in full bloom， with butterflies dancing and birds singing. A little girl named Leaf ran after the butterflies， singing and spinning， without caring that her dress had got caught and torn. Her mother stood at the door and said reproachfully：

“叶子，你这样孩子。”

“Leaf， watch what you’re doing！”

她什么都不听见，花枝一排一排地倒在脚下，把蝴蝶扑在手里。

Ignoring her mother， she deftly caught a butterfly in her hand after trampling down quite a few rows of flowers.

太阳把雪照成水了，从房檐滴到了满阶。后来树枝发芽，树叶成荫了。后园里又飞着去年的蝴蝶。五月来到，后园和去年一样，蝴蝶戏着小姑娘们玩，蝴蝶被扑着。可是叶子，她不扑蝴蝶了，尽管在那儿幽思，望着天上多彩的云，望着插向云中的树梢，一会用扇子遮住她幽思的眼睛。

The snow on the roof began to melt in the sun， dripping from the eaves onto the steps in front of the door. Later， the trees sprouted and offered shade. Fluttering in the back garden were last year’s butterflies. It was May now. Like last spring， little girls were frolicking with butterflies， trying to catch one or two of them. Yet instead of getting involved in the play， Leaf was sitting there， lost in thought， first gazing at the clouds and the sky-piercing treetops， then shielding her pensive eyes with a fan.

妈妈站在门口。

Her mother， standing at the door， asked with concern：

“叶子，你为什么总坐在那儿想啊，脸儿怕瘦了？”

“Leaf， why do you always sit there in thought？ You’re wasting away with worry.”

她常常在园里静思，暑假慢慢地来到，表哥——莺，回来了。以后花园里，又是旋舞，扑蝴蝶。叶子的歌声天天在后园里鲜明着。莺哥和叶子坐在树下，树叶有时落在腿上，后来树叶绕着腿。

She often sat there， lost in quiet reverie， until the summer holiday came and her cousin Oriole came back. They frolicked with butterflies in the garden， her songs resounding in the air. They sat side by side under a tree， watching as the leaves fell， some landing on their lap， some floating around their feet.

暑假过去，莺哥回学校了，园里飞发树叶。只因没有蜂儿，鸟雀回巢，蝴蝶飞过墙东不再回来，一切被莺哥带了去似的。2叶子倒在床上害病，脸儿渐渐黄，爸妈着急，医生来了一个又一个，药瓶摆在床头，脸儿更黄更瘦。3

When the holiday was over， Oriole left for school. With tree leaves falling over the garden， bees were no longer to be seen， birds went back to their nests， and the butterflies disappeared beyond the eastern wall， as if all were leaving with him. Leaf fell ill， and her cheeks gradually sank in. Her parents， burning with worry， invited one doctor after another. Bottles of pills were laid by her bed. Her face grew sallow and thin.

外面飘起白白的雪，妈妈问：

Outside， white snowflakes began to fall. Mother asked：

“为什么病呢？对妈妈说。”

“Why are you so sick？ Tell me， my child.”

叶子只是默默地等着寒假4，常常翻着日历，十号，十一号……十五号了，她慰莺哥哥接近着她了，穿得干净的衣裳，坐在窗里望。真的有人在叫门，叶子心跳着。妈妈去开了门，穿着青制服，青制帽，踏着雪响，莺哥微笑着。