flax. “to-morrow the sun will shine, or the rain descend. I feel that I am growing. I feel that I am in the full blossom. I am the happiest of all creatures.”

嗯，有一天，來了一些人，他們抓住亞麻，把它連根拔起；這可真疼啊；然後又把它放在水裡，好像要把它淹死似的；接著，又把它放在火邊，好像要把它烤了似的；這一切都太可怕了。

well, one day some people came, who took hold of the flax, and pulled it up by the roots; this was painful; then it was laid in water as if they intended to drown it; and, after that, placed near a fire as if it were to be roasted; all this was very shocking.

“我們不能指望永遠都幸福，” 亞麻說，“經歷過好壞兩方面的事，我們才能變得明智。”

“we cannot expect to be happy always,” said the flax; “by experiencing evil as well as good, we bee wise.”

而亞麻肯定要遭遇不少磨難。

And certainly there was plenty of evil in store for the flax.

它被浸泡、烘烤、折斷、梳理；說實在的，它都幾乎不知道自己遭受了些什麼。

It was steeped, and roasted, and broken, and bed; indeed, it scarcely knew what was done to it.

最後，它被放到了紡車上。

At last it was put on the spinning wheel.

“呼呼，呼呼”，紡車轉得飛快，亞麻都來不及細想。

“whirr, whirr,” went the wheel so quickly that the flax could not collect its thoughts.

“嗯，我曾經非常幸福，” 它在痛苦之中這樣想著，“必須對過去感到滿足；” 它就一直保持著滿足的心態，直到被放到織布機上，變成了一塊漂亮的白色亞麻布。

“well, I have been very happy,” he thought in the midst of his pain, “and must be contented with the past;” and contented he remained till he was put on the loom, and became a beautiful piece of white linen.

所有的亞麻，甚至連最後一根莖杆都被用來織成了這一塊布。

All the flax, even to the last stalk, was used in