By Russell Gordon Carter 拉塞尔·戈登.卡特

　　Suppose that you love grass and flowers and trees very much, 假如你非常喜欢花草树木，

　　and that you have always lived where you could enjoy them in your own yard. 并且总是住在在院子里就能够欣赏它们的地方。

　　Then suppose you had to move to a place where there were none of these pleasures. 那么，假设你不得不搬到一个没有这些乐趣的地方，

　　What would you do? 你会怎么办？

　　You may be greatly surprised to read what the girl and boy in this story did. 知道这个故事中男孩和女孩的做法后，你可能会感到非常惊讶。

　　When the Gilberts first moved to the city, 当吉尔伯特一家刚搬到城市的时候，

　　they took rooms in a boarding-house, and began to look for a new home. 他们住在寄宿公寓里，并开始寻找新家。

　　"I hope it will have a big back yard with grass and flowers," said Elise. “我希望新家带一个有花有草的大后院。”伊莉斯说。

　　"Yes," said her brother Frank, "and I hope it will have a tree where the birds can play." “是的。”她的哥哥弗兰克说，“而且我希望院子里有一棵大树，鸟儿能在上面玩耍。”

　　But it was not easy to find a house that pleased them. 但让他们满意的房子并不好找。

　　For six weeks the Gilberts hunted and hunted. 吉尔伯特一家一直找了六周。

　　Then at last one afternoon, when Frank and Elise came home from school, 最终在一个下午，弗兰克和伊莉斯从学校回到家的时候，

　　their mother said, "Well, we have found a house." 妈妈说：“我们找到房子了。”

　　"Has it a back yard with flowers?" asked Elise. “它有带花的后院吗？”伊莉斯问道。

　　"And a tree?" said Frank. “有树吗？”弗兰克说道。

　　"Well, not exactly," replied Mrs. Gilbert, slowly. “嗯，不全有。”吉尔伯特太太慢吞吞地回答说。

　　On the first of the next month the Gilberts moved into the new home. 下个月月初，吉尔伯特一家搬进了新家。

　　At once Frank and Elise hurried out to the back yard. 弗兰克和伊莉斯马上奔到后院。

　　What they found was just smooth concrete. 他们看到的只是光滑的水泥地。

　　There was not a blade of grass anywhere, or even a small bush. 那里没有一片草，甚至连一株小灌木也没有。

　　In one corner stood a tall white flagpole. 只在一个角落里竖着一根高高的白色旗杆。

　　"Well,'' said Frank. "Concrete instead of grass, and a pole instead of a tree!" “哎。”弗兰克说，“是水泥地，不是草地，有一根杆子，而不是一棵树！”

　　"I don't see what we can do about it," answered Elise. “我不知道我们能干什么。”伊莉斯回答说，

　　"Nothing will grow here, and I don't suppose that we shall be able to make friends with the birds. “这里什么都不会长，我想我们不能与鸟儿交朋友了。

　　But we can't help it." 我们什么都做不了。”