LESSON 3 LET IT RAIN 下雨吧
Rose: See how it rains! Oh dear, dear, dear! how dull it is! Must I stay in doors all day?
Father: Why, Rose, are you sorry that you had any bread and butter for breakfast, this morning?
Rose: Why, father, what a question! I should be sorry, indeed, if I could not get any.
Father: Are you sorry, my daughter, when you see the flowers and the trees growing in the garden?
Rose: Sorry? No, indeed.Just now, I wished very much to go out and see them,—they look so pretty.
Father: Well, are you sorry when you see the horses, cows, or sheep drinking at the brook to quench their thirst?
Rose: Why, father, you must think I am a cruel girl, to wish that the poor horses that work so hard, the beautiful cows that give so much nice milk, and the pretty lambs should always be thirsty.
Father: Do you not think they would die, if they had no water to drink?
Rose: Yes, sir, I am sure they would.How shocking to think of such a thing!
Father: I thought little Rose was sorry it rained.Do you think the trees and fl owers would grow, if they never had any water on them?
Rose: No, indeed, father, they would be dried up by the sun.Then we should not have any pretty fl owers to look at, and to make wreaths of for mother.
Father: I thought you were sorry it rained.Rose, what is our bread made of?
Rose: It is made of flour, and the flour is made from wheat, which is ground in the mill.
Father: Yes, Rose, and it was rain that helped to make the wheat grow, and it was water that turned the mill to grind the wheat.I thought little Rose was sorry it rained.
Rose: I did not think of all these things, father.I am truly very glad to see the rain falling.
【中文阅读】
罗丝：瞧，雨下得多大呀！唉，天哪，天哪，天哪！多么无聊啊！难道我一整天都要呆在家里？
父亲：罗丝，你是因为今天早餐吃了面包和黄油而不高兴吗？
罗丝：噢，爸爸，这是什么问题呀！如果我没吃面包和黄油才不高兴呢。
父亲：那么，我的女儿，你是看见花园里盛开的鲜花和茂密的树木而不高兴吗？
罗丝：为这不高兴？不是的，的确不是的。刚才，我还非常想出去看看它们呢——它们实在太漂亮了。
父亲：那么，你是因为看到溪边的小马、小牛、小羊喝水解渴而不高兴吗？
罗丝：得了，爸爸，您一定认为我是一个冷酷无情的小女孩，总希望辛苦干活的可怜小马，产甜奶的漂亮小牛，可爱的小羊都渴着吧。
父亲：如果没有水喝，它们就会死去，你不这么认为吗？
罗丝：是的，爸爸，我也是这么想的。一想到这样的事，多么令人震惊呀！
父亲：我猜到了，小罗丝是因为下雨而不高兴。如果树和花没有雨水落到它们身上，你认为它们还会生长吗？这些你想过没有？
罗丝：不会，它们不会生长了，爸爸，它们会被太阳烤干的。那样我们就看不到美丽的鲜花，没法给妈妈编织花环了。
父亲：我猜到了，你是因为下雨不高兴。罗丝，我们的面包是用什么做的？
罗丝：是面粉做的，面粉是由麦子磨制而成的。
父亲：说对了，罗丝，正是雨水使小麦生长，也是水使磨转动将麦子磨碎的。我猜到了，小罗丝是因为下雨不高兴。
罗丝：爸爸，刚才我没有想这么多事情。现在，看见下雨我真的非常高兴了。