2.丝绸之路

Lesson Two

Grandfather’s Garden

1. We have a large garden at home. There are bees, butterflies, dragonflies, and grasshoppers.

2. Butterflies include white ones and yellow ones. These kinds are small and not so good-looking.

3. Red butterflies are pretty covered with golden powder.

4. Dragonflies are golden. Grasshoppers are green.

5. A bee buzzes around, all fluffy, and land on a flower. Chubby and plump, it looks like a still fluff ball.

7. Inside the garden, it is bright with red and green colors. It is refreshing and beautiful.

8. It is said that this garden was an orchard.

9. Grandma liked to keep goats and the goats grazed on the fruit trees. The fruit trees gradually died.

10. Since I can remember, only a cherry tree and a plum tree are left in the garden. As the cherry and plum trees do not often bear fruit, I feel like they do not really exist.

11. When I was little, I felt that there was only an elm tree in the garden.

12. It is in the northwest corner of the garden. When there was wind, the elm would rustle first. When there was rain, the elm would be covered with mist first.

13. After the sun appeared, the elm leaves would shine. They were shimmering, like the shells on the beach.

14. Grandpa spent the whole day in the garden. I followed him around there.

15. Grandpa wore a big straw hat and I wore a small one. Grandpa planted flowers and I would do the same. Grandpa got rid of the weeds, and I would do the same.

16. When my grandfather planted pak choi, I followed behind and stepped to flatten the soil holes with seeds. Would it be barely accurate?

17. Just one step after another, messing around.

18. Sometimes, the seeds were not covered up but kicked away.

19. Grandpa plowed the field and I would do the same.

20. Because I was too little and could not hold up the hoe. Then, Grandpa removed the stick of the hoe. So I could hold the metal part to dig.  

21. Actually, could it be called dig? I was just lying on the ground and poking randomly with the hoe.

22. I did not recognize which was a seeding and which was weed.  I usually took the leek as weed and removed it and keep the Hairy Uraria as ears of grains.

23. Grandpa saw a stretch of Hairy Uraria on the field I just weeded. He asked me, “What is that?”

24. I said, “Grain.”

25. Grandpa started to laugh aloud. After laughing for a while, he pulled and picked the weed up. He asked me, “Is this what you eat every day?”

26. I said, “Yes.”

27. Since I saw Grandpa was still laughing, I said, “If you don’t believe, I’ll find it inside to show you.”

28. I ran our house to take an ear of grain and threw it at Grandpa at a distance. I said, “Aren’t they the same?”

29. Grandpa asked to get closer and explained it to me. He said that grains had spikes but Hairy Uraria did not. Hairy Uraria was just fluffy like adog’s tail.

30. I would not check carefully but casually agreed.

31. I looked up and saw a ripe cucumber. I ran over and picked it. I went to eat the cucumber.

32. Before I finished the cucumber, I saw a big dragonfly fly past me, and then, I dropped the cucumber and went to chase the dragonfly.

33. The dragonfly flew so fast. How could I chase it up?

34. Luckily, it did not occur to me that I had to track it down. After chasing the dragonfly a few steps, I turned around to do something else:

35. picking up a squash flower, and catching a green grasshopper. I tied the legs of the grasshopper with a thread for a while. Only one leg was left with the thread, and the grasshopper disappeared.

36. After I got bored, I would go to Grandpa again to mess around.

37. Grandpa watered the vegetables and I would come to water. Rather than the vegetables, I held the water scoop and tried my best to splash the water into the sky. I shouted, “It’s raining!

38. It’s raining!”

39. I stood in the garden. The sun looked very big and the sky looked very high.

40. The sun cast light down and it was so bright I could not open my eyes wide.  It was so bright, earthworms did not dare to come to the ground, and bats did not dare to fly out of the dark.

41. Everything under the sun was wholesome and pretty.

42. A few claps and the trees seemed to be echoing. A few shouts and the opposite dirt wall seemed to be answering. The flowers bloomed as if they woke up.

44. The birds flew up, as if they were taking a walk in the sky.

45. The bugs were chirping as if they were talking.

46. Everything was lively, doing what they wanted.

47. They wanted to present what posture and they did. It was freedom.

48. The squash vine could climb up the frame as it wanted, or climb up the house.

49. The cucumber wanted to have a flower and a flower blossomed. When it wanted to have a fruit, a cucumber fruit would appear.

50. If it wanted a neither, then it was alright to bear no cucumber. If no flower wanted to blossom, nobody would intervene either.

51. The corn stems could grow as tall as they want. If they wanted to reach the sky, nobody would stop them either.

52. The butterflies fly casually. Sometimes, a couple of yellow butterflies flew over the top of the wall. Sometimes, a white butterfly left over the top of the wall.

53. Where they came from and where they were leaving for even the sun did not know.

54. The sky was blue, looked high and far,

55. but the white clouds floated over lumps after lumps over Grandpa’s head. They almost pressed Grandpa’s straw hat.

56. I felt tired after the playing and found a cool shade below the roof to take a nap.

57. I did not need a pillow or a mat. I covered my face with my straw hat and fell asleep.