The Hexapods are funny folk who have six feet.That is they have six when they are grown up,though some of the children have none at all,and some have as many as twenty-two.You can tell from this that they are strange people,and you may call them fairies if you like!
They have wings,—the grown-up ones do,—wonderful wings of many shapes and colors.Luna's wings are green,—pale,pale green,—and very lovely,with a purple border on them.Perhaps there is nothing more beautiful in the world than Luna's wings.When Van flies,you can see the yellow edge of her brown wings;and when she alights—hesto!presto!you can see nothing at all;for she disappears from sight even though she is near enough to touch.Carol wears her wings neatly folded like a fan,except when she is using them.And Gryl,the little black minstrel—oh,Gryl fiddles with his wings.
Van was ready to enjoy a New Year's dinner.
蝴蝶帆儿准备享用一顿新年大餐。
They do queer things that we could not do if we tried.Old Bumble sleeps for more than half a year,and then wakes,thinking nothing of it at all,as if that were the most natural way to take a nap.Keti starts to build himself a log cabin before he is a day old;and finishes it,too,in time,with no one to show him how.And Cecid bewitches the willow with a magic no one else can learn.
Yes,you may call the Hexapods fairies,if you like;but you must never,never forget that they are every bit as real and true as you are,even if they are so very different.
They are not far away,not farther than the flowers or the trees or the nearest brook.And there are so many millions of them that every child in the world might have some for pets and they would never be missed.
And let me tell you this,for this is very important:although Hexapods are common and easy to find,there is not one among them all that does not have a story about his life so strange and interesting that he is worth watching just to find out what his story is.
Are you pleased to know that,whether you are in the country or in the city,and whether it is summer or winter,you are living right in the midst of Hexapod Land,where you have these most wonderful fairies for next-door neighbors?
EDITH M.PATCH(www.xing528.com)
六脚节足小昆虫一家可有意思了。他们有六只脚，确切地说，他们长大后有六只脚。可奇怪的是他们家有些孩子根本就没有脚，而有些孩子竟然能长二十二只脚！所以，如果你乐意，就叫他们“小精灵”好了。
他们有翅膀，是长大后才有的。这些翅膀奇形怪状、绚丽多彩，好看极了。月形天蚕蛾卢娜的翅膀是绿色的，淡淡的绿，镶着紫色的边，非常漂亮，说不定是世界上最漂亮的东西呢。蝴蝶帆儿在空中翩翩起舞，棕色翅膀的黄边清晰耀眼一览无余；不过，她落下来的时候，眨眼之间就不见了，即使在你的眼皮底下，她也会消失得无影无踪。蚱蜢欢欢不用翅膀的时候，总是把它们整整齐齐地叠起来，像把扇子似的背在身上。蟋蟀唧唧，噢！这个飞来飞去的小乐手！黑色的翅膀就是它的小提琴！
他们的本领稀奇古怪，让我们望尘莫及。黄蜂老奔奔一睡就睡大半年，醒来后还心安理得，觉得只不过是打了一个盹而已；袋袋蛾凯弟出生还不到一天就开始搭建自己的小木屋，不仅能如期完工，而且完全是无师自通；锯蜂塞西德·西德·多米会给柳树施魔法，这种魔法我们谁也学不会。
不错，如果你乐意，你可以把这些六脚小昆虫叫作“小精灵”。但是，千万千万要记住：尽管他们奇特无比，但他们一切的一切就和你一样是真实存在的。
他们近在咫尺，就像我们身边的鲜花、绿树和附近的那条小溪一样。他们的数量如此庞大，有数百万之众，即使世界上的每个孩子都捉一些回来当宠物，也不会觉得少了谁。
让我告诉你一件事情，因为这件事情很重要：尽管六脚节足小昆虫随处可见，可是，他们每只身上都有一个又神奇又有趣的故事，所以，哪怕是为了发现这些故事，他们也值得我们去观察。
无论在乡村还是在城市，也无论是盛夏还是寒冬，你周围到处是六脚节足小昆虫，这些奇妙的小精灵就住在你家隔壁。知道了这些，你是不是很开心呀？
伊迪斯·M.派奇
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