IN the windows tood a rose tree，latelyblooming withyouth，but now it look edsickly；something ailed it．

Ithad got a company quartered on it which ate it up：otherwise， a very respectable companyin green uniform． Ispoke with oneofthem，hewasonly threedays old， and already a great-grandfather．Do you know what he said？ Itwas true what hesaid； he spoke of himself and the whole company.

"Wearethe most remarkableregimentamong all the creaturesofearth． In the warm season， webear living young ones；the weather is good then， andwe betroth ourselves at once， and celebrate the wedding．Towards the cold season， we lay eggs and the little ones lie snug in them． That wisest of animals， the ant—we have a great respect for it—studies us and values us． It does not eat us at once， it takes our eggs，laysthem in the com－ mon ant－hill of thefamily， on thegroundfloor，lays us marked and numbered,side by side， layer on layer，so that every day afresh one canspringoutthe egg；then they set us in stalls， stroke us overthe hind legs and milk us， sothatwe die．That isextremely comfortable！ Among them we have the most charming name，'Sweet littlemilk cow！' All the animals with the understanding ofthe ant call us so； only human beings—and it is a great insultto us， it is enough toloseone's sweetness over，—can you not write against it， can you not reprimand them，these human beings？—theylook at us so stupidly， look sullen because we eat a rose－leaf， while they themselves eat all living tings，everything which is green and grows．They call us the most contemptuous name， the most disgusting name;Iwill notnameit， ugh！ it turns me sick!I cannot sayit， at least in uniform， andI am always in uniform．"

"Iwasborn on a rose－tree leaf； Iand thewhole regiment live on the rose－tree， but it lives again in us， who belong tothe higher orderofcreation． Men cannot tolerate us； theycome and murder uswithsoap-suds； it is anasty drink！ IthinkI smell it！ It is frightful to be washed， whenone isborn nottobewashed．"

" Man！ Thou who lookest upon me with severe，soapsuddy eyes； think of our place in nature， our ingenious equipment forlaying eggs and producing young！We received the blessing，'Increaseand multiply！' We are born in roses， we die in roses； thewhole of our life is poetry． Fix not upon us the name thoudeemest most hor- rid and ugly， thename，—Icannotsayit， cannot name it； callusthe milk－cowoftheants， theregiment of the rose－tree， the little green ones．"

AndI， the human being， stood and looked at the tree， and at thelittlegreen ones，whose nameI shall not name， nor offend a rose－citizen， a great family with eggs andlivingyoung． The soap－sudsI meant to wash them with（forI had comewith soap－suds， and wicked intentions）， Iwillnowwhip up and blowintofroth，blow soap-bubblesandgaze on theirbeauty．Perhaps a story lies in every oneofthem．Andthe bubble grew so big with glittering colours，andin it there lay，as itwere，a silver pearl at the bottom． The bubble floated and soared， flewagainst the doorandburst；butthe doorflew open， and there stood Mother Fairy Tale herself．

"Yes， now she can tell better thanI canabout—I willnot say thename！—thelittlegreen ones．""Plant－ lice，" said Mother Fairy Tale．"One should callevery－ thing by its right name;and if onedaresnotdo it as a usual thing， one can do it in a fairy tale．"

小小的绿东西

窗子上有一株绿玫瑰花，不久以前它还是一副青春焕发的样子；但是现在它却现出了病容，在害某种病。

它身上有一批客人在一口一口地把它吃掉。要不是因为这个缘故，这一群穿着绿制服的朋友们倒是蛮好看的。

我和这些客人中的一位谈过话。他的年纪还不过三岁，但是已经是一个老爷爷了。你知道他讲过什么话吗？他讲的全是真话。他讲着关于他自己和这一群朋友的事情。

“我们是世界生物中一个最了不起的队�............