书城外语澳大利亚学生文学读本(第3册)
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第9章 THE mODEST VIOLET

Down in a green and shady bed, A modest violet grew;Its stalk was bent, it hung its head As if to hide from view.

And yet it was a lovely flower, Its colour bright and fair;It might have graced a rosy bower, Instead of hiding there.

Yet there it was content to bloom, In modest tints arrayed;And there diffused its sweet perfume Within the silent shade.

Then let me to the valley go This pretty flower to see,That I may also learn to grow In sweet humility.

- Jane Taylor

About the Author.-Jane Taylor (1783-1824) and her sister Ann Taylor (1782-1866) were two English ladies who wrote poems for children and called the book Rhymes for the Nursery. One of them is the well-known "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."