the journey was over; the letter was opened， and read by the dear friend. How pleased he was! He kissed the letter， and it was laid， with its enclosure of verses， in a box， in which there were many beautiful verses， but all of them without flowers; she was the first， the only one， as the Sunbeams had called her; and it was a pleasant thing to think of that.
She had time enough， moreover， to think about it; she thought of it while the summer passed away， and the long winter went by， and the summer came again， before she appeared once more. But now the young man was not pleased at all. He took hold of the letter very roughly， and threw the verses away， so that the Flower fell on the ground. Flat and faded she certainly was， but why should she be thrown on the ground? Still， it was better to be here than in the fire， where the verses and the paper were being burnt to ashes. What had happened? What happens so often：—the Flower had made a gauk of him， that was a jest; the girl had made a fool of him， that was no jest， she had， during the summer， chosen another friend.
Next morning the sun shone in upon the little flattened Snowdrop， that looked as if it had been painted upon the floor. The servant girl， who was sweeping out the room， picked it up， and laid it in one of the books which were upon the table， in the belief that it must have fallen out while the room was being arranged. Again the flower lay among verses—printed verses—and they are better than written ones—at least， more money has been spent upon them.
And after this years went by. the book stood upon the book-shelf， and then it was taken up and somebody read out of it. It was a good book; verses and songs by the old Danish poet， Ambrosius Stub， which are well worth reading. The man who was now reading the book turned over a page.
“Why， there's a flower!” he said; “a snowdrop， a summer gauk， a poet gauk! That flower must have been put in there with a meaning! Poor Ambrosius Stub! he was a summer fool too， a poet fool; he came too early， before his time， and therefore he had to taste the sharp winds， and wander about as a guest from one noble landed proprietor to another， like a flower in a glass of water， a flower in rhymed verses! Summer fool， winter fool， fun and folly—but the first， the only， the fresh young Danish poet of those days. Yes， thou shalt remain as a token in the book， thou little snowdrop： thou hast been put there with a meaning.”
And so the Snowdrop was put back into the book， and felt equally honored and pleased to know that it was a token in the glorious book of songs， and that he who was the first to sing and to write had been also a snowdrop， had been a summer gauk， and had been looked upon in the winter-time as a fool. The Flower understood this， in her way， as we interpret everything in our way.
That is the story of the Snowdrop.
那是冬天，空气很寒冷，朔风刺骨，但是屋子里暖和舒服，花儿呆在屋子里，躺在土里和雪下自己的球茎里。
有一天下雨了。雨水穿过雪层浸进土里，润湿了花的球茎，通报了地面上已是光明世界。太阳很快便把它纤细有穿透力的光线射过雪层，射到花的球茎，轻轻地抚摸着它。“请进!”花儿说道。“不行!我还没有强壮到能打开你的球茎的程度。夏天我会更强壮一些。”“甚么时候才是夏天?”花儿问道，而且每当阳光射进来的时候它都要重複问这句话。但是距离夏天还远呢，雪还盖在上面，每个长夜里水总是冻结成冰。“怎么这么久啊!怎么这么久啊!”花儿说道。“我觉得浑身酸痛。我得伸伸腰，活动活动自己的肢体，我得绽开来，我要出去，问夏天早安。那将是幸福的时刻!”
於是花儿伸伸腰、活动活动肢体，朝薄薄的外壳撞击了几下。这薄壳被外面的水泡软，被雪和泥土温暖，被阳光射透。它在雪下发出芽来，在自己的绿梗上结出了嫩绿的骨朵，还长出又窄又厚的叶子，像一道野生屏围保卫着它。雪很凉，但被阳光照得透亮，这样便很容易被冲破，现在阳光用比以前更大的力量照晒着。“欢迎!欢迎!”每一道阳光都在歌唱;花儿伸出了雪层来到了光明的世界里。阳光鼓着掌，亲吻着它。接着花儿完全绽开了，白得像雪一样，被绿色的条纹装点着。它高兴却又羞赧地垂下了头。“美丽的花儿!”阳光歌唱道。“你是多么新鲜多么娇嫩啊!你是第一朵花!你是唯一的一朵花!你是我们的爱情!你带来了夏天，为乡村和城市带来了可爱的夏天!雪全部要融化了!寒风要被赶走!我们要主宰一切!万物都将披上绿装!於是你便有了朋友，丁香和毒豆，最后是玫瑰。不过你是第一朵花，那么柔嫩，那么纤巧。”
真是快乐极了，就像空气在唱歌在奏乐，就像光线射进了它的花瓣儿和梗子。它站在那里，样子很娇嫩，似乎很容易被折断，但又那么健壮，充满了青春美。它站在那里，身上穿着白色的外衣，系着绿色的腰带，讚美着夏天。但是夏天还早着呢，云还遮挡着太阳，刺骨的寒风还在吹袭着它。“你来早了一点儿!”风和雨说道，“我们还有威力呢。你会感觉到，这一切够你受的!你应该呆在屋里，不该跑出来显示自己，还不是时候呢。”
天气冷得刺骨。连续几天没有一丝阳光;对於这样一株娇嫩脆弱的小花儿，这天气会把它冻得裂碎。但是它有连自己都想不到的力量，在欢乐和对夏天充满信心中它是坚强的。夏天必定会到来的，它深切地渴望并预感着，温暖的阳光也证实了这点。就这样它穿着白衣服欣慰地站在那里，当雪花纷繁落下、刺骨的寒风吹过它的身体时，它便垂下了自己的头。“你快破裂吧!”它们说道。“你快枯萎、结冰吧!你跑出来干甚么?为甚么你要受诱惑，是太阳光欺骗了你!现在有你的好日子过了，你这谎报夏!”“谎报夏!”它在寒冷的早晨重複说道。“谎报夏!”有几个跑进院子里来的孩子高兴地叫道。“那边有一朵，那么漂亮，那么可爱。第一朵花，唯一的一朵花!”短短的几句话使花儿觉得很舒畅，这些话像和煦的阳光。花儿十分欢快，竟没有感到它已经被摘下。它在孩子们的手中，被孩子亲吻着，被带进了温暖的房间里。它被孩子用温柔的眼睛观望着，被插到水中。它感觉到力量在增长，生命旺盛起来。花儿以为它突然进入夏天了。