喬尼遇見的第一場雪

　　在孩子們眼里，雪花是那樣圣潔而美麗，它們是從天堂飛下的白色小鳥，是小天使不小心散落的羽毛……下雪的日子就是孩子們盛大的節日。還記得那些在雪地里撒歡打滾的日子嗎？還有那一串串遺落在雪地里響亮的笑聲？

　　喬尼·里德直到六歲才見到第一場雪。在這之前，他一直住在一個溫暖的小村莊里，太陽照著桔林，田野里一直散發著迷人的花香。

　　但是現在，他要去看望他的祖母了。祖母住在一個冬天會下雪的地方。終于到了下雪的那一天，雪飄下來的時候，喬尼跑到窗前興奮地看著。

　　“噢！媽媽。”他高興地喊著，“快來呀，快來看這些從天堂飛下來的白色小鳥。”

　　“它們不是小鳥，喬尼。”媽媽笑著說。

　　“那么，是小天使們正在散落他們的羽毛嗎！哦！快告訴我，它們是什么！它甜嗎？讓我嘗嘗它。”喬尼說。當他嘗到雪花的味道時，他不由得打了個寒戰，雪花真是太涼了。

　　“這只是雪花，喬尼。”媽媽告訴他。

　　“這些雪花是從云彩上掉下來的小水滴。但是它們在經過非常寒冷的大氣層時，冷空氣使它們凝結了，它們就變成雪花落了下來。”

　　說著，媽媽把一頂舊的黑帽子放到窗外。“看，喬尼！我已經捉到了一片雪花，它就在這頂帽子上，快用放大鏡看看它。你就知道雪花有多漂亮了。”

　　喬尼急忙拿過放大鏡觀察雪花，潔白的雪絨花亮閃閃的，像一顆可愛的小星星。

　　“閃啊，閃啊，小星星！”他興奮地嚷道，“噢！媽媽，請給我捉更多的雪花吧。”

　　于是，媽媽又接了幾片雪花給他，它們都是一樣的美麗。

　　第二天，喬尼在雪地里盡情地玩耍著。當他回到屋中，他宣布說：“我太喜歡雪了，我覺得雪球要比橘子可愛多了。”

　　Johnny's First Snowstorm

　　Johnny Reed was a little boy who never had seen a snowstorm till he was six years old. Before this, he had lived in a warm country, where the sun shines down on beautiful orange groves, and fields always sweet with  flowers。

　　But now he had come to visit his grandmother, who lived where the snow falls in winter. Johnny was standing at the window when the snow came down。

　　"O mamma!" he cried, joyfully, "do come quick, and see these little white birds flying down from heaven."

　　"They are not birds, Johnny," sa mamma, smiling。

　　"Then maybe the little angels are losing their feathers! Oh! Do tell me what it is; is it sugar? Let me taste it," sa Johnny. But when he tasted it, he gave a little jump — it was so cold。

　　"That is only snow, Johnny," sa his mother。

　　"What is snow, mother?"

　　"The snowflakes, Johnny, are little drops of water that fall from the clouds. But the air through which they pass is so cold it freezes them, and they come down turned into snow."

　　As she sa this, she brought out an old black hat from the closet. "See, Johnny! I have caught a snowflake on this hat. Look quick through this glass, and you will see how beautiful it is."

　　Johnny looked through the glass. There lay the pure, feathery snowflake like a lovely little star。

　　"Twinkle, twinkle, little star!" he cried in delight. "Oh! please show me more snow-flakes, mother."

　　So his mother caught several more, and they were all beautiful。

　　The next day Johnny had a fine play in the snow, and when he came in, he sa, "I love snow; and I think snowballs are a great deal prettier than oranges."