Ch10-Spirit of the Buttercup

CHAPTER TEN Spirit of the Buttercup Father Laurent sat down at the table and opened his book of flowers. Jack and Annie looked over the monk's shoulder. Even Barry stepped closer to the table and pushed his giant head under Father Laurent's elbow to look at the book. The monk carefully turned the rough linen pages. The pages were blank, but pressed between

第十章毛茛的精灵劳伦神父在桌旁坐下，打开他的花书。 杰克和安妮从和尚的肩膀上看过去。 就连巴里也走近桌子，把他那巨大的脑袋顶在劳伦神父的胳膊肘下，看了看那本书。 修道士小心地翻开粗糙的亚麻布书页。 这几页是空白的，但中间夹着

them were leaves and flowers. Father Laurent gently held up a cluster of tiny pink flowers. The flowers were completely flat and dry, but they had kept all their petals and color. "These are Androsace alpina. That's their scientific name. Their popular name is Alpine rock-jasmine," said the monk. "Several summers ago, I found these hidden among mountain rocks." "Nice," said Annie. Jack held his breath. Could there be a white and yellow flower in the book? Father Laurent turned the page and very carefully picked up a dark golden flower. "This is Caltha palustris, better known as marsh marigold," he said. "I found this two years ago in the southern Alps." "Lovely," said Annie. Father Laurent turned the page again. He held up a dried white flower. "Cerastium fontanum, the mouse-ear chickweed," the monk said. "Its tiny petals look like the ears of a mouse." "Cute," said Annie. "Yes," said Father Laurent. He gently closed the cloth-covered book. "Since you like flowers so

它们是树叶和花朵。 劳伦神父轻轻地举起一束粉红色的小花。 花儿完全扁平干燥，但花瓣和颜色都保留了下来。 “这些是高山Androsace。 这是它们的学名。 他们的通俗名字是阿尔卑斯岩花，”和尚说。 “几年前的夏天，我在山上的岩石中发现了这些东西。” “很好，”安妮说。杰克屏住了呼吸。 书里会有一朵黄白相间的花吗？ 劳伦神父翻了一页，小心翼翼地拿起一朵深金色的花。 “这是Caltha palustris，更广为人知的名字是沼泽金盏花，”他说。 “我两年前在南阿尔卑斯山发现了这个。” “太好了，”安妮说。劳伦神父又翻了一页。 他举起一朵干白的花。 和尚说：“是一种鼠耳嘴嘴草。” “它的小花瓣看起来像老鼠的耳朵。” “可爱，”安妮说。“是的，”劳伦神父说。 他轻轻地合上布盖的书。 “既然你这么喜欢花

much, I assume you like butterflies, too. Let me show you my favorites." He started to stand up. "No, wait, please," said Jack. He tried to keep his voice steady. "Do you happen to have a white and yellow flower in that book?" Father Laurent frowned. "Hmm… let me see. Oh, yes, of course." He opened the book again and turned the pages until he found what he was looking for. He carefully held up a flower with white petals and a yellow center. It shone in the firelight, as if it were still alive.

很喜欢，我猜你也喜欢蝴蝶。 让我给你看看我最喜欢的。” 他开始站起来。“不，请等一下，”杰克说。 他努力使自己的声音保持平稳。 “你的书里有没有一朵黄白相间的花？”劳伦神父皱起了眉头。 “嗯……让我想想。”哦，是的，当然。” 他再次打开书，翻了一页又一页，直到找到他要找的东西。 他小心翼翼地举起一朵花瓣白色、花心黄色的花。 它在火光下闪闪发光，好像还活着。

"Ranunculus glacialis, the glacial buttercup," said the monk. "One of the highest flowering plants in the Alps. A perfect specimen! I found it not far from our monastery just last summer." "That's it," whispered Jack. "That's exactly what we're looking for!" "You're looking for the glacial buttercup?" Father Laurent asked. "Why?" "Why?" said Jack. He wasn't sure what to say.

“冰川毛茛，冰川毛茛，”和尚说。 阿尔卑斯山最高的开花植物之一。 一个完美的标本！去年夏天，我在离我们修道院不远的地方发现了它。” “就是这样。”杰克小声说。 “这正是我们要找的！”“你在找冰川毛茛？”劳伦神父问。 “为什么?”“为什么？”杰克问。他不知道该说什么。

"Uh, we have some friends who really love flowers," said Annie. "And when we were heading out to do our research in the Alps, they asked us to please try to find one of those and bring it back to them." "I see," said the monk. "Well, then allow me to give you this glacial buttercup to take back to your friends. I'm sure I can find another later in the summer. It is the least I can do to thank you for the wonderful work you did with Barry today." "Thank you!" said Jack. "Do you know if the glacial buttercup has any special meaning?" said Annie. Father Laurent squinted at the flower. "Well, throughout history many flowers have had special meanings," he said. "Let me think." "Wait, please," said Jack. He quickly pulled out his notebook and pencil. "Okay. Ready." "If I recall, buttercups stand for childhood, the carefree, open spirit of childhood," said Father Laurent. "Such a joyful spirit can brighten even the most bleak and barren places." Jack quickly wrote:

“嗯，我们有一些朋友非常喜欢花，”安妮说。 “当我们前往阿尔卑斯山进行研究时，他们让我们试着找到其中一个并带回给他们。” “我明白了，”和尚说。“那么，请允许我把这朵冰封的金凤花送给你，让你带回去给你的朋友们。 我相信夏天晚些时候我能找到另一个。 这是我能做的最起码的事情，感谢你今天对巴里的出色工作。” “谢谢你！”杰克说。“你知道冰川毛茛有什么特殊的含义吗？”安妮说。 劳伦神父眯着眼睛看着那朵花。 “嗯，纵观历史，许多花都有特殊的含义，”他说。 “让我想想。”“请等一下，”杰克说。 他迅速拿出笔记本和铅笔。 “好吧。准备好了。”“如果我没记错的话，毛茛代表童年，代表无忧无虑、开放的童年精神，”劳伦神父说。 “这种快乐的精神甚至可以照亮最荒凉和贫瘠的地方。” 杰克很快写道：

Jack looked at Father Laurent. "That sounds like the spirit of a dog," he said. He stroked Barry's ear. It felt like warm velvet. Father Laurent smiled. "Yes. Yes, it does," he said. "Dogs and children share a common spirit. I do agree with that." Jack and Annie looked at each other. "Well, I guess we'd better leave now," said Jack. He put away his pencil and notebook. "Can you not stay another night?" asked Father Laurent. "It will be dark soon." "That's okay. We can find our way home, even in the dark," said Jack. "And where is home?" asked the monk. "Oh… it's down the mountain a ways," said Annie. "It's not exactly in the first village you come to, but just outside that village, you know, before you see the church steeple. There you turn left onto a winding path and then go awhile, and

杰克看着劳伦神父。 “听起来像是狗的灵魂，”他说。 他抚摸着巴里的耳朵。摸起来像温暖的天鹅绒。 劳伦神父笑了。“是的。 是的，确实如此，”他说。“狗和孩子有着共同的精神。 我同意这一点。”杰克和安妮面面相觑。 “好了，我想我们最好现在就走。”杰克说。 他收起了铅笔和笔记本。 “你不能再待一夜吗？”劳伦神父问。 “天快黑了。”“没关系。 即使在黑暗中，我们也能找到回家的路。”杰克说。 “家在哪里？”和尚问。 “哦……在山下很远的地方，”安妮说。 “它并不是在你来到的第一个村庄，而是在村庄外面，你知道，在你看到教堂尖塔之前。 在那里左转进入一条蜿蜒的小路，然后走一段时间，然后