The Story of My Life 01-07

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Recorded Aug 16, 2011

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Recorded Aug 19, 2011, from memory

Even in the days before my teacher came, I used to feel along the square stiff boxwood hedges, and, guided by the sense of smell, would find the first violets and lilies. There, too, after a fit of temper, I went to find comfort and to hide my hot face in the cool leaves and grass. What joy it was to lose myself in that garden of flowers, to wander happily from spot to spot, until, coming suddenly upon a beautiful vine, I recognized it by its leaves and blossoms, and knew it was the vine which covered the tumble-down summer-house at the farther end of the garden! Here, also, were trailing clematis, drooping jessamine, and some rare sweet flowers called butterfly lilies, because their fragile petals resemble butterflies' wings. But the roses–they were loveliest of all. Never have I found in the greenhouses of the North such heart-satisfying roses as the climbing roses of my southern home. They used to hang in long festoons from our porch, filling the whole air with their fragrance, untainted by any earthy smell; and in the early morning, washed in the dew, they felt so soft, so pure, I could not help wondering if they did not resemble the asphodels of God's garden.

在我的老師到來之前，我已經常常沿著那方形堅硬的胡楊樹籬笆去感覺（世界），我會憑著氣味發現第一朵紫羅蘭和百合。在那裏，常常是一通脾氣之後，我會把我灼熱的臉蛋埋到清涼的葉子和草叢裏，從中得到安慰。那種在花園中隨處遊走、迷失自己的快樂是無法形容的！我會這樣自由徜徉，直到碰到一叢美麗的藤蔓，我從它的葉子和花蕾知道，這是到了花園最邊緣搖搖欲墜的夏屋。這裏也是花的世界：蔓生的鐵線蓮、懸垂的茉莉花，和一種少見的芬芳花朵，因其嬌嫩的花瓣酷似蝴蝶翅膀而被叫做蝴蝶蓮。而那些玫瑰，它們是最可愛的！我後來在北方的暖棚裏從來沒有見到過象我南方家裏的爬藤玫瑰一樣可心的玫瑰。它們長長的花環掛在門廊上，馨香彌漫在空氣中，不摻一絲人間凡俗；被清晨的露水洗過，如此柔軟而純潔，我不禁困惑它們是否就象上帝花園裏的水仙花！