報春花出現在喬治·麥克唐納的多部作品裏。他的成名作《幻境》（Phantastes）的第三章，男主人公來到了仙界，發現了一群住在花朵上的仙子。作者這樣寫道：
我（男主人公）的注意力首先被小屋附近的一群仙女吸引了，她們正在聊天，話題似乎圍繞著一株即將死去的報春花。她們說起話來像唱歌，說出來的話成了一首歌，如下：
“在我們出生之前
雪花蓮姐姐死了。”
“在一個白雪皚皚的早晨
她像新娘一樣來了。”
“什麽是新娘？”
“什麽是雪？
“從來沒試過。”
“不知道。”
“誰和你提起她的？”
“那裏的報春花
沒有她就活不下去了。”
“哦，太可愛了！”
“別怕，
她會來的，
親愛的報春花。”
“她傻嗎？”
“她以後會回來的。”
“你永遠不會見到她。”
“她回家去死，
“直到新的一年。”
“雪花蓮！” “邀請她
沒有用。”
“ 報春花非常無禮，
“我會咬她的。”
“哦，你這頑皮的荷包！
“看，她垂下了頭。”
“這是她的報應，野芥，
“她快死了。”
“到你的吊床上-走開！”
“然後一個人搖擺。”
“沒有人會和你一起笑。”
“沒有一個人。”
“現在讓我們哀悼吧。”
“把她埋了吧。”
“ 報春花走了。”
“除了花。”
“這是一片葉子。”
“把她放在上麵。”
“接著悲傷。”
“荷包已經做到了。”
“挖深一些，可憐的人！
冬天會來的。”
“他無法接近她-
這是嗡嗡聲。”
“她被埋葬了，美人！”
“現在她徹底完了。”
“這是責任。”
“現在可以玩了。”
（But my attention was first and chiefly attracted by a group of fairies near the cottage, who were talking together around what seemed a last dying primrose. They talked singing, and their talk made a song, something like this:
"Sister Snowdrop died
Before we were born."
"She came like a bride
In a snowy morn."
"What's a bride?"
"What is snow?
"Never tried."
"Do not know."
"Who told you about her?"
"Little Primrose there
Cannot do without her."
"Oh, so sweetly fair!"
"Never fear,
She will come,
Primrose dear."
"Is she dumb?"
"She'll come by-and-by."
"You will never see her."
"She went home to dies,
"Till the new year."
"Snowdrop!" "'Tis no good
To invite her."
"Primrose is very rude,
"I will bite her."
"Oh, you naughty Pocket!
"Look, she drops her head."
"She deserved it, Rocket,
"And she was nearly dead."
"To your hammock--off with you!"
"And swing alone."
"No one will laugh with you."
"No, not one."
"Now let us moan."
"And cover her o'er."
"Primrose is gone."
"All but the flower."
"Here is a leaf."
"Lay her upon it."
"Follow in grief."
"Pocket has done it."
"Deeper, poor creature!
Winter may come."
"He cannot reach her--
That is a hum."
"She is buried, the beauty!"
"Now she is done."
"That was the duty."
"Now for the fun."）
他們大笑起來，飛奔而去，其中大多數人朝小屋走去。在歌曲談話的後半段，他們組成了一支送葬隊伍，其中兩個人舉起可憐的報春花，荷包花咬了她的其中一片大葉子上方的莖而加速了她的死亡。他們莊嚴地抬著她走了一段，然後將她埋在樹下。雖然我說her ，但除了長莖上的枯萎的報春花我什麽也沒看見。被大夥一致同意而遭驅逐的荷包悶悶不樂地朝她的吊床走去。她是荷包花仙子，看上去很邪惡。當她走到自己的莖時，停了下來，環顧四周。我忍不住和她說話，因為我站在她旁邊。我說：“荷包，你怎麽這麽調皮？”
“我從來都不調皮，”她半生氣，半挑釁地說：“隻有當你靠近我的吊床時，我才會咬你，然後你就會離開。”
“你為什麽咬可憐的報春花？”
“因為她說我們永遠都不會見到雪花蓮；就好像我們不夠好，不可以看她。而她的確太傲慢了！-活該！”
（And with a wild laugh they sprang away, most of them towards the cottage. During the latter part of the song-talk, they had formed themselves into a funeral procession, two of them bearing poor Primrose, whose death Pocket had hastened by biting her stalk, upon one of her own great leaves. They bore her solemnly along some distance, and then buried her under a tree. Although I say her I saw nothing but the withered primrose-flower on its long stalk. Pocket, who had been expelled from the company by common consent, went sulkily away towards her hammock, for she was the fairy of the calceolaria, and looked rather wicked. When she reached its stem, she stopped and looked round. I could not help speaking to her, for I stood near her. I said, "Pocket, how could you be so naughty?"
"I am never naughty," she said, half-crossly, half-defiantly; "only if you come near my hammock, I will bite you, and then you will go away."
"Why did you bite poor Primrose?"
"Because she said we should never see Snowdrop; as if we were not good enough to look at her, and she was, the proud thing!--served her right!"）
作者在這一段情節中寫到了四個花仙子：從未出場的雪花蓮（snowdrop），奄奄一息的報春花（primrose）, 淘氣的荷包花（Pocket, 即pocketbook flower）和有責任心的野芥菜花（Rocket,既wild rocket）。在森林裏，雪花蓮是最早開花的，迎著二月初的風雪綻放。報春花的花期通常從三月份開始，與雪花蓮結伴歡笑於春風中。雪花蓮是球根短生植物，春末凋謝，地麵上的葉子全部枯萎，來年才會發出新葉。雪花蓮從地麵上完全消失時，報春花也開到荼靡，而此時正值荷包花和野芥菜開花。作者將他對大自然的細致入微的觀察融進了童話創作中：因為花期相距甚遠，荷包花仙子和野芥菜仙子是不可能見到雪花蓮姐姐的，她們也沒見過雪，所以與瀕死的報春花才會有了一段雞同鴨講。當報春花對兩位花仙子說她們永遠也見不著雪花蓮時，說的是大實話，卻引起了易怒的荷包花的誤會，以為報春花嫌棄她們不夠好，才見不著雪花蓮，所以急急地咬了報春花的花莖，加速了她的死亡。莊子的“夏蟲不可語冰”說的也是同樣的道理啊 。
我們再來翻閱一下喬治·麥克唐納的最後一部作品莉莉絲（Lilith），它更像一部適合成年人閱讀的宗教魔幻小說。第43章有一段：“寒冷撫慰了所有人的煩惱，化解了所有的痛苦，撫慰了每一次的悲傷。舒適嗎？不， 悲傷在生活中被吞噬，將每一個美好的事物恢複了一百倍！我安枕無憂，充滿著最安靜的期望，呼吸著大地的豐富懷抱裏的潮濕的氣味，意識到報春花，雛菊和雪花蓮的靈魂，耐心地等待著春天的到來。”（The cold had soothed every care, dissolved every pain, comforted every sorrow. COMFORTED? Nay; sorrow was swallowed up in the life drawing nigh to restore every good and lovely thing a hundredfold! I lay at peace, full of the quietest expectation, breathing the damp odours of Earth's bountiful bosom, aware of the souls of primroses, daisies and snowdrops, patiently waiting in it for the Spring. ）
我認為這裏的報春花有兩種隱喻。其一，在蘇格蘭，孩子們的墳墓上經常栽種著報春花，象征著複活。作者用報春花、雛菊和雪花蓮這些早春的花來暗示同樣的含義。其二，小說標題裏的莉莉絲是《舊約》的人類祖先亞當的第一任妻子，在猶太教拉比文學中，上帝用同樣的泥土同時創造了亞當和莉莉絲。莉莉絲因不滿亞當而離開伊甸園，後來成為誘惑人類和扼殺嬰兒的女惡魔。不知那些埋在開滿報春花的墳地裏的孩子是不是莉莉絲殺死的呢？男主人公的心上人羅娜（Lona）就是莉莉絲的女兒，也被莉莉絲親手殺死了。
喬治·麥克唐納的其它重要作品裏還包括《交叉目的》（Cross Purposes）、《公主與哥布林》（Princess and the Goblin）、《在北風的背後》（ At the Back of the North Wind ）、《智慧的女人》（ The Wise Woman）等，所有故事裏的個別章節也提到了報春花。 由此可見，他對蘇格蘭故鄉的報春花的熱愛已深入骨髓。
即使英國現代著名小說家和劇作家毛姆（William Somerset Maugham）自稱不懂花草，但他麵對報春花時也是怦然心動的。他在遊記《客廳裏的紳士》（The Gentleman in the Parlour）寫道：“哎，一朵黃色報春花對我來說，可不是primula Vulgaris！它就是一朵黃色的小花，散發著淡淡的清香，和著雨，和著你心中一陣奇妙顫動的二月灰涼的早晨，和著肯特郡肥沃濕潤的泥土氣息，和著那些友善慘白的臉孔，和著議會廣場上比肯斯菲爾德勳爵身著青銅色長袍的雕像，和著一個笑容甜美的女孩的黃頭發，而今一頭斑白。
（A yellow primrose to me, alas! is not primula Vulgaris, but just a small yellow flower, ever so faintly scented with the rain, and grey balmy mornings in February when you have a funny little flutter in your heart, and the smell of the rich wet Kentish earth, and kind dead faces, and the statue of Lord Beaconsfield in his bronze robes in Parliament Square, and the yellow hair of a girl with a sweet smile, hair now grey and shingled.）
他分明是借著報春花在寫鄉愁啊！
