书城外语澳大利亚学生文学读本(第2册)
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第21章 THE RAINBOW fAIRIES

Two little clouds, one summer"s day, Went flying through the sky.

They went so fast they bumped their heads, And both began to cry.

Old Father Sun looked out and said, "Oh, never mind, my dears;I"ll send my little fairy folk To dry your falling tears."One fairy came in violet, And one in indigo,

In blue, green, yellow, orange, red- They made a pretty row.

They wiped the cloud tears all away, And then, from out the sky,Upon a line the sunbeams made They hung their gowns to dry.

--Lizzie M. Madley

Author.-Lizzie M. Hadley is an American educationist.

General Notes.-Where was the line hung? Of what was it made? Pick out the colours that are simple and those that are formed by a blend of two. In the old Greek story the rainbow was a pathway for Iris, the messenger of Queen Juno. What is fabled to be found at the rainbow"s end? The poet Shelley calls the rainbow a " triumphal arch " and " the million coloured bow. "