7. “Dear old tree ! She has taken care of us all our lives, and fed us, and held us up to the sun, and been to us a kind mother, and now we will do something for her. We will get under ground and turn ourselves into food to feed her with, for she'll be sure to wake up hungry after her long nap! ”

8. Good little things! The rains helped them, and the winds,in this way: the rains beat them into the ground,and the winds blew sand over them, and there they turned themselves into something very nice for the old MapleTree, something good to take.

And now, as she wakes up again in the spring and takes a full meal of it, she is once more lively and happy, and many fresh young leaves unfold to clothe her limbs.

1. 一棵楓樹在春日里醒來，在東風里抖擻著枝條。“自然母親呀，”她說道，“寒冷令我抖個不停。看看我的身體！赤裸又丑陋！鳥兒們就要從南方回來了，我可得讓自己變得漂亮點兒。它們馬上就要筑巢了呢。喔！能有個鳥巢可以令樹多么高興呀！可它們不會來我這兒，我還沒有一片葉子，不能掩護它們呀！”

2. 慈愛的自然母親微笑了起來，為楓樹女兒披上茂密的綠裝，葉子多得數(shù)不勝數(shù)！這不但能為鳥巢遮蔽風雨，還能讓楓樹變得美麗動人。鳥兒們很快就在這里搭建起家園，并可以預期在此過一個熱鬧蓬勃的夏日。

3. 楓樹現(xiàn)在興高采烈的，對自己的葉子非常滿意。它們在陽光的照耀下是那樣的美麗，輕風對它們輕吐著甜言蜜語，令葉子歡欣地舞動起來。一對金色的知更鳥在她身上安了家，畫眉鳥也時常到訪。每一天都是陽光燦爛，歌聲飄揚！要是幼嫩的小葉子在夏日的炎熱中干渴了，自然母親就會喂給它們清涼的雨水。于是，楓樹過得更快活了。

仲夏時節(jié)的森林展現(xiàn)出枝葉繁茂的壯觀景象