All flowers are beautiful

One lunchtime when I was in the third grade will stay with me always.I had been picked to be the princess in the school play,and for weeks my mother had painstakingly rehearsed my lines with me.But no matter how easily I delivered them at home,as soon as I stepped on stage,every word disappeared from my head.

Finally,my teachertook me aside.She explained that she had written a narrator’s part to the play,and asked me to switch roles.Her words,kindly delivered,still stung,especially when I saw my part go to another girl.

I didn’t tell my mother what had happened when I went home for lunch that day.But she sensed my unease,and instead of suggesting we practice my lines,she asked if I wanted to walk in the yard.

It was a lovely spring day.I watched my mother casually bend down by one of the clumps.“I think I’m going to dig up all these weeds,” she said,yanking a blossom up by its roots.“ From now on,we’ll have only roses in this garden.”

三年级时的一个午餐时间我将永志难忘。那时候，我在学校排演的一出话剧中被选中饰演公主。在那几个星期里，妈妈费心地陪着我一遍又一遍地排练台词。但是，无论我在家里把台词背得多娴熟，一上舞台，那些词儿就消失得无影无踪了。

最后，老师把我叫到一旁，向我解释说，她为这出戏写了一个旁白的角色，要我换成旁白。尽管她说得很委婉，但仍刺痛了我，尤其是当我看到别的女孩取代自己演公主的时候，我心里难受极了。

那天中午回家吃饭时，我没把这件事告诉妈妈，但她感觉到了我的不安。于是，她没有提议我们继续练台词，而是问我愿不愿意和她一起到院子里走一走。

那是一个美好的春日。我看见妈妈在一丛花旁漫不经心地弯下腰。“我想我应该把这些野草全拔掉，”她一边说一边将一蔸开得正茂盛的花儿连根拔起。“从今以后，我们的花园里只有玫瑰。”

“可是，我喜欢蒲公英啊，”我抗议道，“所有的花儿都美丽——即使是蒲公英。”

妈妈神情严肃地看着我，若有所思地说：“不错。每一种花都以自己的方式给我们带来美的享受，难道不是吗？”我点了点头，很高兴自己说服了她。“其实，人也是如此，”她补充道，“并不是每个人都可以成为公主，这没什么可丢人的。”

随后的几个星期，在妈妈的不断鼓励下，我渐渐对这一角色感到自豪。而在那些午餐时间里，我们不是排练我的台词，就是讨论演出时我该穿什么服装。

演出那天晚上，我在后台感到很紧张。就在开演前的几分钟，老师向我走了过来。“你妈妈让我把这个交给你，”她一边说一边把一朵蒲公英递给我。它的边缘处已经开始卷曲，花叶从茎杆上耷拉下来。就是这短暂的一瞥，我就知道我的妈妈此刻坐在台下，想起我们午餐时间的谈话，一种自豪感不禁油然而生。

演出结束后，我把那朵蒲公英塞进了我演出服的口袋里带回了家。妈妈把它压在两张纸巾之间再夹进字典里。

“But I like dandelions （蒲公英）,” I protested，“All flowers are beautiful,even dandelions.”

My mother looked at me seriously. “Yes,every flower gives pleasure in its own way,doesn’t it?”She asked thoughtfully.I nodded,pleased that I had won her over. “And that is true of people too”,she added，“Not everyone can be a princess,but there is no shame in that.”

Over the next few weeks,with her constant encouragment,I learned to take pride in the role.Lunchtimes were spent reading over my lines and talking about what I would wear.

Backstage the night of the performance,I felt nervous.A few minutes before the play,my teacher came over to me.“Your mother asked me to give this to you,”she said,handing me a dandelion.Its edges were already beginning to curl and it flopped（沉重地躺下）lazily from its stem.But just looking at it,knowing my mother was out there and thinking of our lunchtime talk,made me proud.

After the play,I took home the flower I had put in the pocket of my costume.My mother pressed it between two sheets of paper toweling in a dictionary.