自然而成的花园

There was once a King who had a great palace with wonderful gardens. In those gardens there lived thousands of creatures from hundreds of different species. They were of great variety and colour， and they turned that palace into a kind of paradise that everyone could enjoy.

There was only one thing in those gardens that the King disliked： near the centre stood the remains of what had been， centuries ago， a huge tree， but that now was withered1） and dry and detracted2） from the colour and beauty of its surroundings. This bothered the King so much that he finally ordered it to be cut down and replaced by a beautiful series of fountains.

Some time later， a wise noble was visiting the King at his palace. He whispered in the King's ear： \"Majesty， you are the wisest of men. Everywhere one hears talk of the beauty of these gardens and the multitude3） of creatures that populate them. But during the time I've spent here， I've hardly seen anything other than this fountain and just a few small birds ... What a deception4）！\"

The King， who never tried to deceive anyone， found， to his horror， that what the noble had told him was true. They had spent so many months admiring the fountains that they hadn't realised that hardly any animals remained in the gardens. Without wasting time he sent for the court's experts and advisers. The King had to listen to many lies， inventions5）， and assumptions， but nothing could explain what had happened. Not even the great reward offered by the King managed to recuperate6） the royal gardens' former splendour.

Many years later， a young man presented himself to the King， assuring him that he could explain what had happened and how the animals could be returned. \"What happened with your garden is that there just wasn't enough poo7）， your majesty. Particularly moth8） poo.\"

All those present laughed at the young man's joke. The guards got ready to throw him out， but the King stopped them. \"I want to hear what you have to say. From the thousand lies I've heard， none have begun like that.\"

The young man continued， very serious， and started explaining how the gardens' big animals fed mainly on the little brightly-coloured birds， who owed their appearance to their own food， composed of colourful worms， who in turn fed on various rare species of plants and flowers that could only grow in that part of the world， just so long as there was enough moth poo for them ... and so he continued， telling how the moths were the basis of much food for many other birds， whose poo encouraged the appearance of new species of plants that fed other insects and animals， and which were， in turn， vital to the existence of other species ... And the young man would have kept speaking without pause if the King had not shouted.

\"Enough！ And can you tell me how you know all these things， being so young？\" asked the King.

\"Well， because now all from your garden are at my house. Before I was born my father collected that old tree you had torn out from the middle of the garden， and he planted it in our garden. Since then， every spring， from out of that tree come thousands and thousands of moths. With time， the moths attracted the birds and new plants and trees grew， providing food for other animals that， in turn， provided food for others ... And now， my father's old place is filled with life and colour. All thanks to the moths from the big old tree.\"

\"Excellent！\" exclaimed the King， \"Now I'll be able to recover my gardens. And you， I'll make you rich. Rest assured that9） within a week everything will be ready. Use as many men as you like.\"

\"Your Majesty， I'm afraid that cannot be，\" said the young man， \"If you like I can try to recreate the gardens， but you will not live to see it. It will take many years for the natural balance to reestablish itself. With great good fortune perhaps I， when I'm old， will see it completed. Things like these do not depend on how many men work on them.\"

The face of the old King was sad and pensive10）， understanding how delicate11） was the balance of nature， and how careless it had been to break it so thoughtlessly. But he loved those gardens and those creatures so much that he decided to build a huge palace next to the young man's land. And with thousands of men working on the construction， he managed to see the palace finished in much less time than would have been necessary to reestablish the balance of nature of that garden in any other place.

从前有一位国王，他有一座很壮观的王宫，王宫还带着几处很美丽的花园。在那些花园里生活着成千上万种生物，它们种类繁多、颜色各异，把王宫变成了每个人都能驻足欣赏的天堂。

这些花园里只有一件东西国王不喜欢，那就是靠近中心地带的一棵巨树的残骸。几百年前，它曾是一棵参天大树，如今却只剩下干枯的残枝败叶，令周围缤纷的美景失色不少。这让国王很烦恼，乃至他最终下令让人砍掉了这棵大树，并用一组美丽的喷泉取而代之。

过了一段时间，一位睿智的贵族来王宫拜访国王。他在国王耳边轻声说：“陛下，您是这世界上最有智慧的人。无论走到哪里，都能听到人们谈论您这些美丽的花园和遍布其中的各种生物。不过，在我来这儿的这几天中，除了喷泉和几只小鸟，我几乎什么都没有看到……多么名不副实啊！”

国王从未想过要去欺骗谁，可他却惊恐地发现这个贵族所言不假。好几个月来，他们都只顾着欣赏那些喷泉，却没有意识到花园里已经几乎不剩什么动物了。国王一刻都没有耽搁，立即请来了王宫的专家和顾问。他不得不听取一个又一个谎言、捏造和假设，却没有一个能够说清楚问题出在哪里。即使国王提供了高额奖赏也都无法让王室花园重现昔日的光彩。

许多年以后，一位年轻人向国王引荐自己，并向国王保证自己能说清楚问题出在哪里，以及怎样才能让各种动物重现花园。“陛下，您花园的问题在于没有足够的粪便，尤其是飞蛾的粪便。”

在场的所有人都被年轻人的话逗笑了。国王的卫兵们都准备要把他扔出去了，但是国王制止了他们。“我想要听一听你的真心话。在我听过的成千上万个谎言中，还没有一个是这么开头的。”

年轻人继续说了下去，表情十分严肃。他开始解释说，花园里的大型动物主要以那些色彩艳丽的小鸟为食，而小鸟艳丽的外观又归功于它们的食物，即那些五颜六色的蠕虫，蠕虫反过来又以花园里特有的各种奇花异草为食，而只要有足够的飞蛾粪便，那些奇花异草就能在这片土地上生长……年轻人就这样说了下去，解释飞蛾为何是许多鸟类的主要食物来源，那些鸟类的粪便会促使新的植物种类产生，其他昆虫和动物又以这些植物为生，这些昆虫和动物反过来又对其他物种的生存十分重要……要不是国王大叫一声，年轻人可能就这样一直说下去了。

“好了！你能告诉我，你才这么年轻，是怎么知道这些的吗？”国王问道。

“唔，因为原来您花园里所有的东西现在都在我家。在我还没出生时，我父亲把您从花园中间拔起的那棵老树捡了回来，种在了我家的花园里。从那以后，每年春天都会有成千上万的飞蛾从那棵树里飞出来。随着时间的推移，飞蛾引来了小鸟，新的花草树木也长了出来，为其他动物提供食物，而这些动物反过来又成为其他生物的食物来源……现在，我父亲的老宅里生机勃勃、五彩缤纷。而这些都多亏了从那棵苍老大树中飞出来的飞蛾。”

“太好了！”国王惊呼，“那我现在就可以重新找回我的花园了。我会给你一大笔钱，但你必须确保在一周内让我的花园重现昔日景象。再多人手都随你派遣。”

“陛下，我恐怕无能为力，”年轻人回答，“如果您愿意的话，我可以试着让您的花园恢复往昔的生机，不过您在有生之年是看不到那一天的。得花上好多年才能让大自然自己恢复平衡。如果运气十分好的话，我在年老之时或许将能看到这事儿办好。这种事情的成功并不在于有多少人手参与进来。”

意识到自然界的平衡是如此脆弱，自己又如此草率，想都不想就对其进行了破坏，老国王神情悲伤，陷入了沉思。不过国王无比热爱那些花园和园中的生物，于是决定在年轻人的土地旁建造一座巨大的宫殿。在成千上万人的参与下，国王总算看到了这座宫殿的完工，这比在其他任何一个地方重建花园内自然界的平衡所需要的时间都要短很多。

1.withered [ˈwɪðəd] adj. （植物）枯萎的，干枯的

2.detract [dɪˈtrækt] vi. 减损；贬低

3.multitude [ˈmʌltɪtjuːd] n. 许多；大量

4.deception [dɪˈsepʃn] n. 诡计；骗术

5.invention [ɪnˈvenʃn] n. 捏造，虚构

6.recuperate [rɪˈkuːpəreɪt] vt. 使（健康、元气等）恢复

7.poo [puː] n. （= pooh）粪便

8.moth [mɒθ] n. 飞蛾；蛾

9.rest assured that： 强调某事是真的或一定会发生。rest [rest] vi. 保持（放心或安心）

10.pensive [ˈpensɪv] adj. 沉思的；忧郁的

11.delicate [ˈdelɪkət] adj. 脆弱的