1.Let us go to a seed-shop and buy a few garden peas.Here they are，looking like a handful of little grey balls.We will soak a few of them in water，and place them in a saucer on a piece of wet flannel，with another piece over them.
2.The peas will soon begin to grow.They will swell，and split their skins；and then we shall see their two seed-leaves.
Besides these leaves，each young pea has a little stem and a tinySEED-LEAVES（子叶）root.But after the babypeas have put forth one or two green leaves，they will wither and die.
PEA（豌豆）
3.It is different with the peas we sow in the garden or in a flower-pot.In about two weeks their green leaves will come peeping up through the soil，and they will grow up into tall plants.We must then push long sticks into the ground for them to climb up.
POD（豌豆荚）
4.Do you know how it is that the pea-plant can climb？At the ends of its branches it has a great many green threads，which twist round the sticks，and help the plant to hold on to them.
5.By the time summer has come，the pea-plants will be as high as the sticks you set up，and they will be covered with pretty white blossoms.The blossoms soon drop off，and we see long green pods in their place.These pods are picked when they are large and full.The peas are taken out，and boiled for us to eat.
6.Let us look at the curious flower of the pea-plant.It has a little green outer cup，with fivepoints or teeth，Next come five pretty white leaves，of which one is much larger than the others，and stands up boldly.There arePEA-FLOWER（豌豆花）LEAVES OF PEA-FLOWER（豌豆花的花瓣）two small white side leaves，and two other leaves lower down，which are shaped like a tiny boat.The whole flower looks very much like a butterfly.
7.Inside the white leaves are ten yellow dust-spikes.Nine of them are joined together except at their tips，and in the very middle of them is the young pod with its tiny seeds.
8.Do you know any other plants that have flowers and pods like thepea？Yes；there is the bean.Then DUST-SPIKES雄蕊（规范名称是Stamen）the pretty tree called the golden-drop，whose flowers you see in May and June，belongs to the same family of plants as the pea；but its seeds contain a kind of poison，and they will hurt you very much and perhaps kill you if you eat them.If youlook at the yellow flowers of the pricklyGOLDEN-DROP（金链花）plant called the gorse or whin，you will see that they，too，are shaped very much like the flowers of the pea.The heads of red and white clover，which you may see among grass，are also made up of small flowers of the same kind.
SUMMARY
BEAN（大豆）
Green peas are sown from seed.They grow into tall climbing plants，with pretty white blossoms，which look like butterflies.Each blossom is made up of five leaves，in the centre of which is the young pod with its tiny seeds.The blossoms soon drop off，and the green pods come in their place.When large and full，the pods are picked，and the peas are taken out.The bean and other plants have flowers like those of the pea.
【中文阅读】
1．咱们去种子商店买点儿豌豆吧！瞧，放在手里像一把灰色的小球。把几粒豌豆浸在水里，放在碟子里。碟子底下垫一块湿绒布，碟子上面再盖一块湿绒布。①2．豌豆很快就会生长起来，先是膨胀，然后表皮裂开，然后就能看见两片子叶。每颗豌豆除了子叶之外，还有一个细小的茎、一个细小的根。不过，在小豌豆长出一两片绿叶之后，很快就会枯萎死亡。
3．我们在花园里，或者在花盆里种下的豌豆就不一样了。大概在两个星期之内，豌豆的绿叶就会从土里钻出来，会长成高高的植物。然后我们就得在土里插上长长的杆子，让豌豆往上爬。②4．小朋友，你知道豌豆是怎么往上爬的么？豌豆的枝条尽头，有很多绿色的细丝，它就用这些细丝缠住杆子，把身体固定在上面。
5．入夏的时候，豌豆就会长到跟杆子一样高了，开满了漂亮的小白花。豌豆花很快就会落下来，在花的地方能看见绿色的小豌豆荚。豌豆荚长大、长饱满之后，人们就采下来，把豌豆剥出来煮着吃。
6．咱们再看看这种奇妙的豌豆花吧！豌豆花外面有一个绿色的杯子一样的东西，长着五个尖儿，学名叫“萼片”。里面是五个漂亮的白色花瓣，有一片特别大，往上耸立着，叫“旗瓣”；旁边两侧各有一片白色的小花瓣，叫“翼瓣”；还有两片花瓣向下垂着，像小船一样，叫“龙骨瓣”。整朵花看上去特别像一只蝴蝶，所以叫“蝶形花冠”。
7．白色的花瓣里面，有10枚黄色的雄蕊。其中9枚是连在一块儿的，只有尖端是分开的，里面有小囊，盛着非常小的种子。③8．你知道哪些别的植物，也有豌豆这样的花和小囊吗？对了，还有大豆，还有漂亮的“金链花”，是五六月间开花的植物，跟豌豆是同一个家族，但是它的种子有毒，要是吃了，可能会得重病，甚至有生命危险！还有浑身是刺的“金雀花”，也叫“棘豆”，它的花，跟豌豆花的形状也非常像。在杂草中间，你可能会看见红色和白色的“三叶草”探出头来，这些小花，也是豌豆花的同类。④译注①豌豆属于“被子植物门”“双子叶植物纲”“豆目”“豆科”“蝶形花亚科”“豌豆属”“豌豆种”。
②豌豆的高度大概有90-180厘米，
③这句话很不准确。雄蕊尖端的花药里面是花粉，不是种子。雌蕊里面是胚珠，只有跟花粉融合在一起，才能发育成种子。Dust-spike是为了让孩子看懂的通俗说法，雄蕊只有一个英文名字，就是stamen.
④“金链花”的原文golden drop似乎是旧时或不规范的英语名。准确的英语名是golden chain tree.中文名金链花或毒豆，是一种典型的豆科植物，也是观赏植物。至于其他的两种植物，金雀花属于“豆科”“锦鸡儿属”，三叶草属于“豆科”“三叶草属”，也都是豌豆的近亲。
THE HERRING