Mid-summer’s NightTraditions Looking for the Fern Flower仲夏夜寻找蕨花的传统

In many places， the mid-summer’s night on June 21st， the longest day （and theshortest night） of the year， is celebrated in many ways. In some countries， peoplemake flower wreaths2， but in some others， there is a special tradition： looking for thefern flower.

在许多地方，6 月21 日仲夏之夜，一年中最长的白天（和最短的夜晚），以多种方式庆祝。在一些国家，人们会扎花环，但在其他一些国家有一个特殊的传统：寻找蕨花。

What is the fern flower legend³？

蕨花的传说是什么？

It is said that whoever finds the fern flower on that day，will get the gift of eternal4 life， youth5 and wealth6. Thatflower shines7 in the dark but can only be found on that night.It is usually in a place in the forest people don’t know. What’smore， a person looking for the fern flower might have to facedanger. That’s why people prepared8 well when on the way tofind the fern flowers.

据说在这一天找到蕨花的人将得到永生、青春和财富作为礼物。那朵花在黑暗中发光，但只能在那个晚上才能找到，而且通常是在森林里不为人知的地方。更重要的是，寻找蕨花的人可能会面临危险。这就是为什么人们在寻找蕨花的路上都做好了充分的准备。

So， what does the legend say？

那么袁那个传说是怎么说的呢？

Long ago， there was a young boy called Jack. He was a very curious9 boy，always getting into trouble10. Once， he heard the story of the fern flower， andvowed11 to find it. The first two times he went into the forest to look for the flower，he found it but couldn’t get it. Because he was too late and the shortest night of theyear was already over.

很久以前，有一个小男孩叫杰克。他是个很好奇的孩子，总是遇到麻烦。有一次，他听说了蕨花的故事，发誓要找到它。他头两次到森林里去找这种花的时候都找到了，但没能摘到花，因为他来得太晚了，一年中最短的夜晚已经过去了。

When the third time arrived， Jack put on his bestclothes and once again went into the forest. This time， hedid a good job and he tried his best to get the flower backeven though it burned his fingers. And， by the magic12 ofthe fern flower， all his dreams became true. He was nowruler13 of a big kingdom14 with a big palace15 and manyservants16. Only his family was missing.

第三次来的时候，杰克穿上他最好的衣服，再次走进那片森林。这一次，他做得很好，尽了最大的努力把花拿回来，尽管它灼伤了他的手指。蕨花的魔力让他实现了所有的梦想。他现在是一个大国的统治者，拥有一座大宫殿和许多仆人。只是他的家人不见了。

This made him sad because he could not share his wealth with anyone. Allthe gold he had， he had to spend on himself. If he did not， he would go back tobeing poor.

这让他很伤心，因为他不能和任何人分享他的财富。他所有的金子都得花在自己身上。如果不这样做，他就会变回穷人。

One day， when he missed his family too much， he decided to see his mother. Butshe didn’t recognize17 him. He tried that two more time. The second time， Jack foundout that his father was gone and his mother was very sick. But when he tried to helpher by giving her some gold， he remembered that it would all disappear18 and hewould be poor again.

有一天，他太想念他的家人了，于是他决定去看望他的母亲。但她没认出他来。他又试了两次。第二次，杰克发现他的父亲不见了，母亲病得很重。但当他想给她一些金子帮帮她时，他想起这些钱会全部消失，他又会变得贫穷。

Jack was sad because he couldn’t help his family. Thenhe became sick and sad， and knew that his wealth had no useif he couldn’t share it with his family. The third time he triedto go to his village， he found out that his parents had died. Inthe end， Jack is then swallowed19 whole into the ground andnever seen again. As for the fern flower， no one could find itany more.

杰克很伤心，因为他不能帮助自己的家人。后来他又生病又难过，他知道如果不能与家人分享，他的财富就毫无用处。当他第三次想回村时，他发现父母已经去世了。最后，杰克被大地整个儿吞噬，再也没有出现在人前。至于蕨花，再也没人能找到了。

Is the fern flower real？

蕨花是真的吗？

The truth is that ferns do not have flowers. But many flowering plantslook like ferns， and some of them do have flowers. There are also so-called“flowering ferns”.

实际上蕨类植物不开花。不过，许多开花植物看起来像蕨类植物，其中一些确实有花，也有被称作“开花的蕨类植物”的。

Where does this tradition come from？

这个传统从何而来？

The legend of the fern flower seems to have started inEastern and Northern Europe. It is celebrated in Lithuania，Latvia， Estonia， Sweden， and Finland where it’susually celebrated on summer solstice20 （between June19th and June 25th）.

蕨花的传说似乎起源于东欧和北欧。立陶宛、拉脱维亚、爱沙尼亚、瑞典和芬兰通常在夏至（6 月19 日至6 月25 日）庆祝这一传统。

（英语原文选自：kidworldcitizen.org）