A butterfly wants to find a lover. Naturally, he wanted to find a cute little lover among the flowers. So he looked at them all. Each flower sat quietly and demurely on its stem, as a girl would sit when not engaged. But there are so many of them that it’s not easy to choose. The butterfly didn't want to cause trouble, so it flew to the daisy. The French call this little flower "Margaret"①. They knew she could make prophecies. Here's how she does it: Lovers pluck her petals together, asking each one something about their lover: "Passionate? - Painful? - Love me very much? Just a little." ?—Not at all?” and questions like that. Everyone can ask in their own language. The butterfly also came to ask; but instead of picking off the petals, he kissed each petal. Because he believes that only kindness can get the best answer.

①The original text is "Margreth", which means "daisy"; many women in Europe and the United States use this word as their name.

"Dear 'Margaret' Daisy!" he said, "you are the wisest woman of all the flowers. You can make prophecies! I beg you to tell me which one I should marry. Or marry which one? Which one will I get? If I know, I can fly to her directly and propose to her."

But "Margaret" doesn't. answer him. She was angry because she was just a girl and he had already called her a "woman"; after all, there was a difference. He asked a second time, a third time. When he couldn't get even half a word of answer from her, he was no longer willing to ask. He flew away and immediately began his courtship.

It is early spring, and the crocuses and snow-shaped flowers are in bloom.

"They are very good-looking," said Butterfly. "They are just a group of cute little girls who are just starting to fall in love, but they are too ignorant of the world." Like all young men, he is looking for an older woman. .

So he flew to Qiu Mudan. The girls were a bit too bitter for his taste. The violets are a little too passionate; the tulips are too gorgeous; the daffodils are too commonplace; the linden flowers are too small and have too many relatives; the apple tree flowers look a lot like roses, but they bloom today and are gone tomorrow— -As soon as the wind blows, it falls down. He felt that marrying them would not last long. Pea flowers are the cutest: they are red and white, elegant and tender. She is a woman with strong family values, beautiful in appearance and very capable in the kitchen. When he was about to propose to her, he saw a pod near the flower - a withered flower hung on the tip of the pod.

"Who is this?" he asked.

"This is my sister," said Wandouhua.

"Be good! Then you will be like her in the future!" he said.

This surprised the butterfly, so it flew away.

Honeysuckle hangs from the fence. There are quite a few women like her; they all have flat faces and yellow skin. No, he doesn't like this type of woman.

But who does he like? Ask him!

Spring has passed and summer is coming to an end. It was autumn now, but he was still undecided.

Now the flowers are wearing their most gorgeous clothes, but what's the use - they have lost that fresh, fragrant smell of youth. As people get older, what they like most is fragrance. Especially among the geranium peonies and dried chrysanthemums, there is no such thing as fragrance. So the butterfly flew to the mint growing on the ground.

"She can be said to have no flowers, but her whole body is covered with flowers. There is fragrance from head to toe, and even every leaf has the fragrance of flowers. I want to please her!"

So he proposed marriage to her.

Mint stood upright and said nothing. Finally she said:

"It's okay to make friends, but we can't talk about other things. I'm old and you are old too. We can take care of each other, but getting married - that's not possible! Like At our age, let’s not make fun of ourselves!”

In this way, Butterfly has no chance of finding a wife. He took too long to choose, which was not a good idea.

As a result, the butterfly became what everyone calls an old bachelor.

This is late autumn, the weather is rainy and gloomy. The wind blew the cold air on the backs of the old willow trees, making them rustle. It is not good if you are still wearing summer clothes and looking for flowers and willows outside because, as everyone said, you will be criticized. Indeed, butterflies are not flying around outside. By chance he slipped into a room. There's a fire in the stove here, and it's as warm as summer. He can live a very good life, but "just living is not enough!" He said, "A person should have freedom, sunshine and a little flower!"

He bumped against the window. The glass flew, was watched and admired, and then was threaded on a needle and hidden in a small antique box. This is one of the ways people appreciate him the most.

"Now I am perched on a stem like a flower," said the butterfly. "It's certainly not pleasant. It's almost the same as getting married, because I'm firmly fixed now."

He comforted himself with this thought.

"It is a poor consolation," said the potted flowers in the house.

"But," thought the butterfly, "one should not believe the words of these potted flowers. They are too closely associated with human beings."

(1861)< /p>

This sketch was published in the "Danish Popular Almanac" published in Copenhagen in 1861. It's full of fun and worth playing, especially for those who are about to enter the "bachelor" situation. The last sentence is also quite interesting: "One should not believe the words of the flowers in these pots. They are too closely related to human beings."