你知道吗，昆虫并非我们认为的那么微不足道，它们有自己的行为习惯、王国构成，其聪明程度，超乎人类的想象。

　　《昆虫的故事》是一个经常纷呈的世界：里面的每个昆虫都有一个好听的名字，还有它们自己的生活经历、喜好习惯和心理历程，每一个都是可爱的小精灵。12种常见的昆虫，12则奇妙的昆虫故事。

　　Old Bumble

　　黄蜂老奔奔

　　Candlemas Day was bright and fair.

　　Perhaps the ground-hog came out of his hole and was scared by his shadow and went back to bed again. I do not know.

　　But I know Old Bumble didn't come out of her hole that day. Her legs were all cramped up with the cold, and even her pretty black and yellow fur couldn't keep her warm.

　　圣烛节那天风和日丽。(Christmas是圣诞节，这里的Candlemas 由candle与mas和二为一，表示蜜蜂世界里的节日，也是指12月25日。)

　　也许，土拨鼠从洞里出来过，可是又被自己的影子吓到了，赶紧回去睡觉了。这个我不知道。

　　可是，我知道那天老奔奔没有出洞。她的腿冻僵了，连她那漂亮的黑黄相间的绒毛外套都不管用了。

　　You see, she had chosen to make her winter bedroom in a little cave on the north side of a dry bank, and the sunshine did not touch it. This did very well last August when she went to bed. If she had been in a sunny place then, it might have been too hot for her. It didn't take much to disturb her when she first went to sleep. If anything had got into her bedroom then and touched her, she would have shaken herself and gone away and found or made a new place. In August she was what is called "a very light sleeper" and couldn't bear to be touched.

　　你瞧，她选的过冬小屋在一个干燥的河堤北面，很难见到阳光。去年八月她进去睡觉的时候，还很不错。那个时候，如果她选的是阳光充足的地方，那就太热了。她刚入睡的时候, 很容易惊醒。如果那个时候有什么东西进了她的卧室碰了她，她就会抖抖身子，离开那个地方，再找一处新居，或者再造一个新居。处在八月份的老奔奔，就是我们所说的那种“睡觉很轻的人”，受不了任何打扰。

　　In winter she was different. If the ground-hog had pawed her cave open and rolled her out of bed on Candlemas Day, she would not have known anything about it!

　　冬天的时候，她就不这样了。圣烛节那天，即使土拨鼠用爪子刨开她的洞，把她从床上拨拉下来，她也会毫无知觉。

　　He didn't, so there she slept, though she had been napping for six months already and would very likely keep at it for two or three more. Isn't that pretty lazy for a bee?

　　土拨鼠并没有这么做，所以，老奔奔还在那里睡着。她已经睡了六个月了，而且很有可能接着再睡两三个月。对蜂儿来说，这是不是懒了点？

　　……

1  Van, the Sleepy Butterfly，Who Was Wakened by A January Thaw冰雪消融的一月贪睡的蝴蝶帆儿醒来了  

2  Old Bumble黄蜂老奔奔

3  The Strange House of Cecid Cido Domy锯蜂塞西德·西德·多米的怪房子

4  Poly, the Easter Butterfly复活节的蝴蝶波丽

5  Jumping Jack蹦蹦跳跳的角蝉杰克

6  Nata, the Nymph蜻蜓娜塔，水中仙子

7  Lampy's Fourth O'July萤火虫小亮亮的国庆节

8  Carol蚱蜢欢欢

9  Ann Gusti's Circus假死虫安妮的马戏表演

10  Gryl, the Little Black Minstrel蟋蟀唧唧，黑乎乎的吟游小歌手

11  Luna's Thanksgiving月形天蚕蛾卢娜的感恩节

12  Keti Abbot，the Littlest Christmas Guest袋袋蛾凯弟，圣诞节最小的客人