Colorful Shades of Gray

 　　Colorful Shades of Gray

　　“ Just because something is ugly outside doesn’t mean it’s not beautiful inside.”

　　“ Do you know why moths¹ are brown?”

　　Moths are the most beautiful animals in the animal kingdom. At one time they were more colorful than the butterflies. They have always been helpful, kind, and generous² creatures. One day the angels³ up in heaven were crying. They were sad because it was cloudy and they couldn’t look down upon the people on earth. Their tears fell down to the earth as rain. The sweet little moths hated to see everyone so sad .They decided⁴ to make a rainbow. The moths figured that if they asked their cousins, the butterflies to help, they could all give up just a little bit of their colors and they could make a beautiful rainbow.

　　One of the littlest moths flew to ask the queen of the butterflies for help. The butterflies were too vain⁵ and selfish⁶ to give up any of their colors for neither the people nor the angels. So the moths decided to make the rainbow by themselves. They beat their wings very hard and the power on them formed little clouds that the winds smoothed over like glass. Unfortunately, the rainbow wasn’t big enough so the moths kept giving a little more and a little more until the rainbow stretched all the way across the sky. They had given away all their color except brown, which didn’t fit into their beautiful rainbow.

　　Now the once colorful moths were plain and brown. The angels up in the heaven saw the rainbow, and became joyous⁷. They smiled and warmth⁸ of their smiles shone down on the earth as sunshine. The warm sunshine made people on the earth happy and they smiled, too.

　　Now every time it rains the baby moths, who still have their colors, spread themselves across the sky to made more rainbow.

1 moths   

n.蛾( moth的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The moths have eaten holes in my wool coat. 蛀虫将我的羊毛衫蛀蚀了几个小洞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The moths tapped and blurred at the window screen. 飞蛾在窗帘上跳来跳去，弄上了许多污点。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 generous   

adj.慷慨的，大方的，慷慨给予的

参考例句：

• She was kind and generous.她心地善良，宽容大量。
• She was generous with her money.她很乐于仗义疏财。

3 angels   

n.天使( angel的名词复数 )；可爱的人；品行高洁的人；大好人（感激某人时所说）（非正式）

参考例句：

• Angels are usually shown in pictures dressed in white. 图画中的天使通常身穿白衣。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Angels are celestial beings. 天使是天上的神灵。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 vain   

adj.徒劳的，徒然的，无效的，空虚的，自负的

参考例句：

• It was in vain that we tried to find his mother.我们百般设法找他的母亲，但毫无结果。
• He's very vain of his abilities.他对于自己的能力很自负。

6 selfish   

adj.自私的，利己主义的，自我中心的

参考例句：

• You must learn to share and not be so selfish.你一定要学会与他人分享，不要那么自私。
• She is a selfish person.她是一个自私自利的人。

7 joyous   

adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的

参考例句：

• The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
• They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。

8 warmth   

n.温暖，温情，暖和，激动，生气

参考例句：

• He answered with warmth.他热情地回答。
• We felt the warmth of the sun.我们感受到太阳的温暖。