A very great man once said that the Book of Nature is the only book whose pages never disappoint the reader. 一个非常伟大的人曾经说过，自然之书是唯一一本不会让读者失望的书。

　　What did he mean? Theodore Roosevelt could have told you; 他的言下之意是什么呢？西奥多·罗斯福说，

　　he found the world of birds, animals, and flowers so fascinating 花鸟鱼虫的世界如此奇妙，

　　that even in his busy life he spent many hours studying the wild things of Nature. 以至于他在忙碌的生活之余还会花许多时间研究自然界的野生动植物。

　　Now of course, if you are going to read the Book of Nature, you must understand its language. 当然，你如果打算阅读自然之书，你必须懂得它的语言。

　　You can learn its language by reading and observing. 你可以通过阅读和观察学习这门语言。

　　Men and women who have spent years studying the out-of-doors have written about the wonderful things they have seen. 那些年复一年进行户外研究的人记录下了他们所看到的很多美好的事物。

　　Here are some of the strange things they have told us about: 他们告诉了我们许多奇闻逸事：

　　Bees were the first paper-makers. 蜜蜂是最早的造纸工；

　　A certain kind of flower eats meat. 有一种花儿以肉为食；

　　There is a deep-sea fish that carries a lantern. 深海中有一种鱼总是提着灯笼；

　　Birds save the lives of all of us by eating insects 鸟类通过捕食昆虫拯救了我们，

　　which would in a few years destroy all plants, from which we get our food. 因为昆虫可能会在几年内摧毁所有植物，而植物是我们的食物来源。

　　As you learn more about flowers and birds and animals, 当你掌握了更多关于花鸟鱼虫的知识，

　　you will become interested in preserving them instead of destroying them. 你就会乐于保护它们而不是伤害它们。

　　Perhaps you can tell some other people about reasons why we should not pick wild flowers or collect birds' eggs. 也许你还会告诉其他人为什么我们不应该采摘野花或者收集鸟蛋。

　　In this first part of your book you will see the outdoor world through the eyes of some famous students of Nature, 在本书的第一部分，你将通过几个著名的大自然学生的眼睛观察户外世界。

　　and you will learn some things about saving wild life. 同时，你也将学到一些有关拯救野生动植物的事情。

　　These stories are only samples, put in this book to help you have eyes that see when you go out of doors, 这些故事仅仅是范例，把它们编入此书的目的是让它们指导你在走出家门的时候多多留意观察，

　　and to let you know what fascinating reading awaits you in books that tell about the world of Nature. 并让你知道在自然之书中还有哪些美妙的事情在等着你。