English Original
Once there were five peas in a pod. They were green, and the pod was green, so they believed the whole world must be green too—a natural conclusion. They grew in a row, warmed by the sun and washed clear by the rain. As they grew bigger, they became more thoughtful, feeling there must be something else for them to do.
"Are we to sit here forever?" asked one. "Shall we not become hard? I feel sure there is something outside."
Weeks passed, and the peas and pod turned yellow. "All the world is turning yellow," they said.
Suddenly, the pod was pulled off and slipped into a jacket pocket with others. "Now we shall soon be opened," they said eagerly.
"I wonder which of us will travel furthest," said the smallest pea.
"What is to happen will happen," said the largest.
With a crack, the pod burst open. The five peas rolled into bright sunshine, landing in a child's hand. "Fine peas for my pea-shooter!" said the boy. He shot the first one out.
"Now I am flying into the wide world! Catch me if you can!" it cried, and was gone.
"I intend to fly straight to the sun," said the second. "That is a pod that lets itself be seen." And away it went.
"We will sleep wherever we find ourselves," said the next two, "but we shall still roll onwards." They fell and rolled before being shot. "We shall go farther than the others."
"What is to happen will happen!" exclaimed the last pea as it was shot. It flew against an old board under a garret window and fell into a little crevice filled with moss and soft earth. The moss closed around it. "What is to happen will happen," it said to itself.
In the little garret lived a poor, industrious woman. At home lay her only daughter, delicate and weak, who had been bedridden for a year, seeming neither able to live nor die.
Spring came. One morning, as the mother left for work, the sick girl fixed her gaze on the window. "Mother, what is that little green thing peeping in? It moves in the wind."
The mother stepped to the window. "Oh! A little pea has taken root and put out green leaves. How did it get here? Now you have a little garden to amuse yourself." She moved her daughter's bed nearer the window.
That evening, the child said, "Mother, I believe I shall get well. The sun shone so warmly today, and the little pea thrives so well. I shall go out into the sunshine again."
"God grant it!" said the mother, though she doubted. She propped up the plant with a stick and tied a string for its tendrils to twine around. It grew visibly each day.
"Now really, here is a flower coming," said the mother one morning, beginning to hope. Her daughter had spoken more cheerfully and had raised herself to look at her little garden. A week later, the invalid sat by the open window for a whole hour, happy in the warm sunshine. Outside, the little plant bore a pink pea-blossom in full bloom. The little maiden bent down and gently kissed the delicate leaves. It was like a festival.
"Our heavenly Father Himself planted that pea to bring joy to you and hope to me," said the happy mother, smiling at the flower as if it were an angel.
But what of the other peas? The one that flew into the wide world fell into a roof gutter and ended in a pigeon's crop. The two lazy ones were also eaten by pigeons, so they were of some use. The fourth, which wanted to reach the sun, fell into a sink and lay in dirty water, swelling greatly.
"I am getting beautifully fat," it said. "I expect I shall burst. I am the most remarkable of all five." The sink confirmed this.
But the young maiden stood at the open garret window, with sparkling eyes and rosy cheeks. She folded her hands over the pea-blossom and thanked God.
"I," said the sink, "shall stand up for my pea."
中文翻译
从前，一个豆荚里有五粒豌豆。豆荚是绿的，豌豆也是绿的，所以它们认为整个世界都是绿的——这是一个很自然的结论。它们排成一排生长，太阳晒得它们暖洋洋的，雨水把它们洗得透亮。它们越长越大，也变得越发心事重重，总觉得一定还有别的事等着它们去做。
“我们就要永远坐在这里吗？”一粒豌豆问。“坐久了不会变硬吗？我敢肯定外面一定有些什么。”
几个星期过去了，豌豆和豆荚都变黄了。“整个世界都在变黄呢。”它们说。
突然，豆荚被扯了下来，和别的饱满豆荚一起滑进了一件外套的口袋里。“我们很快就要被打开了。”它们急切地说。
“我想知道我们当中谁会走得最远。”最小的那粒豌豆说。
“该发生的事总会发生。”最大的那粒说。
随着一声脆响，豆荚裂开了。五粒豌豆滚进了明亮的阳光里，落在一个孩子的手中。“正好给我的豆枪当子弹！”男孩说着，立刻把第一粒装进去射了出去。
“现在我要飞向广阔的世界了！有本事就来抓住我吧！”它喊着，转眼就不见了。
“我打算直接飞向太阳，”第二粒说，“那才是一个看得见的豆荚呢。”说完它也飞走了。
“我们落到哪儿就在哪儿睡觉，”接着的两粒说，“但我们还是会继续往前滚的。”它们先掉在地上滚了一会儿才被射出去。“我们会比它们飞得更远！”
“该发生的事总会发生！”最后一粒豌豆被射出去时喊道。它撞上了阁楼窗户下的一块旧木板，掉进一个几乎被青苔和软土填满的小裂缝里。青苔把它包裹起来。“该发生的事总会发生。”它自言自语道。
小阁楼里住着一个贫穷而勤劳的女人。家里躺着她唯一瘦弱多病的女儿，已经在床上躺了一整年，看起来既活不下去，也死不了。
春天来了。一天早上，母亲正要出门工作，病弱的女孩凝视着窗户。“妈妈，那个从窗户探出头来的绿色小东西是什么？它在风里动呢。”
母亲走到窗前。“哦！一粒小豌豆生了根，还长出了绿叶。它怎么到这儿来的？现在你有个小花园可以解闷了。”她把女儿的床挪得离窗户更近些。
那天晚上，孩子说：“妈妈，我相信我会好起来的。今天太阳照得这么暖和，小豌豆也长得这么好。我会再好起来，走到温暖的阳光里去的。”
“愿上帝成全！”母亲说，尽管她心里并不相信。她用一根小棍支住那棵植物，又系了根绳子让它的卷须可以缠绕。豌豆苗一天天眼见着长高。
“真的，要开花了。”一天早上，母亲说道，她开始有了希望。女儿最近说话愉快多了，这几天早上还能自己坐起来，用闪亮的眼睛望着她那个只有一棵豌豆苗的小花园。一周后，病人第一次在敞开的窗边坐了整整一个小时，在温暖的阳光下感到十分快乐。窗外，那棵小植物开出了一朵粉红色的、盛放的豌豆花。小姑娘弯下腰，轻轻地吻了吻那柔嫩的叶子。这一天就像一个节日。
“我们天上的父亲自种下了这颗豌豆，让它生长茂盛，给你带来欢乐，给我带来希望。”快乐的母亲说道，她对着花儿微笑，仿佛它是一位上帝派来的天使。
但其他几粒豌豆怎么样了呢？飞向广阔世界的那一粒，掉进了屋顶的水槽，最后进了鸽子的嗉囊。那两粒懒惰的也被鸽子吃掉了，所以它们总算还有点用处。第四粒本想飞向太阳，却掉进了水槽，在脏水里躺了好几个星期，胀得非常大。
“我长得可真够美的，”它说，“我想我快要胀破了。我是五粒豌豆里最了不起的一粒。”水槽也赞同这个看法。
但那位年轻的姑娘站在敞开的阁楼窗前，眼睛闪闪发亮，脸颊泛着健康的红晕。她将瘦弱的双手合拢在豌豆花上，感谢上帝所做的一切。
“我，”水槽说，“支持我的那粒豆子。”