beautiful striped tulips.
可以加一句：花瓣上有着好看的条纹。。。诸如此类的，把striped翻出来么？
我也觉得叫妈妈会更亲切些。
原文地址 http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php?author=olcott&book=holidays&story=tulips
很久以前，在一座小屋子里住着一位好心的老婆婆。她的花园里有一个种满郁金香的花圃，每朵花都长有美丽的条纹。
有天晚上，老婆婆在睡梦中听到了甜美的歌声和婴孩的笑声。她醒了过来，朝窗外望去，声音似乎是从郁金香花圃传来的，但她什么也没看到。
第二天清晨，老婆婆在她的花丛中四处查看，可是没发现昨晚有人在那里待过的痕迹。
接下来的这天晚上，老婆婆在睡梦中又听到了那甜美的歌声和婴孩的笑声。她小心地下了床，轻手轻脚地走进花园。只见皎洁的月光撒在郁金香花圃上，花朵来回摇摆着。老婆婆定睛一看，在每朵郁金香的旁边都站着一位身材纤巧的仙子妈妈。她们一边低声哼唱，一边前后摇晃着花朵，就好像在摇摇篮一样，而在每朵花的花心都躺着一个嬉闹着的仙子宝宝。
好心的老婆婆轻手轻脚地回了屋子。从此，她再没摘过一朵郁金香，也不允许邻居们碰它们一下。
郁金香们开得一天比一天艳丽和饱满，并且散发出玫瑰般的花香。它们常年开花。每天晚上，仙子妈妈都会轻轻地拍打和摇晃她们躺在花心的小宝贝，好让它们甜甜地入睡。
后来，好心的老婆婆离开了这个人世。对仙子毫不知情的乡人们翻新了郁金香花圃，不再种花，而是改种了西芹。不久，那些西芹就枯萎了，花园里的其他植物也一起衰败了。从那以后，花园里再不能种什么植物了。
但老婆婆的墓地却越来越美丽了。仙子们在它上空唱歌，让它一年四季都郁郁葱葱的。郁金香、水仙花、紫罗兰和其他春日里的花朵竞相绽放，点缀了墓地及其四周。
THE FAIRY TULIPS
ENGLISH FOLK-TALE
ONCE upon a time there was a good old woman who lived in a little house. She had in her garden a bed of beautiful striped tulips.
One night she was wakened by the sounds of sweet singing and of babies laughing. She looked out at the window. The sounds seemed to come from the tulip bed, but she could see nothing.
The next morning she walked among her flowers, but there were no signs of any one having been there the night before.
[99] On the following night she was again wakened by sweet singing and babies laughing. She rose and stole softly through her garden. The moon was shining brightly on the tulip bed, and the flowers were swaying to and fro. The old woman looked closely and she saw, standing by each tulip, a little Fairy mother who was crooning and rocking the flower like a cradle, while in each tulip-cup lay a little Fairy baby laughing and playing.
The good old woman stole quietly back to her house, and from that time on she never picked a tulip, nor did she allow her neighbors to touch the flowers.
The tulips grew daily brighter in color and larger in size, and they gave out a delicious perfume like that of roses. They began, too, to bloom all the year round. And every night the little Fairy mothers caressed their babies and rocked them to sleep in the flower-cups.
The day came when the good old woman died, and the tulip-bed was torn up by folks who did not know about the Fairies, and parsley was planted there instead of the flowers. But the parsley withered, and so did all the other plants in the garden, and from that time nothing would grow there.
But the good old woman's grave grew beautiful, for the Fairies sang above it, and kept it [100] green; while on the grave and all around it there sprang up tulips, daffodils, and violets, and other lovely flowers of spring.