Long ago, long ago when the flowers first woke to life on this dear earth, each chose where it would live as it chose, too, the color of its petals.
"I will cover the ground and make the bare soil gay with green blades," cried the grass.
"I will live in the fields and by roadsides," laughed the daisy.
"I, too," echoed the buttercup, the cornflower, the poppy, and the clover.
"Give me the ponds and the lakes," the water lily called.
"And let us have the streams and the marshes," begged the irises, cowslips, and Jacks-in-the-pulpit.
"We love the shaded, ferny woodland spots," lisped the shy forget-me-nots and wood-violets.
"And we wish to be petted in gardens," declared the rose, the pansies, the sweet williams, the hollyhocks.
"I love the warm dry sun — I will go to the sandy desert," said the cactus. So all places except the bare ridges of high mountains were chosen. To these, no flower wished to go.
"There is not enough food there!" the daisy explained.
"There is not enough warmth! There is not enough food!" all decided. " It is so bare and chilly! Let the gray moss go and cover the rocks," they said.
But the moss was loath to go.
"When one cannot live without moisture, warmth, nourishment — when one must have petting or live in a garden, surely the bleak places of the mountains must do without flowers! How foolish it would be to try to make the ragged, bare mountain-tops lovely! Let the gray moss go — he has not yet chosen!"
So the gray moss went up the high mountains because he was told to go. He climbed over the bare rocks beyond the places where forests ceased to grow. All was desolate and silent up there.
Up higher and higher crept the gray moss. It went even above the clouds where the ragged rocks were covered with ice and snow.
There it stopped short in amazement, for it found a quiet star-shaped flower clinging to the crags and blossoming! It was white like the snow around it, and its heart was of soft yellow. So cold was it up there that the little flower had cased its leaves in soft wool to keep warm and living in the bleakness.
"Oh!" cried the gray moss, stopping short. "How came you here where there was no warmth, no moisture, no nourishment? It is high above the forests, high above the clouds! I came because I was sent. Who are you?"
Then the little starry flower nodded in the chill wind. "I am the edelweiss," it said. "I came here quietly because there was need of me, that some blossom might brighten these solitudes."
"And didn't they tell you to come?"
"No," said the little flower. "It was because the mountains needed me. There are no flowers up here but me."
The edelweiss is closer to the stars than the daisy, the buttercup, the iris, or the rose. Those who have courage, like it, have found it high above the clouds, where it grows ever gladly. They call it Noble White — that is its name, edelweiss! Love, like the edelweiss, knows not self-sacrifice.
参考译文：
很久以前，很久以前第一次醒来时，花就这亲爱的地球上的生命，每一个选择在那里居住，因为它会选择，也是其花瓣的颜色。
“我将覆盖地面，使土壤裸露绿色叶片同性恋，”哭了草地上。
“我将生活在田野和街头，”笑的雏菊。
“我也”，呼应了毛茛的矢车菊，罂粟和三叶草。
“给我的池塘及湖泊，”睡莲调用。
“让我们有溪流和沼泽，”乞求菖蒲，cowslips和杰克斯点上，讲坛。
“我们爱的阴影，费尔尼林地点，”lisped害羞的勿忘我，穷人和木紫罗兰。
“我们希望能够在花园宠爱”，宣布玫瑰，紫罗兰，甜威廉姆斯，蜀葵。
“我喜欢温暖干燥的太阳 - 我会去的沙质沙漠”之称的仙人掌。因此，除高山光秃秃的山脊所有地方都选择了。对于这些，没有花希望去。
“没有足够的食物了！”雏菊解释。
“没有足够的温暖！没有足够的粮食！”所有的决定。 “它是如此贫乏和寒冷！让格雷莫斯去覆盖的岩石，”他们说。
但是，苔藓是不愿意去。
“当一个人不能没有水分住，保暖，营养 - 当一个人必须有抚摸或住在一个花园，肯定是山上的荒凉地方必须做没有鲜花，多么愚蠢的，将是设法使衣衫褴褛，裸露山顶可爱！让格雷莫斯去 - 他还没有选择！“
因此，灰色的苔藓上了，因为他被告知去高山。他爬过森林以外的地方停止增长的裸露的岩石。一切都在那里荒凉和沉默。
直至越来越高的爬灰苔。它甚至超过了所在的衣衫褴褛的岩石覆盖着冰和雪云。
在那里，它停在短惊讶，因为它找到了一个安静的星型花执着的峭壁和开花！这就像周围的雪白色的，其核心是黄色软。因此，它有感冒的小套管花了它的叶片在软羊毛保暖，在荒凉的生活。
“哦！”哭的灰色苔藓，停止短。 “你怎么来到这里，这里没有温暖，没有水分，没有营养呢？以上的森林高，高在云端！我来是因为我被送往。你是谁？”
然后，小繁星花点点头在寒风。 “我的雪绒花，”它说。 “我来这里悄悄因为我需要的是，有些花可能照亮这些孤独。”
“，没有他们告诉你来吗？”
“不，”小花朵。 “这是因为山上需要我。没有花，但我在这里。”
雪绒花是接近的比菊花的星星，毛茛，虹膜，或上升。这些谁有勇气，喜欢它，发现它上面的云，它已经越来越乐意高。他们称之为贵族气质 - 这是它的名称，雪绒花！爱像雪绒花，不知道自我牺牲。
