Why Do Roses Have Thorns1? 為什么玫瑰花有刺？

陳佳

One of the most beautiful flowers in the world is roses. They are a symbol of love and friendship and have an amazing fragrance2. Roses are red， pink， white; in fact， there are over 100 species of roses around the world！

●The Purpose of Thorns

Roses come with sharp thorns. Scientists believe that roses have thorns to protect them from being eaten by animals who might be attracted to them due to their sweet fragrance.

●Story of Roses and Thorns

The Native Americans believe that many years ago the rose bush had no thorns. They were just pretty pink roses with leaves and a smooth stem3， emanating4 sweet fragrance. But they made an easy catch for the rabbits and other predators5 that ate up entire bushes many times. The rose bushes met and decided to go to Nanahboozoo， a man who had magical powers. He was angry as the rose bush planted by him had also been eaten by rabbits. The rose bushes who came to see him， told him their story and Nanahboozoo gave them small thorns to cover their body so that no predator would eat them. So roses are able to grow bigger and prettier each year by using their thorns to scare off animals who intend to eat them up.

玫瑰是世界上最美麗的花之一，是愛情和友誼的象征，有著令人驚嘆的香味。玫瑰有紅色、粉色、白色的;事實上，全世界有100多種玫瑰！

●長刺的目的

玫瑰有尖刺?？茖W家們相信，玫瑰有刺可以保護它們不被動物吃掉，因為它們甜美的香味可能引來動物。

●玫瑰花和刺的故事

印第安人相信許多年前的玫瑰叢沒有刺。它們只是美麗的粉紅色玫瑰，有葉子和光滑的莖，散發著芳香。但兔子和其他捕食者很容易發現它們，并多次吃掉了整個灌木叢。玫瑰叢們碰面后決定去找一個叫做納納赫布祖奧的有魔力的人。他很生氣，因為他種的玫瑰叢也被兔子吃掉了。來見他的玫瑰叢向他講述了它們的故事，于是他給了它們小刺來遮住它們的軀體，這樣就不會有捕食者吃掉它們。因此，用刺嚇跑那些想要吃掉它們的動物后，玫瑰每年都能長得更大更漂亮。

（英語原文選自：mocomi.com）

【Notes】

1. thorn [■] n. 刺;荊棘 2. fragrance [■] n. 香味，芬芳 3. stem [■] n. 干;莖 4. emanate [■] v. 產生;散發

5. predator [■] n. 捕食者