Children in Japan
If you wish to see the children of Japan， let us take a little walk. We pass through a street shaded by cherry trees， and soon reach a temple. Here are pretty grounds with many trees. The grounds are filled with children at play， and women talking.
The women carry their babies with them. Each little one is tied in a fold of his mother’s loose coat， or gown， and carried on her back. It is in such a place that all babies live in Japan.
If the mother is busy indoors， the baby is fastened on the back of an older brother or sister.
Sometimes this brother or sister is but little older than the baby. We shall see hundreds of children not more than five or six years of age， carrying， on their small shoulders， the baby of the house.
The baby is often fast asleep， and his tiny， smooth， brown head swings here and there with every movement of his small nurse.
The nurse walks， runs， sits， and jumps， fly kites， plays hopscotch， and fishes for frogs， never thinking whether the baby is sleeping or waking.
The little boys and girls of Japan are gentle in manners， and look very pretty in their wide sleeves and flowing kimonos. They have pretty feet and hands， and bead-like black eyes， which look at you without fear or shyness.
The children have their own holidays. The third day of the third month is the yearly holiday for all little girls. Then everybody buys for them toys like the things in their houses.
The great day of the boys falls on the fifth day of the fifth month. Then from the door of every house in which boys have been born during the past seven years， rises a tall bamboo pole.
At the top of the pole float huge fish of all colors mostly purple and gold， and there is one fish for each son in the family.
(Edwin Arnold)
日本的孩子
如果你想要看看日本的孩子，让我们出去稍微走一走吧。穿过一条樱花树掩映的大街，不久就来到一处庙宇之前的庭院。这里风景优美，树木丰茂。
这片空地上，到处都是嬉戏的孩子和闲谈的妇人。
妇人们是带着娃娃来的。每个小家伙都被绑在妈妈宽松的外衣里或者和服上，让妈妈背着。全日本的娃娃都在这样的环境中生活。
如果日本妈妈在家里忙活，娃娃就会被系在哥哥或姐姐的后背上。
有时候，哥哥或者姐姐只比小娃娃大一点儿。我们能见到数以百计的孩子，他们不过五六岁的年纪，小小的肩膀上背着自己家里的弟弟妹妹。
婴儿小小的、光滑的黄色脑袋，随着这些小保姆的走动摇来摇去，这样他就能迅速入睡。
而这些小小的保姆或走，或跑，或坐，或跳，或放风筝，或跳房子，又或者抓青蛙，从来都不考虑背上的婴儿是醒着还是睡着。
日本的小男孩和小女孩举止彬彬有礼，穿着宽袍大袖的和服，看起来非常可爱。他们的手脚都很美丽，眼睛像黑珠子一般。当他们看着你的时候，目光中既没有羞涩，也没有畏惧。
孩子们也有自己的假期。每年的三月三日，就是小女孩们的节日。在这一天，每个人都会给她们买过家家的玩具。
而对于男孩来说，五月五日是一个盛大的日子。男孩们满七岁之前，每一年的这一天，他出生的那所房子前都要竖起一根高高的竹竿。在竹竿的顶上是大大的彩色鱼旗，旗子的颜色常常是黄紫相间的。家里有一个男孩，就要有一面这样的鱼旗。
（埃德温·阿诺德）
To Thomas Archer Island of Tahiti， November， 1888.
Dear Tom:
This is a much better place for children than any I have hitherto seen in these seas. The girls， and sometimes the boys， play a very grand kind of hopscotch.
The boys play horses just as we do in Europe. They also have very good fun on stilts， trying to knock each other down， in which they do not often succeed.
The children of all ages go to church， and are allowed to do what they please， running about the aisles， rolling balls， stealing mamma’s bonnet and sitting on it， and at last going to sleep in the middle of the floor.
I forgot to say that the whips to play horse， and the balls to roll about the church grow ready-made on trees. The whips are so good that I wanted to play horse myself; but no such luck! my hair is gray， and I am a great， big， ugly man. The balls are rather hard， but very light and quite round.
But what I really wanted to tell you was this: beside the tree-top toys (Hush-a-by， toy shop， on the tree-top!)， I have seen some real made toys， the first observed in the South Seas. This was how. You are to think of a four-wheeled gig; one horse; in the front seat two Tahiti persons， in their Sunday clothes， blue coat， white shirt， kilt of blue stuff with big white or yellow flowers， legs and feet bare; in the back seat me and my wife， who is a friend of yours. We have straw hats， for the sun is strong.
We drive between the sea and the mountains. The road is cut through a forest mostly of fruit trees. The very creepers are heavy with a great and delicious fruit， bigger than your head and far nicer.
Presently we came to a house in a pretty garden， quite by itself， very nicely kept， the doors and windows open， no one about， and no noise but that of the sea. It looked like a house in a fairy tale. Just beyond we had to ford a river， and there we saw the people.
In the mouth of the river， where it met the sea waves， the children were ducking and bathing and screaming together like a flock of birds: seven or eight little brown boys and girls as happy as the day was long; and on the banks of the stream beside them， real toys- toy ships， full rigged， with their sails set， though they were lying in the dust on their beam ends.
You may care to hear， Tom， about the children in these parts; their parents obey them; they do not obey their parents; and I am sorry to tell you (for l dare say you are already thinking the idea a good one) that it does not pay one halfpenny.
There are three ways of living， Tom: the real old-fashioned one， in which children had to find out how to please their dear papas， or their dear papas cut their heads off. This style did very well， but is now out of fashion.
Then there is the style that is followed in Europe; in this， children have to behave pretty well， go to school， and so on， or their dear papas will know the reason why. This does fairly well.
Then there is the South Sea Island plan， which does not do one bit. The children beat their parents here; it does not make their parents any better; so do not try it.
Remember us all to all of you， and believe me， yours，
Robert Louis Stevenson
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