前言，共110个单词，阅读需要花费？分钟。
I ask the indulgence of the children who may read this book for dedicating it to a grown-up. I have a serious reason: he is the best friend I have in the world. I have another reason: this grown-up understands everything, even books about children. I have a third reason: he lives in France where he is hungry and cold. He needs cheering up. If all these reasons are not enough, I will dedicate the book to the child from whom this grown-up grew. All grown-ups were once children-- although few of them remember it. And so I correct my dedication:
To Leon Werth when he was a little boy
本页生词仅有 indulgence （迁就、宽容、放纵），但是也有看着很熟但却不会用的单词，即被动词汇，grown-up：成年人。
我个人就经常在口头表达中想不到这个词，“大家都是成年人了”会想成 We are all adults。但是你会随后发现，本书中到处都是grown-up，而不用adult，这是为什么呢？
原来，grown-up虽然与adult同义，但是它专用于对孩子说话，或孩子自己称呼大人的场景:
Tom was almost a grown-up...
汤姆几乎已经是个大人了...
Don't cry, let's ask a grown-up to help us.
别哭了，让我们去找个大人来帮忙。
这篇童话的主人公是个孩子，在他的自述里，称呼大人自然会叫 grown-up了。
另外“I will dedicate the book to the child from whom this grown-up grew.”这句比较绕，你在不借助翻译的情况下看懂了吗？
最后，今天这篇你最喜欢哪一句呢？我最喜欢这一句：
All grown-ups were once children-- although few of them remember it.
