Of the fruits of the year I give my vote to the orange. In the first place it is a perennial—if not in actual fact, at least in the greengrocer's shop. On the days when dessert is a name given to a handful of chocolates and a little preserved ginger, when macedoine do fruits is the title bestowed on two prunes and a piece of rhubarbs, then the orange, however sour, comes nobly to the rescue; and on those other days of plenty when cherries and strawberries and raspherries and gooseberries riot together upon the table, the orange, sweeter than ever, is still there to hold its own. Bread and butter, beef and mutton, eggs and bacon, are not more necessary to an ordered existence than the orange.
It is well that the commonest fruit should be also the best. Of the virtues of the orange I have not room fully to speak. It has properties of health-giving, as that it cures influenza and establishes the complexion. It is clean, for whoever handles it on its way to your table, but handles its out covering, its top coat, which is left in the hall. It is round, and forms an excellent substitute with the young for a cricket ball. The pip can be flicked at your enemies, and quite a small piece of peel makes a slide for an old gentleman.
But all this would count nothing had not the orange such delightful qualities of taste. I dare not let myself go upon this subject. I am a slave to its sweetness. I grudge every marriage in that it means a fresh supply of orange blossom, the promise of so much golden fruit cut shot. However, the world must go on.
...
With the orange we do live year in and year out. That speaks well for the orange. The fact is that there is an honesty about the orange which appeals to all of us. If it is going to be bad—for the best of us are bad sometimes—it begins to be bad from the outside, not from the inside. How many a pear which presents a blooming face to the world is rotten at the core. How many an innocent-looking apple is harbouring a worm in the bud. But the orange has no secret faults. Its outside is a mirror of its inside, and if you are quick you can tell the shopman so before he slips it into the bag.
By A. A. Milne
［参考译文］
金灿灿的水果
A. A. 米尔恩
一年四季的水果里，我最推崇柑橘。首先，柑橘四季都有——即使树上没有，至少水果店里有。一年里有些时候，只用几块巧克力和一点蜜饯生姜充当餐后的甜点，两块李子干加一片大黄就被冠以蔬果什锦的美名，这时，仍带酸味的柑橘便英勇前来救驾。当水果丰盈，樱桃、草莓、木梅、醋栗在餐桌上相互争艳时，此时比往日更加甜美的柑橘依然能坚守自己的岗位。对于人们的日常生活，面包和黄油，牛肉和羊肉，鸡蛋和咸肉，都未必像柑橘那样不可或缺。
很幸运，这种最普通的水果恰恰是最好的水果。论其优点，难尽其详。柑橘有益于健康，比如，可以治疗流感，滋养皮肤。柑橘干净卫生，不管是谁把它端上餐桌，也只触到它的表皮，亦即它的外衣，吃完以后便被丢在餐厅。柑橘是圆的，孩子们拿它当板球玩是再好不过了。柑橘核可用来弹射你的对手，一小片橘皮也能让一个老者滑个趔趄。
但是，如若不是柑橘有甜美可口的味道，上述一切便不足为奇。我真不敢纵谈它的美味，我被柑橘的美味所倾倒。每一个婚礼都使我感到痛惜，它意味着一束鲜橘花——未来金灿灿果实的夭折。无奈，人类还得继续繁衍。
……
我们年复一年地吃着柑橘生活，这就证明了柑橘的好处。事实上，是柑橘诚实的品格令我们所有的人对它青睐有加。如果它开始变坏的话——即使我们之中最优品种有时也会变坏——它是从外表而不是从内里开始的。有多少梨子，在向人们展现容光焕发的笑容时，内里已经腐烂。有多少看上去洁净无瑕的苹果，刚刚发芽就已经包藏蛀虫。而柑橘从不隐藏瑕疵。它的外表就是它内心的写照。假如你反应快，不等售货员把坏橘子偷偷放进纸袋儿，你就能把它指出来。
［注释］
-perennial [pəˈrenɪəl] n. 多年生植物 lasting or active through the year or through many years
-rhubarb [ˈruːbɑːb] n. 大黄，大黄的叶柄
-pip [pɪp] n. 果仁，种子 the small seed of a fruit
-grudge [ɡrʌʤ] v. 不给予 to be reluctant to give
［作者简介］
米尔恩（A. A. Milne, 1882-1956）是英国作家，著有《小熊维尼》，书中创造了罗宾等备受儿童喜爱的角色。迪斯尼公司又把它改编成动画片，这就是爱吃蜂蜜的森林诗人、小熊维尼的故事。米尔恩于1926年、1928年分别出版了《小熊维尼》及其续集《小熊维尼角落的房子》等作品。
亚历山大·米尔恩于1882年出生在英国伦敦。他在剑桥大学就读，后来成为一名成功的剧作家、小说家和诗人。然而，最为人所熟知的作品是他为儿童创作的系列故事书，以及其中的角色温斯顿·丘吉尔（Winnie-the-Pooh）和他的朋友们。
米尔恩创作的《小熊维尼》（Winnie-the-Pooh）系列故事书包括《维尼熊》（Winnie-the-Pooh）和《维尼熊的故事》（The House at Pooh Corner），这些作品以其幽默、温暖和富有想象力的故事而备受喜爱。这些故事书以温馨的方式描绘了一个充满友爱和冒险的世界，让无数儿童和成年读者为之倾倒。维尼熊和他的朋友们，如小猪佩奇、跳跳虎等角色也成为了家喻户晓的经典形象。
米尔恩的作品不仅在文学上产生了深远的影响，也对儿童文学和文学研究领域产生了广泛的影响。他创造的角色和情节激发了读者的想象力，并为后来的儿童文学作品树立了标杆。此外，米尔恩的作品也被改编成了动画、电影等形式，进一步扩大了它们的影响力。