你还记得吗?

You stopped looking for me a long time back, but I am still hopeful that someday you will come asking for me. I have believed that someday you will look outside your window searching for me, but, alas! My hopes are slowly 1)diminishing. Seated in my little 2)abode, I keep wondering what has changed you so much. You used to be so happy, so full of life, but now I feel sad when I see you.

Do you even know who I am?

I am a little bird, a 3)sparrow―in your childhood you used to be so happy to see me flying in and out of your house. Your mother always kept some water in a 4)vessel for me. I had my breakfasts or lunches with your family 5)countless times. The 6)granite 7)slab in your kitchen garden used to be the main place where I would find my food. I was a part of your family.

You not only fed me but also gave me a home, my cute little nest. It was a project for your summer vacation to prepare a bird’s nest. You really enjoyed the task and, under the 8)guidance of your parents, you, with a child-like 9)dedication, collected each and every 10)twig, leaf, and 11)strand of grass, and 12)assembled all of it into a beautiful nest. It took the whole vacation to finish, and yours was the best in your class. When the class teacher returned everyone’s nests, you brought yours home and placed it in the branches of the 13)bougainvillea in your kitchen garden. I didn’t miss the chance. The very next morning, when you curiously looked into the nest, you found me resting with my wings covering my face. You screamed from excitement, and for a moment I was shocked and 14)fluttered away from the nest―but then, when I realized you were just a child and unable to control your sudden emotions, I came fluttering back.

I laid my eggs in the nest you made for me. When my 15)chicks 16)hatched out, you watched me feed them every day. In your 17)innocence, you started putting huge quantities of food on that granite slab. You thought that I needed more food to feed my babies. That was so nice of you. The first time I flew out with my babies, you were happier than me.

It was all going fine for a while, but gradually you became so busy in your 18)quest to become somebody important in this world. I always prayed for your success, and my prayers were answered. You got a very good job, a handsome salary―in fact, all that you wanted to posses. In time, you became so 19)materialistic that you forgot the simple, pure happiness we used to get from each other.

That’s why I flew away from the home you made for me. To my disappointment, you never ever even noticed it. The bougainvillea also no longer exists in your kitchen garden. You 20)uprooted it to make a parking space for your car. Even the cellphone you use has a negative effect on my health. My friends and I are slowly disappearing, 21)destined to become 22)extinct soon.

I wish all you humans could start caring, really caring, about 23)species like ours, so that we can 24)coexist. Ask yourself: When was the last time you saw me? A little 25)vulnerable sparrow…does anyone care about creatures like me?

很久以前开始，你就不再寻找我了，但我还是期望有一天你会来找我。我一直相信有一天你会看向窗外，寻找我的踪影，可是，唉！我渐渐不抱希望了。我躲在小窝里，一直在想是什么让你改变如此之大。你过去是那么快乐，那么生机勃勃，可是现在，我见你就难过。

你甚至不知道我是谁吧？

我是一只小鸟，一只麻雀――你小时候高兴地看着我在你们的屋子里飞进飞出。你妈妈总是在饮水器里为我装满水。我和你的家人一同享用了无数次早餐和午餐。你们菜园里的花岗岩石板是我主要的觅食之地。我是你们家的一份子。

你不只喂养我，还给了我一个家――我可爱的小窝。做一个鸟巢是你的暑假作业。你真的很喜欢这项任务，在父母的指导下，你怀着孩子的热忱收集每一根树枝、每一片树叶、每一束干草，把它们集合起来做成一个漂亮的鸟巢。你花了整个暑假才完成这份作业，而你的鸟巢是班上最好的。老师把每个人的鸟巢发回来后，你将自己的带回家，放在你家菜园里的九重葛树枝上。我当然不会错过这个机会。第二天早晨，你好奇地往窝里看，发现我把头埋进翅膀里睡觉。你兴奋地大叫起来，当时我吓了一跳，拍打着翅膀飞出了鸟巢――可是后来，我意识到你只是一个孩子，还无法掌控自己突如其来的情绪，于是我又飞了回来。

我在你为我建的鸟巢里下了蛋。我的孩子出生后，你每天都来看我喂养它们。天真无邪的你将大量的食物 撒在那块花岗岩石板上。你认为我需要更多的食物来养宝宝。你真是太好心了。我第一次带着宝宝们飞出鸟巢时，你比我还高兴。

那会儿，一切都那么美好，可惜好景不长，你渐渐忙碌起来，想成为一个大人物。我一直祈祷你能成功，我的祈祷成真了。你得到一份好工作，一份可观的收入――事实上，你拥有了你想要的一切。后来，你变得如此物质，已经忘记了过去我们从彼此身上获得的那种简单纯粹的快乐。

正因如此，我离开了你为我筑的家。令我失望的是，你甚至一直没有发现。九重葛也从你家的菜园消失了。你将它连根拔起，好让你有地方停车。甚至连你用的手机都对我的健康有副作用。我和我的朋友渐渐消失，注定很快就会灭绝。

我希望你们人类能够关心我们，真正地关爱像我们这样的物种，这样我们才能共存。问问自己：你上一次看到我是在什么时候？一只脆弱的小麻雀……还有人关心像我这样的小东西吗？