Once when I was six years old I saw a magnificent picture in a book， called True Stories from Nature， about the primeval forest. It was a picture of a boa constrictor in the act of swallowing an animal. Here is a copy of the drawing.

　　In the book it said： "Boa constrictors swallow their prey whole， without chewing it. After that they are not able to move， and they sleep through the six months that they need for digestion."

　　I pondered deeply， then， over the adventures of the jungle. And after some work with a colored pencil I succeeded in making my first drawing. My Drawing Number One. It looked like this：

　　I showed my masterpiece to the grown-ups， and asked them whether the drawing frightened them.

　　But they answered： "Frighten？ Why should any one be frightened by a hat？"

　　My drawing was not a picture of a hat. It was a picture of a boa constrictor digesting an elephant. But since the grown-ups were not able to understand it， I made another drawing： I drew the inside of the boa constrictor， so that the grown-ups could see it clearly. They always need to have things explained. My Drawing Number Two looked like this：

　　The grown-ups' response， this time， was to advise me to lay aside my drawings of boa constrictors， whether from the inside or the outside， and devote myself instead to geography， history， arithmetic and grammar. That is why， at the age of six， I gave up what might have been a magnificent career as a painter. I had been disheartened by the failure of my Drawing Number One and my Drawing Number Two. Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves， and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.

　　So then I chose another profession， and learned to pilot airplanes. I have flown a little over all parts of the world； and it is true that geography has been very useful to me. At a glance I can distinguish China from Arizona. If one gets lost in the night， such knowledge is valuable.

　　In the course of this life I have had a great many encounters with a great many people who have been concerned with matters of consequence. I have lived a great deal among grown-ups. I have seen them intimately， close at hand. And that hasn't much improved my opinion of them.

　　Whenever I met one of them who seemed to me at all clear-sighted， I tried the experiment of showing him my Drawing Number One， which I have always kept. I would try to find out， so， if this was a person of true understanding. But， whoever it was， he， or she， would always say：

　　"That is a hat."

　　Then I would never talk to that person about boa constrictors， or primeval forests， or stars. I would bring myself down to his level. I would talk to him about bridge， and golf， and politics， and neckties. And the grown-up would be greatly pleased to have met such a sensible man.

　　當我還只有六歲的時候，在一本描寫原始森林的名叫《真實的故事》的書中，看到了一副精彩的插畫，畫的是一條蟒蛇正在吞食一只大野獸。頁頭上就是那副畫的摹本。

　　這本書中寫道：“這些蟒蛇把它們的獵獲物不加咀嚼地囫圇吞下，爾后就不能再動彈了；它們就在長長的六個月的睡眠中消化這些食物。”

　　當時，我對叢林中的奇遇想得很多，于是，我也用彩色鉛筆畫出了我的第一副圖畫。我的第一號作品。它是這樣的：

　　我把我的這副杰作拿給大人看，我問他們我的畫是不是叫他們害怕。

　　他們回答我說：“一頂帽子有什么可怕的？”

　　我畫的不是帽子，是一條巨蟒在消化著一頭大象。于是我又把巨蟒肚子里的情況畫了出來，以便讓大人們能夠看懂。這些大人總是需要解釋。我的第二號作品是這樣的：

　　大人們勸我把這些畫著開著肚皮的，或閉上肚皮的蟒蛇的圖畫放在一邊，還是把興趣放在地理、歷史、算術、語法上。就這樣，在六歲的那年，我就放棄了當畫家這一美好的職業。我的第一號、第二號作品的不成功，使我泄了氣。這些大人們，靠他們自己什么也弄不懂，還得老是不斷地給他們作解釋。這真叫孩子們膩味。

　　后來，我只好選擇了另外一個職業，我學會了開飛機，世界各地差不多都飛到過。的確，地理學幫了我很大的忙。我一眼就能分辨出中國和亞里桑那。要是夜里迷失了航向，這是很有用的。

　　這樣，在我的生活中，我跟許多嚴肅的人有過很多的接觸。我在大人們中間生活過很長時間。我仔細地觀察過他們，但這并沒有使我對他們的看法有多大的改變。

　　當我遇到一個頭腦看來稍微清楚的大人時，我就拿出一直保存著的我那第一號作品來測試測試他。我想知道他是否真的有理解能力。可是，得到的回答總是：

　　“這是頂帽子。”我就不和他談巨蟒呀，原始森林呀，或者星星之類的事。我只得遷就他們的水平，和他們談些橋牌呀，高爾夫球呀，政治呀，領帶呀這些。于是大人們就十分高興能認識我這樣一個通情達理的人。