改编自黛西·米勒由亨利·詹姆斯（1879年）

年轻小姐仔细看了看荷叶边，又把丝带抚平。温特伯恩立刻冒险去欣赏这美丽的景色。他不再感到尴尬了，因为他开始发觉她自己一点也不尴尬。她那迷人的脸色没有丝毫变化;她显然既没有生气，也没有受宠若惊。如果他跟她说话时，她把目光转向别处，似乎并不是特别在听他说话，那只是她的习惯，她的态度。可是，他又谈了一会儿，把她所看到的一些有趣的景物指给她看，而她似乎并不熟悉这些景物，于是她的目光便渐渐地使他觉得更加赏心悦目了。然后他发现这目光是完全直接的，毫不退缩的。然而，这并不是一种所谓的不谦虚的目光，因为那年轻姑娘的眼睛是特别诚实和新鲜的。那双眼睛美得出奇; and, indeed, Winterbourne had not seen for a long time anything prettier than his fair countrywoman's various features—her complexion, her nose, her ears, her teeth. He had a great relish for feminine beauty; he was addicted to observing and analyzing it; and as regards this young lady's face he made several observations. It was not at all insipid, but it was not exactly expressive; and though it was eminently delicate, Winterbourne mentally accused it—very forgivingly—of a want of finish. He thought it very possible that Master Randolph's sister was a coquette; he was sure she had a spirit of her own; but in her bright, sweet, superficial little visage there was no mockery, no irony. Before long it became obvious that she was much disposed toward conversation. She told him that they were going to Rome for the winter—she and her mother and Randolph. She asked him if he was a "real American"; she shouldn't have taken him for one; he seemed more like a German—this was said after a little hesitation—especially when he spoke. Winterbourne, laughing, answered that he had met Germans who spoke like Americans, but that he had not, so far as he remembered, met an American who spoke like a German. Then he asked her if she should not be more comfortable in sitting upon the bench which he had just quitted. She answered that she liked standing up and walking about; but she presently sat down. She told him she was from New York State—"if you know where that is." Winterbourne learned more about her by catching hold of her small, slippery brother and making him stand a few minutes by his side.

改编自汤姆萨瓦耶的冒险由Mark Twain（1876）

不到两分钟，甚至更短，他就把所有的烦恼都忘掉了。不是因为他的麻烦是他沉重和痛苦的一些微低于男人的一个人,而是一个新的和强大的利益承担下来,把他们赶出他的思维时间的男子不幸被遗忘在兴奋的新企业。这种新的兴趣是他刚学来的一种很有价值的吹口哨的新东西，他正苦于不受打扰地练习它。这是一种奇特的、鸟一般的音调，一种流畅的颤音，是在音乐进行中，舌头在上颚处短暂的停顿时发出的——如果读者是个孩子的话，他大概还记得该怎么唱。勤奋和专注很快就使他掌握了诀窍，他在街上大步走着，嘴里充满了和谐，心里充满了感激。他的心情就像天文学家发现一颗新行星时的心情一样——就强烈、深沉、纯粹的快乐而言，无疑是男孩的快乐，而不是天文学家的快乐。

夏天的夜晚很长。天还不黑。不久，汤姆检查了他的哨子。在他面前有一个陌生人——一个比他自己大一点的男孩。在圣彼得堡这个贫穷破旧的小村庄里，任何年龄或性别的新来者都是一种令人印象深刻的好奇心。这个男孩穿着考究，在工作日穿得太考究了。这简直令人震惊。他的帽子是一件精致的东西，他那扣子很紧的蓝色布环形交叉口是新的、整洁的，他的内裤也是如此。他穿着鞋子，那天才星期五。他甚至戴了一条领带，一条鲜艳的丝带。他有一种城市化的气质，这影响了汤姆的生命。汤姆越是盯着这个辉煌的奇迹，他对自己的服饰越是嗤之以鼻，对他来说，自己的衣服越是破旧。两个男孩都没说话。如果一个移动，另一个移动，但只是侧向移动，形成一个圆圈；他们一直面面相觑。