「天氣這麼熱，來一碗仙草冰，該有多好呀！」

「是呀！那再好不過了！……哇，那邊就有嘛，你看！路那邊……。」

「好！我們去吃去！」

「喂！仙草是怎麼做的？長得怎樣？你知道嗎？」

「不知道。」

「我們問老闆吧！」

「仙草呀！它們又叫仙草舅、涼粉草、仙人草、仙草凍等，山野路旁到處都有，是一年生草本，全體被有分節的毛，莖方形，帶紅褐色，葉卵形至橢圓形，邊緣有鋸齒，上表面光滑或僅在中肋上具有少許毛，下表面散生毛茸，秋冬開花，花序頂生或腋生，花萼鐘形，二唇，上唇較長，花冠管狀，淡紫色，雄蕊四枚，二長二短，花柱扁平，柱頭二分叉……這些說明其實你們也不懂啦，哪，這就是啦，你們看就知道。」

「哇！這麼不起眼呀！」

「別小看它們！把它們的莖葉取來熬汁，加點粉漿及粳油，冷卻後就變成黑紫色洋菜 狀物，切成小塊，加入糖水和刨冰或削冰，就是你們現在吃的這些夏日清涼解渴聖品了。不但這樣，仙草還可以降低血壓，治療淋病及腎臟病呢！」

「哇！真奇妙呀！」

1981年10月10日自立晚報副刊

1982年365一日一小品

1982年1月5日中國小品文精選

Mesona   Hsu ChiCheng

“It’s so hot, may we have a cup of mesona ice, how good it is!”

“Yes! It could be better!…Wow, it’s there, lo! That way beside the road…”

“Well! Let’s go!”

“Wei! How to produce mesona ice? What is the image? Do you know?”

“I don’t know!”

“May we ask the shopkeeper!”

“As to mesona! They are also called sian uncle, leung fun cho, fairy grass, sian jelly etc, spread everywhere in mountainous area and beside the road, are annuals, they all cape with hairs divide into knot on stem, red brown in colour, the leaves are oval to ellipse, there are sawtooth in the edge, there are smooth or some hairs on the half of the upper face, and there are hairs spread scatter on below face, blossom in summer and winter, florescence grows on top or armpit, clock shape in calyx, two flower lips, it’s longer in upper lip, tube shape in corolla, light purple, four pieces of pistil, two long, two short, style flat and plane, two divides in the head… In fact, these explanation you may not know, well, this is it, you may know as you see.”

“Wow, so unconspicuous!”

“Not look down upon them! Take their stem and leaves to stew juice, add some starch and stalk oil, they will become black and purple of agar –like things, cut them into block, add sugar water and ice, frappe , they are the sainthood to cool and quench you in summer and you eat now. Not only thus, mesona can low down blood pressure, heal gonorrhea and chronic kidney disease!”

“Wow, how wonderful!” @

責任編輯：林芳宇