薛濤 曹萌

小倉(cāng)鼠專門(mén)給小田鼠送巧克力，小田鼠總共預(yù)訂了三十塊巧克力。這一年里，他已經(jīng)送出了十六塊。

小田鼠的媽媽大驚小怪：“不要了！不要了！你不想要好身材了！”

小倉(cāng)鼠家住在巧克力店，小田鼠的家在郊外的煙囪下面。給小田鼠送巧克力，小倉(cāng)鼠要穿過(guò)半個(gè)城區(qū)，走上半天時(shí)間。

Little Hamster has received orders for 30 bars of chocolate from Little Mole this year. He has delivered 16 of them.

Little Moles mom wants to put a stop to this. “You dont want to remain slim， do you， my child？”

Little Hamster lives at the chocolate shop downtown. He has to travel through half of the town to deliver to the door of Little Mole， whose home is in a suburb， at the foot of a chimney. It usually takes him a good half day to make a delivery！

有一次他足足走了一整天。他被一只陰險(xiǎn)的黑貓盯上了，他必須擺脫這個(gè)警長(zhǎng)的追蹤。不然，小田鼠也不安全。

做一件事，哪怕是一件很小的事，也是充滿艱辛。

One day， it took Little Hamster much longer. A hideous black cat cast his eyes on him， and followed him. He must get rid of him before they reached Little Moles home！ He didnt want to lose his own life， and he did not want to bring the risk to his best customer.

So， as you can see， it is hard， sometimes， to accomplish an every-day duty.

小倉(cāng)鼠決定改進(jìn)一下路徑。

“幫我挖一條隧道，直通郊外的煙囪下面！”

小倉(cāng)鼠對(duì)七十三個(gè)鼠友發(fā)號(hào)施令。

“干這個(gè)活兒，我們需要一個(gè)鼓舞。有了鼓舞，我們才有力氣干活兒?！币恢涣嫜览X的老鼠代表其他老鼠提出要求。

“有一頓巧克力大餐等著你們?！毙}(cāng)鼠是下了血本的。

一陣歡呼之后，七十三只老鼠開(kāi)始瘋狂地挖掘。

三個(gè)月后，他們完成了。他們也個(gè)個(gè)成為肌肉發(fā)達(dá)的老鼠。他們慶祝隧道完工，卻忘記了巧克力大餐的事情。一次有成效的勞動(dòng)也能讓人忘記報(bào)酬。

Little Hamster decided to make an improvement to the route.

He spoke to seventy-three of this best friends.

“Please help me dig a tunnel， which leads from my shop to the suburb...all the way to the chimney！”

A clever-tongued mouse spoke for the group. “To do this for you， we need a reward. This will help us finish the work fast and fine.”

“There will be a feast of chocolate waiting for you！” Little Hamster declared.

“HURRAY！！” all the mice yelled in happiness. Then they began to work like mad.

The tunnel was completed three months later. Every one of the mice had become much stronger. They had a big celebration together， but forgot all about the chocolate that Little Hamster promised. Sometimes， a well-accomplished job is in itself a big reward.

小倉(cāng)鼠抱著大巧克力穿過(guò)隧道，順利來(lái)到小田鼠家。

小田鼠的媽媽告訴小倉(cāng)鼠：“小田鼠開(kāi)始減肥了，不能再吃巧克力。”

小倉(cāng)鼠很執(zhí)著，“這是她預(yù)訂的?！?/p>

小田鼠的媽媽說(shuō)：“退貨?！?/p>

小倉(cāng)鼠堅(jiān)持著，“科學(xué)家說(shuō)了，巧克力不一定讓人肥胖。除非我看見(jiàn)她胖了很多?！?/p>

小田鼠的媽媽說(shuō)：“你看不到她了，她去山里減肥了?；ㄏ铲o說(shuō)長(zhǎng)白山有一大片板栗樹(shù)，秋天一來(lái)滿地都是板栗，味道比巧克力好。”

Little Hamster tried his new route. Carrying a big bar of chocolate， he arrived at the Moles fast and safe.

But he received a cold welcome from Moles mother.She said， “My child is on a diet.She needs no more of your chocolate！”

“But...she has pre-ordered this bar of chocolate，”little Hamster insisted.

“Then I need a refund.”

“Scientists say chocolate doesnt make you fat. Unless I see her grow fat myself...”

“No， you will not see her. She has been sent to the mountains. There are plenty of chestnut trees in Changbai Mountain. Chestnuts taste much better than any chocolate. Did you not hear what the magpie said about the chestnut trees？”

“去吧！去吧！如果板栗更好吃，你就去吧。最好把巧克力忘得一干二凈！”

小倉(cāng)鼠大哭了一場(chǎng)，悄悄把屬于小田鼠的巧克力留起來(lái)。

他最多等她三天。三天后，小田鼠沒(méi)回來(lái)。于是他又等三天……他不知不覺(jué)等了一年。

第二年秋天，鼠友們都說(shuō)小田鼠回到煙囪下面了。

其實(shí)，這是個(gè)假消息。

小倉(cāng)鼠抱上那塊巧克力，在隧道里面飛奔。

可是小倉(cāng)鼠的運(yùn)氣不好，剛剛挖好的隧道被水泥封死了。

小倉(cāng)鼠又需要幫手了。

這次只來(lái)六十一個(gè)鼠友，其他的都失蹤了。

“我們?cè)敢飧蛇@個(gè)活兒！說(shuō)干就干吧！”所有的鼠友都這樣表態(tài)。

他們終于挖開(kāi)了水泥墻壁，外面是一個(gè)地鐵站。

這一年里發(fā)生了很多事，一條地鐵線把小倉(cāng)鼠的隧道切成兩段。在地鐵開(kāi)過(guò)去的瞬間，小倉(cāng)鼠隱約看見(jiàn)了對(duì)面的洞口。

小倉(cāng)鼠扛著巧克力，等候這列大鐵車(chē)開(kāi)過(guò)去。

小倉(cāng)鼠想得太簡(jiǎn)單了。他還需要穿過(guò)無(wú)數(shù)只鞋子呢。

“鞋子，讓我過(guò)去好嗎？我有一個(gè)重要的任務(wù)……”

鞋子們不吭聲，自顧低著頭朝里面走，或者朝外面走。

小倉(cāng)鼠想，頂多等上半天，就等吧。

小倉(cāng)鼠想得太簡(jiǎn)單了。大鐵車(chē)一列又一列，小倉(cāng)鼠沒(méi)有機(jī)會(huì)通過(guò)。

“Ok， go after the chestnut then， if you think it tastes better. You better never want to eat my chocolate！”

Little Hamster cried a hearty cry. But he decided to keep the chocolate for Little Mole， and he didnt tell anyone about it.

He decided to wait three days for her but he waited in vain. He then waited another three days， then another three days...It has been a year now.

Every mouse he knew told him that Little Mole had returned home.

But， alas， this was not true.

Little Hamster was on his delivery route again. He put the big bar of chocolate on his back and went into the tunnel. He ran very fast.

But what was that ahead？ He saw that his tunnel was blocked by a cement wall.

He really needed his friends now.

Only sixty-one of his mice friends arrived. Nobody knew why the rest didnt come.

“We love this work. Lets get started right now！” All his friends said in an eager voice.

They set to work and dug a hole in the thick wall. They found that the blockage was for a new subway tunnel， and it had cut their tunnel in half.

Amid the passing train cars， Little Hamster could catch a glimpse of his tunnel on the other side.

So he waited， with the chocolate on his back. He waited for the trains to go speeding by.

He under-estimated his task. There were many shoes on his left and right， his front and back， moving around him.

“Shoes， please let me pass； I have an important errand.”

The shoes were silent， moving ceaselessly on their own way.

“Then I will wait for half a day. I think that will be enough time for me to find a chance，” thought Little Hamster.

But once again， he was wrong. The trains came and went， then another and still another…There wasnt time to go between them.

小倉(cāng)鼠不吃不喝，眼睛亮亮地盯著眼前的車(chē)廂。一等，就等到了夏天。后來(lái)，小倉(cāng)鼠靠吃車(chē)站里的垃圾度日。

沒(méi)有人注意到扛著巧克力的小倉(cāng)鼠。

黑貓跟主人去圖書(shū)館。黑貓一眼就看見(jiàn)了小倉(cāng)鼠。

黑貓不懷好意地問(wèn)小倉(cāng)鼠：“敢不敢跟我坐到下一站，下一站是圖書(shū)館站，旁邊有一家超市，有很多薯?xiàng)l?！?/p>

小倉(cāng)鼠當(dāng)然認(rèn)識(shí)這只黑貓，這個(gè)警長(zhǎng)曾經(jīng)追了他整整一天。

小倉(cāng)鼠默念著：沒(méi)有薯?xiàng)l……

小倉(cāng)鼠默念著：沒(méi)有巧克力……

巧克力的香味常常讓小倉(cāng)鼠產(chǎn)生幻覺(jué)，這個(gè)幻覺(jué)很幸福。

能吃的東西越來(lái)越少，小倉(cāng)鼠的肚子干癟下去，眼神也漸漸黯淡。

一只蝙蝠找吃的，誤入地鐵站，他盯上小倉(cāng)鼠的巧克力。小倉(cāng)鼠聲音微弱，“是小田鼠預(yù)訂的……”

蝙蝠好像突然明白了什么。蝙蝠早就聽(tīng)說(shuō)了，地鐵站里有一只倉(cāng)鼠，抱著一塊巧克力，卻餓得要死。這個(gè)故事在鳥(niǎo)獸中間流傳。

小倉(cāng)鼠最后一句話是說(shuō)給蝙蝠聽(tīng)的，“把我?guī)ё撸ド嚼镎业侥强冒謇酢?/p>

蝙蝠沒(méi)有聽(tīng)見(jiàn)小倉(cāng)鼠的請(qǐng)求，自顧飛走了。

“我們又有活兒干了！”

Little food. Little water. All of little Hamsters attention was on the trains coming and going. He stared at them and seemed to forget about the time. It was now summer. He now survived on rubbish in the subway.

Nobody passing by noticed this hamster with a bar of chocolate on his back.

Nobody except the black cat， who one day was traveling with his owner to the library and spotted Little Hamster in one short glance.

“Well， hey there hamster！ Do you want to go with me to the library？ I know of a very good restaurant nearby， and French fries are served there. Its just one station away！” Anyone listening could tell it was not meant as a friendly invitation.

Little Hamster recalled when he had been followed by this black cat for a whole day.

He murmured to himself， “There are no fries. This is a lie.”

“There is no chocolate either.” he told himself.

But the flavor of chocolate lent him a thought， a very happy thought.

Good food was scarce in the subway. Little Hamster looked thin and his eyes were not as bright as before.

A hungry bat got lost in the subway. He noticed the chocolate and the hamster. Little Hamster said in a weak voice， “Dont ever try touching this chocolate； it was pre-ordered by Little Mole.”

The bat suddenly recalled a rumor which had been around for a while. There was a silly hamster in this subway， who had a chocolate bar on his back and who was willing to starve to death. Everyone had heard this unusual story.

Little Hamster continued speaking， but his last words were not heard， for the bat had taken flight. He said， “Please take me with you. I want to find the chestnut trees on the mountain.”

五十三只老鼠蜂擁而至，一起挖墻。

他們從郊外的煙囪那邊過(guò)來(lái)的。三天后他們只是挖開(kāi)一道縫兒，外面是工業(yè)展覽館地鐵站。

鼠友們看到小倉(cāng)鼠時(shí)，小倉(cāng)鼠閃了一下，湮沒(méi)在無(wú)數(shù)鞋子里面，一列接一列的車(chē)開(kāi)過(guò)去。

小田鼠說(shuō)：“傻瓜，媽媽逼我進(jìn)城找你，取消巧克力店的所有預(yù)訂。可是我被黑貓綁架了……”

鼠友們累得東倒西歪。

挖開(kāi)一個(gè)小小的“窗口”。

他們想念小倉(cāng)鼠了就排著隊(duì)來(lái) “窗口”看看。小田鼠總是比他們來(lái)得早。

其實(shí)什么也看不到。

“Now we have work to do again！” Fifty-three mice gathered outside the subway. There they began to make a hole in the subway wall.

These were mice from the suburbs， from the neighborhood of the chimney， actually. Three days later， they made a thin crack in the wall of the Industrial Expo Station.

The caught a glimpse of Little Hamster， just a quick one， among the many shoes stepping to and fro， and between the trains coming and going.

Little Mole was among them. She said， “Silly friend， my mom asked me to find you and cancel my order but I have been kidnapped by the black cat...”

The mice were really exhausted.

This thin “window” seemed to be all they could do to the strong solid wall.

They lined up at the window when they wanted to see Little Hamster. Little Mole was always the first one in line.

They never saw anything.

小倉(cāng)鼠大概真的去山里找板栗樹(shù)了。

Perhaps Little Hamster did go to the mountain in search of the chestnut trees.