E. B. White

《夏洛的網(wǎng)》是一部描寫友情的童話。在朱克曼家的谷倉里，小豬威爾伯和蜘蛛夏洛建立了最真摯的友誼。威爾伯的生命有危險(xiǎn)時(shí)，看似渺小的夏洛用自己的力量救了威爾伯，但這時(shí)，蜘蛛夏洛的生命卻走到了盡頭……

《夏洛的網(wǎng)》是一部可以與《小王子》相媲美的世界名著。這部作品初版于1952年，已有20多種譯文，發(fā)行近千萬冊(cè)。

本文節(jié)選自《夏洛的網(wǎng)》第十四章。

The night before the County Fair， everybody went to bed early. Fern and Avery were in bed by eight. Avery lay dreaming that the Ferris wheel had stopped and that he was in the top car. Fern lay dreaming that she was getting sick in the swings.

Lurvy was in bed by eight-thirty. He lay dreaming that he was throwing baseballs at a cloth cat and winning a genuine Navajo blanket. Mr. and Mrs. Zuckerman were in bed by nine. Mrs. Zuckerman lay dreaming about a deep freeze unit. Mr. Zuckerman lay dreaming about Wilbur. He dreamt that Wilbur had grown until he was one hundred and sixteen feet long and ninety-tow feet high and that he had won all the prizes at the Fair and was covered with blue ribbons and even had a blue ribbon tied to the end of his tail.

Down in the barn cellar， the animals， too， went to sleep early， all except Charlotte. Tomorrow would be Fair Day. Every creature planned to get up early to see Wilbur off on his great adventure.

When morning came， everybody got up at daylight. The day was hot. Up the road at the Arables' house， Fernlugged a pail of hot water to her room and took a sponge bath. Then she put on her prettiest dress because she knew she would see boys at the Fair. Mrs. Arable scrubbed the back of Avery's neck， and wet his hair， and parted it， and brushed it down hard till it stuck to the top of his head-- all but about six hairs that stood straight up. Avery put on clean underwear， clean blue jeans， and a clean shirt. Mr. Arable dressed， ate breakfast， and then went out and polished his truck. He had offered to drive everybody to the Fair， including Wilbur.

展覽會(huì)的前夜，每個(gè)人都早早地上了床。芬和埃弗里八點(diǎn)就上床了。埃弗里夢(mèng)見自己正高高地坐在展覽會(huì)里的費(fèi)里斯大轉(zhuǎn)輪上最高的位子里。芬則夢(mèng)到自己在那個(gè)大轉(zhuǎn)輪上轉(zhuǎn)迷糊了。

魯維八點(diǎn)半上的床。他夢(mèng)見自己在“布貓隊(duì)”里打籃球賽，還贏得了一塊真正的拿佛和地毯。祖克曼先生和太太在九點(diǎn)上的床。祖克曼太太夢(mèng)見了一排電冰箱。祖克曼先生夢(mèng)見了威伯。他夢(mèng)見威伯長到一百六十英尺長，九十二英尺高，贏得了展覽會(huì)上的所有獎(jiǎng)品。渾身披滿藍(lán)色的絲帶，甚至尾巴尖上還系了一條藍(lán)絲帶。

谷倉下的地窖里的動(dòng)物們也都早早的睡了，只除了夏洛。明天就要開展覽會(huì)了，每個(gè)動(dòng)物都打算早早起來為威伯這次偉大的冒險(xiǎn)送行。

第二天，每個(gè)人都在黎明就起了床。那天很熱。小路上頭的阿拉貝爾家的房子里，芬往臥室拎了桶熱水，用毛巾簡單擦了個(gè)澡。然后她穿上了她最漂亮的衣服，因?yàn)樗罆?huì)在展覽會(huì)上看到男孩們。阿拉貝爾太太把埃弗里的脖子后面擦了又擦，又往他的頭上撣了些水，把他的頭發(fā)往兩邊梳起來。她梳得非常用力，直到把頭發(fā)梳干，豎立起來為止——結(jié)果除六根頭發(fā)之外，其余的頭發(fā)全都筆直地豎起來了。埃弗里穿上干凈的內(nèi)褲、牛仔褲，還有干凈的襯衫。阿拉貝爾先生已經(jīng)穿戴好了，吃完了早飯，就出去擦他的卡車了。他要開車把每個(gè)人送到展覽會(huì)上，也包括威伯。

Bright and early， Lurvy put clean straw in Wilbur's crate and lifted it into the pigpen. The crate was green. In gold letters it said;Charlotte had her web looking fine for the occasion. Wilbur ate his breakfast slowly. He tried to look radiant without getting food in his ears.

In the kitchen， Mrs. Zuckerman suddenly made an announcement.

“Homer，”she said to her husband， “I am going to give that pig a buttermilk bath.”“Awhat？”said Mr. Zuckerman.

“A buttermilk bath. My grandmother used to bathe her pig with buttermilk when it got dirty -- I just remembered.”“Wilbur's not dirty，”said Mr. Zuckerman proudly.

“He's filthy behind the ears，”said Mrs. Zuckerman. “Every time Lurvy slops him， the food runs down around the ears. Then it dries and forms a crust. He also has a smudge on one side where he lays in the manure.”“He lays in clean straw，”corrected Mr. Zuckerman.

“Well， he's dirty， and he's going to have a bath.”Mr. Zuckerman sat down weakly and ate a doughnut. His wifewent to the woodshed. When she returned， she wore rubber boots and an old raincoat， and she carried a bucket of buttermilk and a small wooden paddle.

天剛亮，魯維就在威伯的大板條箱里鋪上干凈的稻草，將箱子抬到了豬圈。這箱子是綠色的，上面寫著金色的大字：祖克曼家的名豬。夏洛為了展覽會(huì)把她的網(wǎng)整修得很漂亮。威伯在慢慢吃他的早餐。他試圖不讓食物沾到他的耳朵上，好讓自己的樣子更加閃光。

祖克曼太太突然在廚房喊起來。

“霍默，”她對(duì)丈夫說，“我打算給那頭豬洗一個(gè)酸奶澡?！薄耙粋€(gè)什么？”祖克曼先生說。

“一個(gè)酸奶澡。當(dāng)豬變臟時(shí)我祖母就常用酸奶給它們洗澡——我才想起來。”“威伯并不臟?！弊婵寺壬湴恋卣f。

“他的耳朵后面很臟，”祖克曼太太說，“每次魯維喂他時(shí)，豬食都會(huì)濺到他的耳朵四周。它們干了以后就結(jié)成硬塊兒了。他常躺在糞堆里的那邊身子也有埋汰的地方。”“他可是躺在干凈的稻草上?！弊婵寺壬?。

“算了，他很臟，他需要洗澡?！弊婵寺壬缓脽o奈地坐下來，去吃油煎圈餅。他妻子向柴棚走去。當(dāng)她回來時(shí)，腳上蹬了雙水靴，身上穿了件舊雨衣，一手拎著一桶酸奶，一手拿著一把小木刷。

“Edith， you’re crazy，”mumbled Zuckerman.

But she paid no attention to him. Together they walked to the pigpen. Mrs. Zuckerman wasted no time. She climbed in with Wilbur and went to work. Dipping her paddle in the buttermilk， she rubbed him all over. The geese gathered around to see the fun， and so did the sheep and lambs. Even Templeton poked his head out cautiously， to watch Wilbur get a buttermilk bath. Charlotte got so interested， she lowered herself on a dragline so she could see better. Wilbur stood still and closed his eyes. He could feel the buttermilk trickling down his sides. he opened his mouth and some buttermilk ran in. it was delicious. He felt radiant and happy. When Mrs. Zuckerman got through and rubbed him dry， he was the cleanest， prettiest pig you ever saw. He was pure white， pink around the ears and snout， and smooth as silk.

The Zuckermans went up to change into their best clothes. Lurvy went to shave and put on his plaid shirt and his purple necktie. The animals were left to themselves in the barn.

The seven goslings paraded round and round their mother.

“Please， please， please take us to the Fair！”begged a gosling. Then all seven began teasing to go.

“Please， Please， Please， Please， Please， Please...”They made quite a racket.

“伊迪絲，你瘋了?！弊婵寺÷曕止镜?。

但她沒理他。他們一起往豬圈走去。祖克曼太太一點(diǎn)兒也沒浪費(fèi)時(shí)間，她爬進(jìn)豬圈來到威伯身邊就開始工作了。她用蘸著酸奶的刷子把威伯全身刷了個(gè)遍。母鵝一家都來參觀這有趣的一幕，綿羊和羊羔也跑來看。甚至坦普爾曼也好奇地伸出腦袋，去看威伯洗酸奶澡。夏洛也很感興趣，便隨著一根長絲線從網(wǎng)上慢慢地蕩下來，以便能看得更清楚。威伯安靜地閉著眼站在那里。他能感覺酸奶流遍了全身。他張開嘴，一些酸奶便淌了進(jìn)去。那味道可真好。他覺得自己是閃光的，他幸福極了。當(dāng)祖克曼太太把他洗完擦干，他便成了一頭你曾經(jīng)見過的最干凈、最漂亮的豬。他渾身雪白，耳朵和鼻子是粉紅的，毛皮像緞子一樣的光滑。

祖克曼一家回去穿上他們最好的衣服。魯維去刮了臉，穿起他的格子襯衫，打上他的紫領(lǐng)帶。動(dòng)物們離開他們的住所涌進(jìn)了谷倉。

七只小鵝在他們的媽媽周圍轉(zhuǎn)來轉(zhuǎn)去地嚷起來。

“請(qǐng)，請(qǐng)，請(qǐng)帶我們?nèi)⒓诱褂[會(huì)吧！”一只小鵝央求。接著所有的七只小鵝都乞求起來。

“請(qǐng)，請(qǐng)，請(qǐng)，請(qǐng)，請(qǐng)，請(qǐng)……”他們發(fā)出很大的吵鬧聲。

“Children！”snapped the goose. “We're staying quietly-ietly-ietly at home. Only Wilbur- ilbur-ilbur is going to the Fair.”Just then Charlotte interrupted.

“I shall go， too，”she said， softly. “I have decided to go with Wilbur. He may need me. We can't tell what may happen at the Fair Grounds. Somebody's got to go along who knows how to write. And I think Templeton better come， too-- I might need somebody to run errands and do general work.”“I'm staying right here，”grumbled the rat. “I haven't the slightest interest in fairs.”“That's because you've never been to one，”remarked the old sheep. “A fair is a rat's paradise. Everybody spills food at a fair. A rat can creep out late at night and have a feast. In the horse barn you will find oats that the trotters and pacers have spilled. In the trampled grass of the infield you will find old discarded lunch boxes containing the foul remains of peanut butter sandwiches， hard- boiled eggs， cracker crumbs， bits of doughnuts， and particles of cheese. In the hard- packed dirt of the midway， after the glaring lights are out and the people have gone home to bed， you will find a veritable treasure of popcorn fragments， frozen custard dribblings， candied apples abandoned by tired children， sugar fluff crystals， salted almonds， popsicles， partially gnawed ice cream cones， and the wooden sticks of lollypops. Everywhere is loot for a rat-in tents， in booths， in hay lofts-why， a fair has enough disgusting leftover food to satisfy a whole army of rats.”Tem- pleton's eyes were blazing.

“Is this true？”heasked.“Is this appetizing yarn of yours true？ I like high living， and what you say tempts me.”“It is true，”said the old sheep.“Go to the Fair， Templeton. You will find that the conditions at a fair will surpass your wildest dreams. Buckets with sour mash sticking to them，tin cans containing particles of tuna fish， greasy paper bags stuffed with rotten...”“That’s enough！”cried Templeton. “Don't tell me any more. I’m going.”“Good，”said Charlotte， winking at the old sheep. “Now then--there is no time to be lost. Wilbur will soon be put into the crate. Templeton and I must get in the crate right now and hide ourselves.”The rat didn’t waste a minute. He scampered over to the crate， crawled between the slats， and pulled straw up over him so he was hidden from sight.

“孩子們！”母鵝尖叫，“我們要安靜-靜-靜地呆在家里。只有威伯-伯-伯才去展覽會(huì)?！本驮谀菚r(shí)，夏洛打斷了母鵝。

“我也去，”她輕輕地說，“我已經(jīng)決定和威伯一起去了。他可能會(huì)需要我。我們不知道展覽會(huì)上可能發(fā)生什么意外。誰知道怎么寫字可以和我一起去。我想坦普爾曼最好也去——我可能需要有人跑腿，做些復(fù)雜的工作。”“我就在這兒呆著，”老鼠不滿地說，“我對(duì)展覽會(huì)一丁點(diǎn)兒興趣都沒有。”“那是因?yàn)槟銖膩頉]去過展覽會(huì)，”老羊提醒道，”展覽會(huì)是老鼠的天堂。展覽會(huì)上的人都把食物亂丟。一只老鼠可以在夜里溜出去吃一頓宴席。在馬廄你能找到馬吃剩的燕麥，在有人跡的草地你會(huì)找到人們?nèi)拥舻奈绮秃?，里面有花生三明治，煮雞蛋，面包渣，小塊的油煎圈餅，還有干酪。當(dāng)燈光熄滅，人們回家睡覺后，你還會(huì)在游樂場里到處都是的垃圾袋中間找到真正的財(cái)寶：碎爆米花，往下直淌的果凍，累了的孩子們丟下的蜜餞，水晶般閃光的糖球，咸杏仁，冰棒，一塊被咬掉的冰激凌，帶著小木棍兒的棒棒糖。對(duì)一個(gè)老鼠來說到處都可以打劫——帳子里，攤床上，草堆中——為什么不去呢？ 一個(gè)展覽會(huì)上有那么多美味的食物，足夠一個(gè)老鼠大軍吃的?！碧蛊諣柭难劬Ψ殴饬?。

“是真的嗎？”他問，“你是在饞我吧？我喜歡超值的享受，你說的完全打動(dòng)了我?！薄罢娴?，”老羊說，“去展覽會(huì)吧，坦普爾曼。你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)展覽會(huì)上的好東西遠(yuǎn)比你最瘋狂的夢(mèng)里想出來的還多。上面沾滿了好吃的東西的桶，吃剩的金槍魚罐頭，油膩膩的食品袋里裝著的爛……“夠了！”坦普爾曼叫，“不要再對(duì)我說了。我去?！昂芎?，”夏洛說著，朝老羊擠擠眼睛“那么現(xiàn)在——就沒有太多的時(shí)間可以浪費(fèi)了。威伯馬上就會(huì)被放進(jìn)板條箱。坦普爾曼和我也必須鉆進(jìn)板條箱躲起來?！崩鲜笠环昼娨矝]有耽誤。他迅速地鉆進(jìn)了板條箱，爬到板條的縫隙間，又拉了幾根稻草把自己蓋上，這樣便沒人能看見他了。

“All right，”said Charlotte， “I'm next.”She sailed into the air， let out a dragline， and dropped gently to the ground. then she climbed the side of the crate and hid herslef inside a knothole in the top board.

“好，”夏洛說，“該我了?！彼镀鹨桓L絲線，往空中蕩去，輕輕地落到了箱子上。然后她爬進(jìn)去，躲到箱子最上面的一塊木板的結(jié)孔里。