Charlotte's Web

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。當威爾伯的生命有危險時，看似渺小的夏洛用自己的力量救了威爾伯，但這時，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。這部作品初次出版于1952年，已有20多種譯文，發(fā)行近千萬冊。

本文節(jié)選自《夏洛的網(wǎng)》第十八章。

“Special announcement！”said the loud speaker in a pompous voice. “The management of the Fair takes great pleasure in presenting Mr. Homer L. Zuckerman and his famous pig. The truck bearing this extraordinary animal is now approaching the infield. Kindly stand back and give the truck room to proceed！In a few moments the pig will be unloaded in the special judging ring in front of the grandstand，where a special award will be made. Will the crowd please make way and let the truck pass. Thank you.”Wilbur trembled when he heard this speech. He felt happy but dizzy. The truck crept along slowly in low speed. Crowds of people surrounded it，and Mr. Arable had to drive very carefully in order not to run over anybody. At last he managed to reach the judges' stand. Avery jumped out and lowered the tailgate.

“I'm scared to death，”whispered Mrs. Zuckerman. “Hundreds of people are looking at us.”

“Cheer up，”replied Mrs. Arable，“this is fun.”“Unload your pig，please！”said the loud speaker.

“特別消息！”廣播喇叭里以一種炫耀的聲音說，“展覽會的主辦者正在非常榮幸地為各位介紹霍默·祖克曼先生和他的名豬。裝著這頭非凡的動物的卡車現(xiàn)在正朝我們開過來。請往后退，讓卡車開過來！這頭豬馬上就要被送到大看臺前的特別裁判場來，并在那里被授予特別獎。請大家后退，讓卡車通過。謝謝你們。”當聽到這些報道時，威伯顫抖起來，他幸福得都要暈過去了。卡車慢慢地往前開著，周圍擠滿了人。阿拉貝爾先生不得不開得很小心，以免壓到人。最后他終于設法開到了裁判場前。埃弗里跳下車，打開后車門。

“我要嚇死了，”祖克曼太太低語，“幾百人在看著我們呢?！?/p>

“振作些，”阿拉貝爾夫人回答，“那不是很有趣嘛。”“請把你們的豬抬下來！”擴音器里說。

“All together，now，boys！”said Mr. Zuckerman. Several men stepped forward from the crowd to help lift the crate. Avery was the busiest helper of all.

“Tuck your shirt in，Avery！”cried Mrs. Zuckerman. “And tighten your belt. Your pants are coming down.”“Can't you see I'm busy？”replied Avery in disgust.

“Look！”cried Fern，pointing. “There's Henry！”“Don't shout，F(xiàn)ern！”said her mother. “And don't point！”“Can't I please have some money？”asked Fern. “Henry invited me to go on the Ferris wheel again，only I don't think he has any money left. He ran out of money.”Mrs. Arable opened her handbag. “Here，”she said. “Here is forty cents. Now don't get lost！And be back at our regular meeting place by the pigpen very soon！”Fern raced off，ducking and dodging through the crowd，in search of Henry.

“The Zuckerman pig is now being taken from his crate，”boomed the voice of the loud speaker. “Stand by for an announcement！”Templeton crouched under the straw at the bottom of the crate. “What a lot of nonsense！”muttered the rat. “What a lot of fuss about nothing！”O(jiān)ver in the pigpen，silent and alone，Charlotte rested. Her two front legs embraced the egg sac. Charlotte could hear everything that was said on the loud speaker. The words gave her courage. This was her hour of triumph.

As Wilbur came out of the crate，the crowd clapped and cheered. Mr. Zuckerman took off his cap and bowed. Lurvy pulled his big handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the sweat from the back of his neck. Avery knelt in the dirt by Wilbur's side，busily stroking him and showing off. Mrs. Zuckerman and Mrs. Arable stood on the running board of the truck.

“現(xiàn)在，一起用力，孩子們！”祖克曼先生說，幾個男人從人群中擠出來幫忙抬箱子。埃弗里是幾個人中最忙的一個。

“把你的襯衫掖進去，埃弗里！”祖克曼太太喊，“再緊緊你的褲帶。你的褲子要掉下來了?！薄澳銢]看見我正忙著嗎？”埃弗里不高興地回答。

“看，”芬叫著指去，“那是亨利！”“別喊，芬！”她媽媽說，“不許指指點點！”“能給我點兒錢嗎？”芬問，“亨利又請我去坐大轉(zhuǎn)輪了，可我想他沒錢了，他把錢都花光了?！卑⒗悹柼蜷_她的手袋?！敖o，”她說，“這是四毛錢。別跑丟了！一會兒到豬圈那里的老地方等我們！”芬跑進了人群，擠來擠去地尋找著亨利。

“祖克曼家的豬現(xiàn)在正被從板條箱里帶出來，”擴音器里嗡嗡地喊著，“請大家靜等通告！”坦普爾曼趴在板條箱底的稻草下面?！岸荚诤f什么呀！”他嘟囔著，“吵死了！”夏洛正在豬圈上方，一個人靜靜地休息。她的兩條前腿還在緊緊地抱著卵囊。夏洛能聽到擴音器里說的每一句話。那些話為她增添了不少勇氣。這是她的勝利時刻。

當威伯從板條箱里走出來時，人們開始鼓掌喝彩。祖克曼先生脫帽鞠躬致謝。魯維從口袋里拽出他的大手絹，擦著脖子后面的汗。埃弗里跪在威伯身邊，不停地撫摸著他，炫耀著。祖克曼太太和阿拉貝爾太太正站在卡車的腳踏板上。

“Ladeez and gentlemen，”said the loud speaker，“we now present Mr. Homer L. Zuckerman's distinguished pig. The fame of this unique animal has spread to the far comers of the earth，attracting many valuable tourists to our great State. Many of you will recall that never-to-be- forgotten day last summer when the writing appeared mysteriously on the spider's web in Mr. Zuckerman's bam，calling the attention of all and sundry to the fact that this pig was completely out of the ordinary. This miracle has never been fully explained，although learned men have visited the Zuckerman pigpen to study and observe the phenomenon. In the last analysis，we simply know that we are dealing with supernatural forces here，and we should all feel proud and grateful. In the words of the spider's web，ladies and gentlemen，this is some pig.”Wilbur blushed. He stood perfectly still and tried to look his best.

“This magnificent animal，”continued the loud speaker，“is truly terrific. Look at him，ladies and gentlemen！Note the smoothness and whiteness of the coat，observe the spotless skin，the healthy pink glow of ears and snout.”“It's the buttermilk，”whispered Mrs. Arable to Mrs. Zuckerman.

“Note the general radiance of this animal！Then remember the day when the word ‘radiant’appeared clearly on the web. Whence came this mysterious writing？Not from the spider，we can rest assured of that. Spiders are very clever at weaving their webs，but needless to say spiders cannot write.”“Oh，they can't，can't they？”murmured Charlotte to herself.

“Ladeez and gentlemen，”continued the loud speaker，“I must not take any more of your valuable time. On behalf of he governors of the Fair，I have the honor of awarding a special prize of twenty- five dollars to Mr. Zuckerman，together with a handsome bronze medal suitably engraved，in token of our appreciation of the part played by this pig—this radiant，this terrific，this humble pig--in attracting so many visitors to our great County Fair.”Wilbur had been feeling dizzier and dizzier through this long，complimentary speech. When he heard the crowd begin to cheer and clap again，he suddenly fainted away. His legs collapsed，his mind went blank，and he fell to the ground，unconscious.

“女士們先生們，”擴音器里說，“我們現(xiàn)在向諸位介紹霍默·L·祖克曼先生的杰出的豬。這頭不尋常的動物的名聲早已經(jīng)傳到了地球最遠的角落，他為我們這個偉大的國家吸引了很多尊貴的游客。你們中的很多人可能仍然記得去年夏天早些時候的那個永不會忘記的日子，那天，在祖克曼先生的谷倉里，有一個詞被神秘地織在那里的蜘蛛網(wǎng)上面，它令所有人都注意到了這個事實，即那頭豬完全是卓越不凡的。這個奇跡從未被完全地解釋清楚，盡管學者們已經(jīng)到祖克曼家的豬圈參觀過，并觀察、研究過這一現(xiàn)象。最近的分析表明，我們目前只知道我們在這里討論的是一種超自然的力量，我們都應該為此而自豪和感恩。那張蜘蛛網(wǎng)里的寫的詞，女士們先生們，就是‘好豬’?！蓖樇t了。他完美地靜立著，讓自己站得像最好的豬。

“這個壯美的動物，”擴音器里繼續(xù)說，“真的是很棒?？纯此?，女士們先生們！請注意他那雪白、光滑的毛皮，觀賞他那一塵不染的皮膚，還有他那耳朵與鼻子上散發(fā)出的健康的，粉紅色的光輝?！薄澳鞘撬崮痰木壒??！卑⒗悹柼珜ψ婵寺Z道。

“請注意這個動物身上無處不在的光輝！這會讓人想起‘閃光’這個詞清晰地出現(xiàn)在蜘蛛網(wǎng)里的那一天。這個神秘的字跡從何而來呢？它不是來自蜘蛛，我們完全能保證這一點。蜘蛛雖然有織網(wǎng)的本能，但它卻不能寫字，這一點是無須多說的?！薄班蓿麄儾荒苓@么說！怎么能這么說？”夏洛自言自語。

“女士們先生們，”擴音器里繼續(xù)說，“我不必再浪費你們的寶貴時間了。作為展覽會主辦者的代表，我有幸向祖克曼先生頒發(fā)一筆二十五美元的特別獎金，同時頒發(fā)的還有一塊漂亮的花紋精美的青銅獎章，它將用來象征我們對這頭豬的賞識——這是一頭閃光的，很棒的，謙恭的豬——正是他把這么多的參觀者吸引到我們這偉大的展覽會上來?！边@些無休止的恭維使威伯越來越承受不住了。當他聽到人們再次開始歡呼和鼓掌時，他突然幸福得昏了過去。他的腿癱了，大腦一片空白，毫無知覺地躺到了地上。

“What's wrong？”asked the loud speaker. “What's going on，Zuckerman？What's the trouble with your pig？”Avery was kneeling by Wilbur's head，stroking him. Mr. Zuckerman was dancing about，fanning him with his cap.

“He's all right，”cried Mr. Zuckerman. “He gets these spells. He's modest and can't stand praise.”“Well，we can't give a prize to a dead pig，”said the loud speaker. “It's never been done.”“He isn't dead，”hollered Zuckerman. “He's fainted. He gets embarrassed easily. Run for some water，Lurvy！”Lurvy sprang from the judges' ring and disappeared.

Templeton poked his head from the straw. He noticed that the end of Wilbur's tail was within reach. Templeton grinned. “I'll tend to this，”he chuckled. He took Wilbur's tail in his mouth and bit it，just as hard as he could bite. The pain revived Wilbur. In a flash he was back on his feet.

“Ouch！”he screamed.

“Hoorray！”yelled the crowd. “He's up！The pig's up！Good word，Zuckerman！That's some pig！”Everyone was delighted. Mr. Zuckerman was the most pleased of all. He sighed with relief. Nobody had seen Templeton. The rat had done his work well.

“出什么毛病了？”擴音器里問，“發(fā)生了什么事情，祖克曼？你的豬有麻煩了嗎？”埃弗里跪到威伯的頭前，撫摸著威伯。祖克曼先生也跳過來，用他的帽子給威伯扇涼。

“他沒事，”祖克曼先生喊，“他被這些話弄暈了。他是最謙虛的，受不了夸獎?！薄昂芎?，可我們不能給一頭死豬發(fā)獎，”擴音器說，“這是從沒有過的事?！薄八麤]死，”祖克曼高喊，“他只是暈了。他很容易被夸倒。拿點水來，魯維！”魯維跑下裁判場，不見了。

坦普爾曼從稻草里探出了頭。他發(fā)現(xiàn)威伯的尾巴尖就在他的眼前。坦普爾曼呲呲牙。“我要這樣幫他，”他咯咯地笑起來。他把威伯的尾巴塞到嘴里，盡自己最大的力氣狠狠咬了一口。威伯一下子就疼醒了。他猛地站了起來。

“嗷！”他尖叫。

“萬歲！”人們狂叫，“他站起來了，這頭豬站起來了！干得好，祖克曼！那是頭好豬！”每個人都興奮起來。祖克曼先生是最高興的。他放心地吁了一口氣。沒人看到坦普爾曼。老鼠的活兒干得太漂亮了。

And now one of the judges climbed into the ring with the prizes. He handed Mr. Zuckerman two ten dollar bills and a five dollar bill. Then he tied the medal around Wilbur's neck. Then he shook hands with Mr. Zuckerman while Wilbur blushed. Avery put out his hand and the judge shook hands with him，too. The crowd cheered. A photographer took Wilbur's picture.

A great feeling of happiness swept over the Zuckermans and the Arables. This was the greatest moment in Mr. Zuckerman's life. It is deeply satisfying to win a prize in front of a lot of people.

As Wilbur was being shoved back into the crate，Lurvy came charging through the crowd carrying a pail of water. His eyes had a wild look. Without hesitating a second，he dashed the water at Wilbur. In his excitement he missed his aim，and the water splashed all over Mr. Zuckerman and Avery. They got soaking wet.

“For goodness' sake！”bellowed Mr. Zuckerman，who was really drenched. “What ails you，Lurvy？Can't you see the pig is all right？”“You asked for water，”said Lurvy meekly.

“I didn't ask for a shower bath，”said Mr. Zuckerman. The crowd roared with laughter. Finally Mr. Zuckerman had to laugh，too. And of course Avery was tickled to find himself so wet，and he immediately started to act like a clown. He pretended he was taking a shower bath;he made faces and danced around and rubbed imaginary sop under his armpits. Then he dried himself with an imaginary towel.

“Avery，stop it！”cried his mother. “Stop showing off！”But the crowd loved it. Avery heard nothing but the applause. He liked being a clown in a ring，with everybody watching，in front of a grandstand. When he discovered there was still a little water left in the bottom of the pail，he raised the pail high in the air and dumped the water on himself and made faces. The children in the grandstand screamed with appreciation.

At last things calmed down. Wilbur was loaded into the truck. Avery was led from the ring by his mother and placed on the seat of the truck to dry off. The truck，driven by Mr. Arable，crawled slowly back to the pigpen. Avery's wet trousers made a big wet spot on the seat

現(xiàn)在，一個裁判帶著獎金進了裁判場。他遞給祖克曼先生兩張十美元的鈔票與一張五美元的鈔票，然后又把獎章掛到了威伯的脖子上。當威伯變成大紅臉時，他和祖克曼先生握了握手。埃弗里伸出手來，裁判也和他握了握手。人們歡呼起來。一個攝影師給威伯照了一張相。

一股無比幸福的暖流席卷了祖克曼一家與阿拉貝爾一家。這是祖克曼先生一生中最美的時刻。在這么多人面前獲得獎金，令他深深地感到滿足。

當威伯被送回板條箱時，魯維拎著一桶水從人群擠出來。他的眼發(fā)瘋地搜尋了一會兒，就毫不猶豫地把水向威伯潑去。由于太緊張，他瞄錯了地方，于是水都潑到了祖克曼先生和埃弗里身上。他們?nèi)剂軡窳恕?/p>

“看在上帝的份上！”完全被淋透的祖克曼先生咆哮起來，“你有病嗎，魯維？你看不見那頭豬已經(jīng)沒事了嗎？”“你要我淋的水?！濒斁S怯怯地嘀咕。

“可我沒要淋浴?！弊婵寺壬f。人們哄笑起來。后來，祖克曼先生也笑起來。發(fā)現(xiàn)自己身上濕了的埃弗里可樂壞了，立刻開始扮起小丑來。他假裝自己正在洗淋浴;他做著鬼臉，轉(zhuǎn)圈跳著，往他的腋窩下打著并不存在的肥皂。然后他又用了一條根本就沒有的毛巾給自己擦身。

“埃弗里，停下來！”他的母親喊，“別丟人現(xiàn)眼了！”可人們卻愛看。埃弗里除了人們的喝彩外也什么都沒聽到。他喜歡在大看臺前的裁判場里做一個人人注目的小丑。當他發(fā)現(xiàn)桶里還剩了些水，便把桶高高舉起，把剩下的水也潑到自己身上，同時又做了許多鬼臉。大看臺旁的孩子們都贊賞地尖叫起來。

最后，一切都平靜下來。威伯被裝上了卡車，埃弗里被他的母親領下了裁判場，帶到卡車里的座位上。阿拉貝爾先生開著卡車慢慢往豬圈的方向去。埃弗里的濕褲子在座位里留下了一大灘水跡。