夏洛的網(wǎng) Chapter 21：最后一天

Charlotte and Wilbur were alone. The families had gone to look for Fern. Templeton was asleep. Wilbur lay resting after the excitement and strain of the ceremony. His medal still hung from his neck; by looking out of the corner of his eye he could see it.

夏洛和威伯又單獨在一起了。這兩家人都去找芬了。坦普爾曼睡著了。參加完激動而緊張的慶典的威伯正躺在那里休息。他的獎章還在脖子上掛著;他的眼睛正望著從他躺的位置可以看到的角落。

"Charlotte," said Wilbur after a while, "why are you so quiet?""I like to sit still," she said. "I've always been rather quiet.""Yes, but you seem specially so today. Do you feel all right?""A little tired, perhaps. But I feel peaceful. Your success in the ring this morning was, to a small degree, my success. Your future is assured. You will live, secure and safe, Wilbur. Nothing can harm you now. These autumn days will shorten and grow cold. The leaves will shake loose from the trees and fall. Christmas will come, then the snows of winter. You will live to enjoy the beauty of the frozen world, for you mean a great deal to Zuckerman and he will not harm you, ever. Winter will pass, the days will lengthen, the ice will melt in the pasture pond. Then song sparrow will return and sing, the frogs will awake, the warm wind will blow again. All these sights and sounds and smells will be yours to enjoy, Wilbur--this lovely world, these precious days..."Charlotte stopped. a moment later a tear came to Wilbur's eye. "Oh, Charlotte," he said. "To think that when I first met you I thought you were cruel and bloodthirsty!"When he recovered from his emotion, he spoke again.

“夏洛，”過了一會兒，威伯說，“你為什么這么安靜?”“我喜歡靜靜地呆著，”她說，“我一向喜歡安靜。”“我知道，不過你今天似乎有些特別，你感覺還好吧?”“可能有一點點累吧。但是我感到很滿足。你今早在裁判場上的成功，在很小的程度上，也可以算是我的成功。你的將來沒危險了。你會無憂無慮地活下去的，威伯?，F(xiàn)在沒什么能傷害你的了。這個秋天會變短，也會變冷。葉子們也會從樹上搖落的。圣誕節(jié)會來，然后就是飄飄的冬雪。你將活著看到那個美麗的冰雪世界的，因為你對祖克曼有很重大的意義，他再也不會想傷害你了。冬天將過去，白天又會變長，草場池塘里的冰也會融化的。百靈鳥又會回來唱歌，青蛙也將醒來，又會吹起暖暖的風。所有的這些美麗的景色，所有的這些動聽的聲音，所有的這些好聞的氣味，都將等著你去欣賞呢，威伯——這個可愛的世界，這些珍貴的日子……”夏洛沉默了。片刻之后，淚水模糊了威伯的眼。“哦，夏洛，”他說，“記得剛遇到你的那一天，我還認為你是個殘忍嗜血的動物!”等情緒穩(wěn)定下來后，他又繼續(xù)說起來。

"Why did you do all this for me?" he asked. "I don't deserve it. I've never done anything for you.""You have been my friend," replied Charlotte. "That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what's a life, anyway? We're born, we live a little while, we die. A spider's life can't help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone's life can stand a little of that.""Well," said Wilbur. "I'm no good at making speeches. I haven't got your gift for words. But you have saved me, Charlotte, and I would gladly give my life for you--I really would.""I'm sure you would. And I thank you for your generous sentiments.""Charlotte," said Wilbur. "We're all going home today. The Fair is almost over. Won't it be wonderful to be back home in the barn cellar again with the sheep and the geese? Aren't you anxious to get home?"For a moment Charlotte said nothing. Then she spoke in a voice so low Wilbur could hardly hear the words.

“為什么你要為我做這一切?”他問，“我不值得你幫我。我從來也沒有為你做過任何事情。”“你一直是我的朋友，”夏洛回答，“這本身就是你對我最大的幫助。我為你織網(wǎng)，是因為我喜歡你。然而，生命的價值是什么，該怎么說呢?我們出生，我們短暫的活著，我們死亡。一個蜘蛛在一生中只忙碌著捕捉、吞食小飛蟲是毫無意義的。通過幫助你，我才可能試著在我的生命里找到一點價值。老天知道，每個人活著時總要做些有意義的事才好吧。”“噢，”威伯說，“我并不善于說什么大道理。我也不能像你說得那么好。但我要說，你已經(jīng)拯救了我，夏洛，而且我很高興能為你奉獻我的生命——我真的很愿意。”“我相信你會的。我要感謝你這無私的友情。”“夏洛，”威伯說，“我們今天就要回家了。展覽會快結束了。再回到谷倉地窖的家，和綿羊、母鵝們在一起不是很快活嗎?你不盼著回家嗎?”夏洛沉默了好一會兒。然后她用一種低得威伯幾乎都聽不到的聲音說：

"I will not be going back to the barn," she said.

“我將不回谷倉了。”她說。

Wilbur leapt to his feet. "Not going back?" he cried. "Charlotte, what are you talking about?

威伯吃驚得跳了起來。“不回去?”他叫，“夏洛，你在說什么?”

"I'm done for," she replied. "In a day or two I'll be dead. I haven't even strength enough to climb down into the crate. I doubt if I have enough silk in my spinnerets to lower me to the ground."Hearing this, Wilbur threw himself down in an agony of pain and sorrow. Great sobs racked his body. He heaved and grunted with desolation. "Charlotte," he moaned. "Charlotte! My true friends!""Come now, let's not make a scene," said the spider. "Be quiet, Wilbur. Stop thrashing about!""But I can't stand it," shouted Wilbur. "I won't leave you here alone to die. If you're going to stay here I shall stay, too.""Don't be ridiculous," said Charlotte. "You can't stay here. Zuckerman and Lurvy and John Arable and the others will be back any minute now, and they'll shove you into that crate and away you'll go. Besides, it wouldn't make any sense for you to stay. There would be no one to feed you. The fair Grounds will soon be empty and deserted."Wilbur was in a panic. he raced round and round the pen. Suddenly he had an idea--he thought of the egg sac and the five hundred and fourteen little spiders that would hatch in the spring. If Charlotte herself was unable to go home to the barn, at least he must take her children along.

“我已經(jīng)不行了，”她回答，“一兩天內我就要死去了。我現(xiàn)在甚至連爬下板條箱的力氣都沒有了。我懷疑我的絲囊里是否還有足夠把我送到地面上的絲了。”聽到這些話，威伯立刻沉浸到巨大的痛苦和憂傷之中。他痛苦地絞動著身子，哭叫起來。“夏洛，”他呻吟道，“夏洛!我真誠的朋友!”“好了，不要喊了，”夏洛說，“安靜，威伯。別哭了!”“可是我忍不住，”威伯喊，“我不會讓你在這里孤獨地死去的。如果你要留在這里，我也要留下。”“別胡說了，”夏洛說，“你不能留在這里。祖克曼和魯維還有約翰·阿拉貝爾以及其他人現(xiàn)在隨時都會回來，他們會把你裝到箱子里，帶你離開的。此外，你留在這里也沒什么好處，這里不會有人喂你的。展覽會不久就會空無一人的。”威伯陷入了恐慌之中。他在豬圈里轉著圈子跑來跑去。突然他想起了一件事——他想到了卵囊和明年春天里將要出世的那514只小蜘蛛。如果夏洛不能回到谷倉里的家，至少他要把她的孩子們帶回去。

Wilbur rushed to the front of his pen. He put his front feet up on the top board and gazed around. In the distance he saw the Arables and the Zuckermans approaching. He knew he would have to act quickly.

威伯向豬圈前面沖去。他把前腿搭在木板上，四處察看著。他看到阿拉貝爾一家和祖克曼一家正從不遠處走過來。他知道他必須趕快行動了。

"Where's Templeton?" he demanded.

“坦普爾曼在哪里?”他問。

"He's in that corner, under the straw, asleep," said Charlotte.

“他在稻草下面的角落里睡著呢。”夏洛說。

Wilbur rushed over, pushed his strong snout under the rat, and tossed him into the air.

威伯奔過去，用他有力的鼻子把老鼠拱上了天。

"Templeton!" screamed Wilbur. "Pay attention!"The rat, surprised out of a sound sleep, looked first dazed then disgusted.

“坦普爾曼!”威伯尖叫，“醒醒!”從美夢中驚醒的老鼠，開始看起來還迷迷糊糊的，隨即就變得氣憤起來。

"What kind of monkeyshine is this?" he growled. "Can't a rat catch a wink of sleep without being rudely popped into the air?""Listen to me!" cried Wilbur. "Charlotte is very ill. She has only a short time to live. She cannot accompany us home, because of her condition. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary that I take her egg sac with me. I can't reach it, and I can't climb. You are the only one that can get it. There's not a second to be lost. The people are coming--they'll be here in no time. Please, please, please, Templeton, climb up and get the egg sac."The rat yawned. He straightened his whiskers. Then he looked up at the egg sac.

“你這是搞什么惡作劇?”他怒吼，“一只老鼠擠個時間安靜地睡一小會兒時，就不能不被粗暴地踢上天?”“聽我說!”威伯叫，“夏洛快死了，她只能活很短的一段時間了。因此她不能陪我們一起回家了。所以，我只能把她的卵囊?guī)Щ厝チ?。可我上不去，我不會爬。你是唯一能幫我的人了。再等一秒種就來不及了，人們就要走過來了——他們一到就沒時間了。請，請，請幫幫我，坦普爾曼，爬上去把卵囊?guī)聛戆伞?rdquo;老鼠打了一個哈欠。他梳了梳他的胡子，才抬頭朝卵囊望去。

"So!" he said, in disgust. "So it's old Templeton to the rescue again, is it? Templeton do this, Templeton do that, Templeton please run down to the dump and get me a magazine clipping, Templeton please lend me a piece of string so I can spin a web.""Oh, hurry!" said Wilbur. "Hurry up, Templeton!"But the rat was in no hurry. He began imitating Wilbur's voice.

“所以!”他厭惡地說，“所以又是老坦普爾曼來救你，對吧?坦普爾曼做這個，坦普爾曼做那個，請?zhí)蛊諣柭ダ褳槲艺移齐s志，請?zhí)蛊諣柭栉乙桓K子，我好織網(wǎng)。”“噢，快點!”威伯說，“快去，坦普爾曼!”可老鼠卻一點兒也不急。他開始模仿起威伯的聲音來。

"So it's 'Hurry up, Temple,' is it?" he said. "Ho, ho. and what thanks do I ever get for these services, I would like to know? Never a kind word for old Templeton, only abuse and wisecracks and side remarks. Never a kind word for a rat.""Templeton," said Wilbur in desperation, "if you don't stop talking and get busy, all will be lost, and I will die of a broken heart. Please climb up!"Templeton lay back in the straw. Lazily he placed his forepaws behind his head and crossed his knees, in an attitude of complete relaxation.

“所以現(xiàn)在該說‘快去，坦普爾曼’了，對不對呀?”他說，“哈，哈。我很想知道，我為你們提供了這么多的特別服務后，都得到了什么感謝呀?從沒有人給過老坦普爾曼一句好聽的話，除了謾罵，風涼話和旁敲側擊之外。從沒有人對老鼠說過一句好話。”

"Die of a broken heart," he mimicked. "How touching! My, my! I notice that it's always me you come to when in trouble. But I've never heard of anyone's heart breaking on my account. Oh, no. Who cares anything about old Templeton?""Get up!" screamed Wilbur. "Stop acting like a spoiled child1"Templeton grinned and lay still. "Who made trip after trip to the dump?" he asked. "Why, it was old Templeton! Who saved Charlotte's life by scaring that Arable boy away with a rotten goose egg? Bless my soul, I believe it was old Templeton. Who bit your tail and got you back on your feet this morning after you had fainted in front of the crowd? Old Templeton. Has it ever occurred to you that I'm sick of running errands and doing favors? What do you think I am, anyway, a rat-of-all-work?"Wilbur was desperate. The people were coming. And the rat was failing him. Suddenly he remembered Templeton's fondness for food.

“坦普爾曼，”威伯絕望地說，“如果你不停止你的議論，馬上忙起來的話，什么就都完了，我也會心碎而死的，請你爬上去吧!”坦普爾曼反而躺到了稻草里。他懶洋洋地把前爪枕到腦后，翹起了二郎腿，一副完全與己無關的自得模樣。

"Templeton," he said, "I will make you a solemn promise. get Charlotte's egg sac for me, and from now on I will let you eat first, when Lurvy slops me. I will let you have your choice of everything in the trough and I won't touch a thing until you're through."The rat sat up. "You mean that?" he said.

“心碎而死，”他模仿，“多么感人呀!啊唷，啊唷!我發(fā)現(xiàn)當你有麻煩時總是我來幫你。可我卻從沒聽說誰會為了我而心碎呢。哦，沒人會的。誰在乎老坦普爾曼?”“站起來!”威伯尖叫，“別裝得跟一個慣壞了的孩子似的!”坦普爾曼咧嘴笑笑，還是躺著沒動。“是誰一趟趟的往垃圾堆跑呀?”他問，“為什么，總是老坦普爾曼!是誰用那個壞鵝蛋把阿拉貝爾家的男孩子臭跑，救了夏洛一命呀?為我的靈魂祈禱吧，我相信這件事又是老坦普爾曼做的。是誰咬了你的尾巴尖兒，讓今早昏倒在人們面前的你站起來的呀?還是老坦普爾曼。你就沒想過我已經(jīng)厭倦了給你跑腿，為你施恩嗎?你以為我是什么，一個什么活都得干的老鼠奴仆嗎?”威伯絕望了。人們就要來了，可老鼠卻在忙著奚落他。突然，他想起了老鼠對食物的鐘愛。“坦普爾曼，”他說，“我將給你一個鄭重的承諾。只要你把夏洛的卵囊給我拿下來，那么從現(xiàn)在起每當魯維來喂我時，我都將讓你先吃。我會讓你先去挑選食槽里的每一樣食物，在你吃飽之前，我絕不碰里面的任何東西。”老鼠騰地坐了起來。“真的嗎?”他說。

"I promise. I cross my heart.""All right, it's a deal," said the rat. He walked to the wall and started to climb. His stomach was still swollen from last night's gorge. Groaning and complaining, he pulled himself slowly to the ceiling. He crept along till he reached the egg sac. Charlotte moved aside for him. She was dying, but she still had strength enough to move a little. Then Templeton bared his long ugly teeth and began snipping the threads that fastened the sac to the ceiling. Wilbur watched from below.

“我保證。我在胸口劃十字保證。”“好極了，這是個劃得來的交易。”老鼠說。他走到墻邊開始往上爬。可是他的肚子里還存著許多昨天吃的好東西呢，因此他只好邊抱怨邊慢慢地把自己往上面拉。他一直爬到卵囊那里。夏洛為他往邊上挪了挪。她就要死了，但她還有動一動的力氣。然后坦普爾曼張開他丑陋的長牙，去咬那些把卵囊綁在棚頂?shù)木€。威伯在下面看著。

"Use extreme care!" he said. "I don't want a single one of those eggs harmed.""Thith thruff thticks in my mouth," complained the rat. "It'th worth than caramel candy."But Templeton worked away at the job, and managed to cut the sac adrift and carry it to the ground, where he dropped it in front of Wilbur. Wilbur heaved a great sigh of relief.

“要特別小心!”他說，“我不想讓任何一個卵受傷。”“它粘到我嘴上了，”老鼠抱怨，“它比膠皮糖還黏。”但是老鼠還是設法把卵囊拉下來，帶到地面，丟到威伯面前。威伯大大松了一口氣。

"Thank you, Templeton," he said. "I will never forget this as long as I live.""Neither will I," said the rat, picking his teeth. "I feel as though I'd eaten a spool of thread. Well, home we go!"Templeton crept into the crate and buried himself in the straw. He got out of sight just in time. Lurvy and John Arable and Mr. Zucherman came along at that moment, followed by Mrs. Arable and Mrs. Zuckerman and Avery and Fern. Wilbur had already decided how he would carry the egg sac--there was only one way possible. He carefully took the little bundle in his mouth and held it there on top of his tongue. He remembered what Charlotte had told him--that the sac was waterproof and strong. It felt funny on his tongue and made him drool a bit. And of course he couldn't say anything. But as he was being shoved into the crate, he looked up at Charlotte and gave her a wink. She knew he was saying good-bye in the only way he could. And she knew her children were safe.

“謝謝你，坦普爾曼，”他說，“我這一輩子也不會忘記的。”“我也是，”老鼠說著，剔剔他的牙，“我感覺好像吞下了滿滿一線軸的線。好吧，我們回家吧!”坦普爾曼爬進板條箱，把自己埋到稻草下面。他消失得正是時候。魯維和約翰·阿拉貝爾，祖克曼先生那一刻正好走過來，身后跟著阿拉貝爾太太和祖克曼太太，還有芬和埃弗里。威伯已經(jīng)想好怎么帶走卵囊了——這只有一種可能的方法。他小心翼翼地把這個小東西吞到嘴里，放到了舌頭尖上。他想起了夏洛告訴過他的話——這個卵囊是防水的，結實的。可這讓他的舌頭覺得癢癢的，口水開始流了出來。這時他什么也不能說了，但當他被推進板條箱時，他抬頭望了一眼夏洛，對她眨了眨眼。她知道他在用他所能用的唯一方式，在對自己說再見。她也知道她的孩子們都很安全。

"Good-bye!" she whispered. Then she summoned all her strength and waved one of her front legs at him.

“再-見!”她低語。然后她鼓起全身僅剩的一絲力氣，對威伯揮起一只前腿。

She never moved again. Next day, as the Ferris wheel was being taken apart and the race horses were being loaded into vans and the entertainers were packing up their belongings and driving away in their trailers, Charlotte died. The Fair Grounds were soon deserted. The sheds and buildings were empty and forlorn. The infield was littered with bottles and trash. Nobody, of the hundreds of people that has visited the Fair, knew that a grey spider had played the most important part of all. No one was with her when she died.

她再也不能動了。第二天，當費里斯大轉輪被拆走，那些賽馬被裝進貨車拉走，游樂場的攤主們也收拾起他們的東西，把他們的活動房搬走時，夏洛死了。這個展覽會不久就被人遺忘了。那些棚屋與房子只好空虛地，孤單單地留在那里。地上堆滿了空瓶子之類的廢物和垃圾。沒有一個人，參加過這次展覽會的幾百人中，沒有一個人知道：那只大灰蜘蛛在這次展覽會上扮演了一個最重要的角色。當她死亡時，沒有一個人陪在她的身旁。