林芬

各位小朋友們，來聽聽那個寫了《精靈鼠小弟》和《夏洛的網(wǎng)》的叫E.B.懷特的老頭兒有些什么話要對你們說。

Dear Reader，

I receive many letters from children and cant answer them all——there wouldnt be time enough in a day. That is why I am sending you this printed reply to your letter. Ill try to answer some of the questions that are commonly asked.

Where did I get the idea for Stuart Little and for Charlottes Web？ Well， many years ago I went to bed one night in a railway sleeping car， and during the night I dreamed about a tiny boy who acted rather like a mouse. Thats how the story of Stuart Little got started.

As for Charlottes Web， I like animals and my barn1 is a very pleasant place to be， at all hours. One day when I was on my way to feed the pig， I began feeling sorry for the pig because， like most pigs， he was doomed2 to die. This made me sad. So I started thinking of ways to save a pigs life. I had been watching a big gray spider at her work and was impressed3 by how clever she was at weaving4. Gradually5 I worked the spider into the story that you know， a story of friendship and salvation6 on a farm. Three years after I started writing it， it was published. （I am not a fast worker， as you can see.）

Sometimes Im asked how old I was when I started to write， and what made me want to write. I started early—as soon as I could spell. In fact， I cant remember any time in my life when I wasnt busy writing. I dont know what caused me to do it， or why I enjoyed it， but I think children often find pleasure and satisfaction in trying to set their thoughts down on paper， either in words or in pictures. I was not good at drawing， so I used words instead. As I grew older， I found that writing can be a way of earning a living.

Some of my readers want me to visit their school. Some want me to send a picture， or an autograph7， or a book. And some ask questions about my family and my animals and my pets. Much as Id like to， I cant go visiting. I cant send books， either—you can find them in a bookstore or a library. Many children assume8 that a writer owns or even makes his own books. This is not true—books are made by the publisher. If a writer wants a copy， he must buy it. Thats why I cant send books. And I do not send autographs—I leave that to the movie stars. I live most of the year in the country， in New England. From our windows we can look out at the sea and the mountains. I live near my married son and three grandchildren.

Are my stories true， you ask？ No， they are imaginary9 tales， containing fantastic characters and events. In real life， a family doesnt have a child who looks like a mouse； in real life， a spider doesnt spin10 words in her web. In real life， a swan11 doesnt blow a trumpet12. But real life is only one kind of life—there is also the life of the imagination. And although my stories are imaginary， I like to think that there is some truth in them， too—truth about the way people and animals feel and think and act.

Yours sincerely，

E.B. White

親愛的讀者朋友：

我收到很多小朋友的來信，卻不能一一答復大家，一天沒有那么多時間啊。這也是我為何將印刷出來的回信寄給諸位。我會盡力去回答一些大家常問到的問題。

寫《精靈鼠小弟》和《夏洛的網(wǎng)》的靈感來自于哪里呢？嗯，很多年前，我在一列鐵路臥鋪車上睡覺，那天夜里我做了一個夢，夢到一個小男孩，他的行為舉止像極了一只小老鼠，這就是我寫《精靈鼠小弟》的靈感來源。

至于寫《夏洛的網(wǎng)》，是因為我喜歡動物，而我的畜棚是一個令人愉快的地方，任何時候都是如此的。一天，當我正要去喂小豬時，我開始對這只小豬心生歉意，因為它會像大多數(shù)豬一樣，注定要死的。想到這點我就很難過。于是我就開始設(shè)想各種辦法來救這只小豬。我曾觀察到一只灰色的大蜘蛛在結(jié)網(wǎng)，那是何等聰明靈巧呀！這讓我印象深刻。漸漸地，我把這只蜘蛛也寫進了你們都知道的這個故事——一個發(fā)生在農(nóng)場關(guān)于友誼和拯救的故事。三年之后我開始動筆寫這個故事，終于出版了。（如你們所見，我寫作算不上一個快手。）

有時候有人會問我是幾歲開始寫作的，是什么促使我創(chuàng)作。我開始寫作時還很早，會拼寫的時候我就開始寫作了。老實說，我都記不得我人生當中有什么時候不是在忙著寫作的。我并不知道是什么東西促使我拿起筆，也不明白自己為什么這么喜歡寫作，不過在我看來，小孩子經(jīng)常會嘗試把自己的想法變成紙上的文字亦或是繪畫，從中獲得樂趣，得到滿足。我不擅長畫畫，所以就選擇了文字。等我再長大點，就發(fā)現(xiàn)原來文字還可以作為一種謀生的手段。

有些讀者想讓我去參觀他們的學校。有些想讓我送他們一張照片、一個簽名或者一本書。有些讀者問了我好多問題，都是關(guān)于我的家庭，我養(yǎng)的動物，還有寵物。我雖然很想，但是卻沒辦法去一一參觀他們的學校。我也沒法送書——不過你可以在書店里或圖書館里找到我的書。很多小朋友以為作家手上有很多自己的書，甚至以為作家會自己印書，但其實不是這么回事——書是出版社印的。就算作家自己想要一本自己的書，他也得自己花錢買。這就是為什么我沒法送書給你們。我也從不送自己的簽名——我覺得這種事情還是留給電影明星去做吧。一年中大部分時間，我都住在新英格蘭的鄉(xiāng)下。從我住的房子窗戶望出去，能看到大海和群山。我的兒子已經(jīng)結(jié)婚，還有三個孩子，我住的離他們很近。

你會問，我寫的這些故事是不是真實的？不是，這些都是虛構(gòu)的故事，那些奇妙的人物和經(jīng)歷都是虛構(gòu)的。在真實世界里，沒有哪家的孩子會長得像老鼠的；在真實世界里，蜘蛛也不會在蛛網(wǎng)上織字；在真實世界里，天鵝更不會吹小號。但是，真實世界只是其中一種——還有想象的世界。雖然我的故事是虛構(gòu)的，但我寧愿相信這些故事包含著某些真實的成分。至少故事里那些人和動物，他們的所思、所感以及所為都是真真實實的。

此致，

E.B.懷特

1. barn [] n. 谷倉；畜棚 2. doom [] v. 注定

3. impress [] v. 給……深刻印象 4. weave [] v. 編織

5. gradually [] adv. 逐步地；漸漸地 6. salvation [] n. 拯救；救助

7. autograph [] n. 親筆簽名 8. assume [] v. 設(shè)想；想當然

9. imaginary [] adj. 虛構(gòu)的，假想的

10. spin [] v. 紡紗；吐絲 11. swan [] n. 天鵝

12. trumpet [] n. 喇叭