《夏洛的網(wǎng)》是一部描寫關(guān)于友情的童話。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)》第六章。

Wilbur? liked? Charlotte? better? and? better? each? day. Her campaign? against? insects? seemed? sensible? and? useful. Hardly anybody around the farm had a good word to say for a fly. Flies spent? their? time? pestering? others. The? cows? hated? them. The horses? detested? them. The? sheep? loathed? them. Mr. and? Mrs. Zukerman were always complaining about them，and putting up screens.

Wilbur? admired? the? way? Charlotte? managed. He? was particularly glad that she always put her victim to sleep before eating it.

“It’s real thoughtful of you to do that，Charlotte，”he said.“Yes，”she replied in her sweet，musical voice，“I always give them an anaesthetic so they won’t feel pain. It’s a little service I throw in.”

As the days went by，Wilbur grew and grew. He ate three big meals? a? day. He? spent? long hours? lying? on his? side，half asleep，dreaming pleasant dreams. He enjoyed good health and he gained a lot of weight. One afternoon，when Fern was sitting on her stool，the oldest sheep walked into the barn，and stopped to pay a call on Wilbur.

“Hello！”she said.“Seems to me you’re putting on weight.”

“Yes，I guess I am，”replied Wilbur.“At my age it’s a good idea to keep gaining.”

“ Just the same ，I don’t envy you，”said the old sheep.“ You know why they’re fattening you up，don’tyou？”

威伯一天比一天更喜歡夏洛了。她對昆蟲發(fā)動的戰(zhàn)爭似乎是英明的、有益處的。農(nóng)場周圍幾乎沒人為蒼蠅說一句好話，因為蒼蠅把他們的所有時間都用來騷擾別人了。母牛恨他們。馬憎惡他們。綿羊討厭他們。祖克曼先生和太太也總是抱怨他們，所以特意裝上了紗窗。

威伯也欣賞夏洛的行事方法。他很高興她能在吃她的受害者之前先把他們弄睡。

“你那么做可真體貼，夏洛，”他說。

“是的，”她用甜甜的嗓音回答，“我總是先麻醉他們，這樣他們就不會感到疼了。這是我的一項小小的免費(fèi)服務(wù)?！?/p>

很多天過去了，威伯不斷長大。他一天要大吃三頓。他把時間都花在躺著，小睡，做美夢上了。他的身體非常健康，體重也增長了許多。一天下午，當(dāng)芬正在她的凳子上坐著時，那只老羊走到谷倉來拜訪威伯。

“你好！”她說?！拔铱茨愫孟裾谧兣?。”

“是的，我想是，”威伯回答?！霸谖疫@個年紀(jì)胖起來是好事兒。”

“雖然如此，可我卻不嫉妒你，”老羊說?！澳阒浪麄?yōu)槭裁匆涯沭B(yǎng)這么胖嗎？”

“No，”said Wilbur.

“Well，I don’t like to spread bad news，”said the sheep，“but they’re fattening you up because they’re going to kill you，that’s why.”

“They’re going to what？”screamed Wilbur. Fern grew rigid on her stool.

“Kill? you. Turn? you? into? smoked? bacon? and? ham，” continued the old sheep.“Almost all young pigs get murdered by the farmer as soon as the real cold weather sets in. There’sregular conspiracy around here to kill you at Christmastime. ?Everybody? is? in? the? plog—Lurvy，Zuckerman ，even? John Arable.”

“Mr. Arable？”sobbed Wilbur.“Fern’s father？”

“Certainly. When a pig is to be butchered，everybody helps. I’m an old sheep and I see the same thing，same old business，year after year. Arable arrives with hi .22，shoots the...”

“Stop！”screamed Wilbur.“I don’t want to die！ Save me，somebody！ Save me！”Fern was just about to jump up when a voice was heard.

“Be? quiet ，Wilbur！”said? Charlotte ，who? had? been listening to this awful conversation.

“I? can’t be? quiet，”screamed Wilbur，racing up? and down.“I don’twant to be killed. I don’twant to die. Is it true what the old sheep says，Charlotte？ Is it true they are going to kill me when the cold weather comes？”

“Well，”said the? spider，plucking thoughtfully? at her web，“the old sheep has been around this barn a long time. She has seen many a spring pig come and go. If she says they plan to kill you，I’m sure it’s true. It’s also the dirtiest trick I ever heard of. What people don’tthink of！”Wilbur burst into tears.

“I don’t want to die，”he moaned.“I want to stay alive ， right here in my comfortable manure pile with all my friends. ?I want to breathe the beautiful air and lie in the beautiful sun.”

“不知道，”威伯說。

“呃，我不喜歡傳播壞消息，”老羊說，“但我還是要告訴你，他們喂胖你，其實是為了將來殺你，這就是原因。”

“他們將來要做什么？”威伯尖叫。坐在凳子上的芬也聽呆了。

“殺死你。把你做成腌肉和火腿。”老羊繼續(xù)說。“幾乎所有年青的小豬到了冬天來的時候都會被農(nóng)場主謀殺。這里有個人盡皆知的陰謀，就是你將在圣誕節(jié)被殺掉。每個人都在參與這個計劃——魯維，祖克曼甚至約翰·阿拉貝爾。”

“阿拉貝爾先生？”威伯啜泣起來?！胺业陌职?？”

“當(dāng)然了。宰一頭豬時，每人都要來幫忙的。我是一只老羊，這樣的事兒見得多了，每一年都是這老一套。阿拉貝爾會帶著他的0.22口徑的槍，來射向……”

“別說了！”威伯尖叫?！拔也幌胨溃【任?，來人哪！救我呀！”這尖叫幾乎把芬嚇得跳起來。

“鎮(zhèn)靜，威伯！”一直聽著這段恐怖對話的夏洛說。

“我不能鎮(zhèn)靜，”威伯大嚷著跑來跑去?！拔也幌氡粴⑺?。我不想死。老羊說的是真的嗎，夏洛？冬天來時他們真會殺我嗎？”

“唔，”夏洛說著，輕輕地拉了拉她的網(wǎng)，“老羊已經(jīng)在這谷倉住很久了。她看過很多來去的春豬。如果她說人們打算殺你，我想那就是真的。這也是我聽過的最可恥的詭計。人類有什么想不出來！”

威伯號啕大哭起來?！拔也幌胨?，”他呻吟?！拔蚁朐谶@里活著，就呆在我舒服的牛糞堆旁，和我所有的朋友在一起。我想呼吸甜美的空氣，躺在美麗的太陽底下?！?/p>

“You’re certainly making a beautiful noise，”snapped theold sheep.

“I don’t want to die！”screamed Wilbur，throwing himselfto the ground.

“You shall not die，”said Charlotte，briskly.

“What？ Really？”cried Wilbur.“Who’s going to save me？”

“I am，”said Charlotte.

“How？”asked Wilbur.

“That remains to be seen. But I am going to save you，andI want you to quiet down immediately. You’re carrying on in achildish way. Stop your crying！ I can’tstand hysterics.”

On? Sunday morning Mr. and Mrs. Arable and Fern weresitting at breakfast in the kitchen. Avery had finished and wasupstairs looking for his slingshot.

“Did? you? know? that? Uncle? Homer’s? goslings? hadhatched？”asked Fern.

“How many？”asked Mr. Arable.

“Seven，”replied Fern.“There were eight eggs but one eggdidn’t hatch and the goose told Templeton she didn’t want itany more，so he took it away.”

“The goose did what？”asked Mrs. Arable，gazing at herdaughter with a queer，worried look.

“Told? Templeton? she? didn’t? want? the? egg? any? more，”repeated Fern.

“Who is Templeton？”asked Mrs. Arable.

“He’s the rat，”replied Fern.“None of us like him much.”

“你說的全是美麗的胡話?！崩涎蜓杆俚卮驍嗔怂脑?。

“我不想死！”威伯尖叫著，癱到地上。

“你不會死的，”夏洛輕快地說。

“什么？真的嗎？”威伯叫?！罢l會來救我呢？”

“我，”夏洛說。

“怎么救？”威伯問。

“辦法以后會有的。但是在我正考慮怎么救你的時候，我希望你立刻安靜下來。你哭叫的樣子簡直像個小孩子。不要哭！我不能忍受歇斯底里?！?/p>

星期六早上，阿拉貝爾先生和太太還有芬正坐在廚房吃早餐。埃弗里已經(jīng)吃過了飯，便上樓找他的彈弓去了。

“你們知道霍默舅舅的小鵝孵出來了嗎？”芬問。

“孵出了多少個？”阿拉貝爾先生問。

“七個。”芬回答?！氨緛碛邪藗€蛋，但有一個沒孵出來。母鵝告訴坦普爾曼她不想要這

個蛋了，所以他把蛋帶走了。”

“母鵝說什么了？”阿拉貝爾太太驚奇而又擔(dān)心地盯著女兒問。

“她告訴坦普爾曼，她不想再要那個蛋了，”芬重復(fù)道。

“誰是坦普爾曼？”阿拉貝爾太太問。

“他就是那只老鼠，”芬回答?！拔覀兌疾惶矚g他?！?/p>

“Who is‘us’？”asked Mr. Arable.

“Oh，everybody in the barn cellar. Wilbur and the sheep andthe lambs and the goose and the gander and the goslings andCharlotte and me.”

“Charlotte？”said Mrs. Arable.“Who’s Charlotte？”

“She’s Wilbur’s best friend. She’s terribly clever.”

“What does she look like？”asked Mrs. Arable.

“Well，”said Fern，thoughtfully，“ she has eight legs. Allspiders do，I guess.”

“Charlotte is a spider？”asked Fern’s mother.

Fern nodded.“A big grey one. She has a web across the topof Wilbur’s doorway. She catches flies and sucks their blood.Wilbur adores her.”

“Does he really？”said Mrs. Arable，rather vaguely. She wasstaring at Fern with a worried expression on her face.

“Oh，yes，Wilbur adores Charlotte，”said Fern.“Do youknow what Charlotte said when the goslings hatched？”

“I haven’t the faintest idea，”said Mr. Arable.“Tell us.”

“Well，when the first gosling stuck its little head out fromunder the goose，I was sitting on my stool in the corner andCharlotte was on her web. She made a speech. She said：‘I amsure that every one of us here in the barn cellar will be gratified tolearn that after four weeks of unremitting effort and patience onthe part of the goose，she now has something to show for it.’Don’tyou think that was a pleasant thing for her to say？”

“Yes，I do，”said Mrs. Arable.“And now，F(xiàn)ern，it’s timeto get ready for Sunday School. And tell Avery to get ready. Andthis afternoon you can tell me more about what goes on in UncleHomer’s barn. Aren’t you spending quite a lot of time there？You go there almost every afternoon，don’t you？”

“誰是‘我們’？”阿拉貝爾先生問。

“噢，就是住在谷倉地窖里的所有人。威伯，綿羊，羊羔，母鵝，公鵝，小鵝，夏洛和我。”

“夏洛？”阿拉貝爾太太說。“誰是夏洛？”

“她是威伯最好的朋友，她非常的聰明。”

“她長得什么樣兒？”阿拉貝爾太太問。

“嗯，”芬仔細(xì)想了想，說，“她有八條腿。所有的蜘蛛都如此，我猜?！?/p>

“夏洛是一只蜘蛛？”芬的母親問。

芬點點頭：“一只很大的灰蜘蛛。她在威伯的門口上方織了一張網(wǎng)。她能抓蒼蠅，還吸他們的血。威伯可崇拜她了?！?/p>

“他真的崇拜她？”阿拉貝爾太太幾乎聽糊涂了。她用一種擔(dān)憂的表情盯著芬的臉。

“噢，是的，威伯崇拜夏洛。”芬說，“你知道當(dāng)小鵝出世時夏洛說什么了？”

“我可什么都不知道，”阿拉貝爾先生說，“跟我們講講?！?/p>

“好吧。當(dāng)?shù)谝恢恍※Z從鵝媽媽的身下伸出他的小腦袋時，我正在旁邊的凳子上坐著，夏洛就在她的網(wǎng)上掛著。她發(fā)表了一場演說。她說：‘我們在谷倉地窖里的每一位都將高興地獲悉，經(jīng)過四周的不懈努力與耐心的等待，我們的朋友母鵝終于取得了驕人的成績。’你不認(rèn)為她說的是件大喜事嗎？”

“是的，我承認(rèn)，”阿拉貝爾太太說?！艾F(xiàn)在，芬，該到上主日學(xué)校的時間了。告訴埃弗里做好準(zhǔn)備。今天下午你可以把你在霍默舅舅谷倉里的事兒再告訴我們一些。你在那里花了不少時間吧？你幾乎每天下午都去，是不是？”

“I like it there，”replied Fern. She wiped her mouth and ran upstairs. After she had left the room，Mrs. Arable spoke in a low voice to her husband.“I worry about Fern，”she said.“Did you hear the way she? rambled? on? about? the? animals ，pretending? that? they talked？”

Mr. Arable chuckled.“Maybe they do talk，”he said.“I’ve sometimes wondered. At any rate，don’t worry about Fern— she’s just got a lively imagination. Kids think they hear all sorts of things.”

“Just? the? same ，I? do? worry? about? her，”replied? Mrs. Arable.“I think I shall ask Dr. Dorian about her the next timeI see him. He loves Fern almost as much as we do，and I want him to know how? queerly? she? is? acting? about that pig? and everything. I don’t think it’s normal. You know perfectly well animals don’ttalk.”

Mr. Arable grinned.“Maybe our ears aren’t as sharp as Fern’s，”he said.

“我喜歡那兒，”芬回答。她擦擦嘴巴跑上了樓。她離開房間后，阿拉貝爾太太和她丈夫低聲交談起來。

“我為芬擔(dān)心，”她說，“你聽見她是怎么信口開河地說那些動物的嗎，好像他們會說話一樣？”

阿拉貝爾先生微笑了?！翱赡芩麄冋鏁f話吧，”他說，“我有時也覺得這很奇怪。不管怎樣，不必?fù)?dān)心芬——她不過是有生動的想象力罷了。小孩子認(rèn)為他們什么都能聽到?！?/p>

“雖然如此，我還是擔(dān)心她，”阿拉貝爾太太回答?！拔蚁胛蚁麓慰吹蕉嗬锇册t(yī)生時，該對他談?wù)劮业氖聝?。他幾乎像我們一樣的愛芬，我要問問他，芬自以為能聽懂豬和別的動物的談話，這是不是很奇怪。我不認(rèn)為這是正常的。你完全知道動物們根本不會說話的?！?/p>

阿拉貝爾先生咧開嘴笑起來?！翱赡芪覀兊亩洳幌穹夷敲醇獍?，”他說。