Charlotte’s WEB 夏洛的网(节选)

作者简介：E．B．怀特（E．B．White，1899―1985），美国当代著名散文家、诗人、幽默和讽刺作家、评论家，他一生写过三部童话，分别是《小老鼠斯图尔特》（1945），《夏洛的网》（1952），《天鹅的喇叭》（1970），其中最受欢迎的就是《夏洛的网》。

《夏洛的网》，一首关于生命，友情，爱与忠诚的赞歌！一部傲居“美国最伟大的十部儿童文学名著”首位的童话！风行世界五十年，发行千万册。故事中机智可爱的小动物们团结一心，闯过道道险关，为我们呈现了一个妙趣横生的童话世界。作者用柔韧无比的蜘蛛丝编织了一张理想的、温暖的爱的大网。

内容简介：一头名叫威尔伯的小猪和一只叫夏洛的蜘蛛成了朋友。小猪未来的命运是成为圣诞节的盘中大餐。威尔伯试过逃跑，但它只是一只猪。看似渺小的夏洛说：“让我来帮你。”于是夏洛用它的网在猪栏中织出“好猪”“杰出”“谦虚”等字样，那些被人类视为奇迹的字样让威尔伯的命运逆转，终于得到了一个安享天命的未来。但在这时，蜘蛛夏洛的生命却走到了尽头……

前情提要：威尔伯在小主人芬的悉心照料下越长越大，最后不得不被送到芬的舅舅祖克曼那里喂养。少了芬的陪伴， “新家”谷仓里多了绵羊、母鹅、老鼠坦普尔顿等邻居。善良单纯的威尔伯受了不少冷遇和捉弄。可怜的威尔伯倍感孤独而郁郁寡欢。当他正感到伤心绝望的时候，有个声音在耳边响起：“我观察你好久了，我喜欢你。我来做你的朋友。”……

The night seemed long. Wilbur’s stomach was empty and his mind was full. And when yourstomachis empty and your mindisfull， it’s always hard to sleep.

A dozen times during the night Wilbur woke and stared into the blackness， listening to the sounds and trying to figure out what time it was. A barn is never perfectly quiet. Even at midnight there is usually something （活跃的、忙碌的）.

He heard Templeton gnawing a hole in the grain bin. “That crazy rat!” thought Wilbur. “Whydoeshehavetostayupallnight，（磨）his teeth and destroying people’s property? Why can’t he go to sleep， like any(正派的）animal?”

Wilbur yawned and went back to sleep. In hisdreamsheheardagain the voicesaying， “I’ll be a friend to you. Go to sleep―you’ll see me in the morning.”

About half an hour before dawn， Wilbur wokeandlistened.Thebarnwasdark. The sheep lay still. The goose was quiet. The cows were resting， the horses dozed. Templeton had quit work. Wilbur loved the barn when it was like this―calm and quiet， waiting for light.

Through a small window， a faint gleam appeared. One by one the stars went out. Wilbur could see the goose a few feet away. The sky lightened.

“Oh， beautifulday， itishere atlast!Today I shall find my friend.”

Wilbur looked everywhere. He searched his pen. He examined the（窗台）， stared up at the ceiling. But he saw nothing new. Finally he decided he would have to speak up.

“Attention， please!” he said in a loud， firm voice. “Will the party who addressed me at bedtimelastnightkindlymakehimselfor herself known by giving a sign or signal？”

Wilbur paused and listened. All the other animalsliftedtheirheadsandstaredathim. Wilbur blushed. But he was determined to get in touch with his unknown friend.

The sheep looked at each other in disgust.

“Stop your(废话），Wilbur!” said the oldest sheep. “If you have a new friend here， you are probably disturbing his rest. How can you be sure your friend is an early riser?”

“I beg everyone’s pardon，” whispered Wilbur. “I didn’t mean to be （惹人讨厌的）.”

He lay down（温顺地）facing the door. He did not know it， but his friend was very near. And the old sheep was right―the friend was still asleep. Soon Lurvy appeared with(喂猪的食物）for breakfast. Wilbur rushedout， ate everything inahurry， and licked the （饲料槽）. And then， just as Wilbur was settling down for his morning nap， he heard again the thin voice that had addressed him the night before.

“（敬礼）!” said the voice.

Wilbur jumped to his feet.“Salu-what?” he cried.

“Salutations!” said the voice.

“What are they， and where are you?” screamedWilbur. “Please， please， tellme where you are. And what are salutations?”

“Salutations are greetings，”saidthe voice. “When I say‘Salutations’， it’s just my fancy way of saying ‘Hello’or‘Good morning’. As for my whereabouts， that’s easy. Look up here in the cornerofthe doorway! Here I am. Look， I’m waving!”

At last Wilbur saw the creature that had spoken to him in such a kindly way. Stretched across the upper part of the doorway was a big spider web， and hanging from the top of the web， head down， was a large grey spider. She had eight legs， and she was waving one of them at Wilbur in friendly greeting. “See me now?” she asked.

“Oh，yes indeed，”said Wilbur.“Yes indeed! How are you? Good morning! Salutations! Very pleased to meet you. What is your name， please? May I have your name?”

“My name，” said the spider， “is charlotte.”

“I think you’re beautiful，” said Wilbur.

“Well， I am pretty，” replied Charlotte. “There’s no denying that. Almost all spiders are rather nice-looking. I wish I could see you， Wilbur， as clearly as you can see me.”

“Why can’t you?” asked the pig. “I’m right here.”

“Yes， butI’mnear-sighted，” replied Charlotte.“I’vealwaysbeendreadfullynear-sighted. It’s good in some ways， not so good in others. Watch me （缠绕）this fly.”

这一夜好像特别长。威尔伯肚子空空的，而且心事重重。当你肚子空空而又心事重重的时候，总是很难入睡的。

这天夜里威尔伯醒了很多次，看着黑暗，听着响声，想要琢磨出这是什么时间了。谷仓从没有完全安静的时候，连半夜里也总是有动静。

他听到坦普尔顿在粮仓里打洞的声音。“那只疯老鼠！”威尔伯想，“为什么他整夜在那儿磨他的牙齿，破坏人们的财产呢？为什么他不能像所有正正经经的动物那样睡觉呢？”

威尔伯打了个哈欠，回头继续睡觉。梦里，他又听到那声音说，“我要做你的朋友。去睡吧――明天早晨你就会看到我了。”

离天亮大约还有半个钟头，威尔伯醒来竖起耳朵听。谷仓还是黑黑的。绵羊躺着一动不动。连母鹅也很安静。牛在休息，马在打盹。坦普尔顿已经不打洞了。威尔伯喜欢这时的谷仓――一切都那么静谧、安详，只等天亮。

一缕微光透进一扇小窗子。星星一颗接一颗地消失了。威尔伯已经能看到离他几步远的母鹅了。天亮了。

About half an hour before dawn， Wilbur wokeandlistened.Thebarnwasdark. The sheep lay still. The goose was quiet. The cows were resting， the horses dozed. Templeton had quit work. Wilbur loved the barn when it was like this―calm and quiet， waiting for light.

Through a small window， a faint gleam appeared. One by one the stars went out. Wilbur could see the goose a few feet away. The sky lightened.

“Oh， beautifulday， itishere atlast!Today I shall find my friend.”

Wilbur looked everywhere. He searched his pen. He examined the（窗台）， stared up at the ceiling. But he saw nothing new. Finally he decided he would have to speak up.

“Attention， please!” he said in a loud， firm voice. “Will the party who addressed me at bedtimelastnightkindlymakehimselfor herself known by giving a sign or signal？”

Wilbur paused and listened. All the other animalsliftedtheirheadsandstaredathim. Wilbur blushed. But he was determined to get in touch with his unknown friend.

The sheep looked at each other in disgust.

“Stop your(废话），Wilbur!” said the oldest sheep. “If you have a new friend here， you are probably disturbing his rest. How can you be sure your friend is an early riser?”

“I beg everyone’s pardon，” whispered Wilbur. “I didn’t mean to be （惹人讨厌的）.”

He lay down（温顺地）facing the door. He did not know it， but his friend was very near. And the old sheep was right―the friend was still asleep. Soon Lurvy appeared with(喂猪的食物）for breakfast. Wilbur rushedout， ate everything inahurry， and licked the （饲料槽）. And then， just as Wilbur was settling down for his morning nap， he heard again the thin voice that had addressed him the night before.

“（敬礼）!” said the voice.

Wilbur jumped to his feet.“Salu-what?” he cried.

“Salutations!” said the voice.

“What are they， and where are you?” screamedWilbur. “Please， please， tellme where you are. And what are salutations?”

“Salutations are greetings，”saidthe voice. “When I say‘Salutations’， it’s just my fancy way of saying ‘Hello’or‘Good morning’. As for my whereabouts， that’s easy. Look up here in the cornerofthe doorway! Here I am. Look， I’m waving!”

At last Wilbur saw the creature that had spoken to him in such a kindly way. Stretched across the upper part of the doorway was a big spider web， and hanging from the top of the web， head down， was a large grey spider. She had eight legs， and she was waving one of them at Wilbur in friendly greeting. “See me now?” she asked.

“Oh，yes indeed，”said Wilbur.“Yes indeed! How are you? Good morning! Salutations! Very pleased to meet you. What is your name， please? May I have your name?”

“My name，” said the spider， “is Charlotte.”

“I think you’re beautiful，” said Wilbur.

“Well， I am pretty，” replied Charlotte. “There’s no denying that. Almost all spiders are rather nice-looking. I wish I could see you， Wilbur， as clearly as you can see me.”

“Why can’t you?” asked the pig. “I’m right here.”

“Yes， butI’mnear-sighted，” replied Charlotte.“I’vealwaysbeendreadfullynear-sighted. It’s good in some ways， not so good in others. Watch me （缠绕）this fly.”

A fly had flown up and（慌张撞上）Charlotte’s web and was （缠成一团） in the sticky threads. The fly was beating its wings （猛烈地）， trying to break loose and free itself.

“First，” saidCharlotte， “Idiveatit.” She plunged headfirst toward the fly. As she dropped， a tiny silken thread （展开）fromher end.“Next，I wrap it up.”She grabbed the fly， threw a few threads around it， and rolled it over and over， wrapping it so that it couldn’t move.

Wilbur watched in horror. He could hardly believe what he was seeing， and although he detested flies， he was sorry for this one.

“There!” saidCharlotte. “NowIknock it out， so it will be more comfortable.” She bit the fly. “It can’t feel a thing now， It will make a perfect breakfast for me.”

“You mean you eat flies?” gasped Wilbur.

“Certainly. Flies， bugs， butterflies―anything that is careless enough to get caught in my web. Of course， I don’t really eat them. I drink them―drink their blood. I love blood，” said Charlotte， and her pleasant， thin voice grew even thinner and more pleasant.

“Don’t say that!” groaned Wilbur. “Please don’t say things like that!”

“Why not ? It’s true， and I have to say what is true. I am not entirely happy about eating flies and bugs， butit’stheway I’m made.Ijustnaturallybuildawebandtrap insects. Way back for thousands and thousands of years we spiders have been laying for flies and bugs.”

“It’s cruel，” replied Wilbur.

“Well， you can’t talk.” said Charlotte， “You have your meals brought to you. Nobody feeds me. I have to get my own living. I live by my wits. I have to be sharp and clever， or I go hungry. I have to think things out， catch what I can， and take what comes. And furthermore，” said Charlotte， shaking one of her legs， “do you realize that if I didn’t catch bugs and eat them， bugs would increase and (繁殖）andgetsonumerousthatthey’dwipeout everything?”

“Really?” said Wilbur. “I wouldn’t want that to happen. Perhaps your web is a good thing after all.”

Thegoosehadbeenlisteningtothis conversation and saying to herself. “There are a lot of things Wilbur doesn’t know about life.”she thought.“ He’s really a very innocent little pig. He doesn’t even know what’s going to happen to him around Christmastime； he has no idea that Mr Zuckerman and Lurvy are planning to kill him.”

Charlotte stood quietly over the fly， preparing to eat it. Wilbur lay down and closed his eyes. He was tired from his wakeful night and from the excitement of meeting someone for the first time. “Well，” he thought， “I’ve got a new friend， allright. But what a(冒险) friendship it is!Charlotteis（凶猛的），cruel， （诡计多端的）， bloodthirsty―everything I don’t like. How can I learn to like her， even though she is pretty and， of course， clever?”

Wilbur was merely suffering the doubts and fears that often go with finding a new friend. （不久以后） hewasto discover that he was mistaken about Charlotte. Underneath her rather bold and cruel （外表）， she had a kind heart， and she was to prove loyal and true （一直到底）.

“噢，美丽的白天，它终于来了！今天我将找到我的朋友。”

威尔伯四处搜寻。他把窝里查了个遍。他检查了窗台，又望了望天花板。却什么新发现也没有。最后他决定只好喊话了。

“请注意！”他用坚定的口气大声说，“昨天夜里临睡前对我说话的那位先生或者女士，能够好心地给我打一个手势或者发个信号吗？”

威尔伯停下来倾听。其他所有动物都抬起头来瞪着他。威尔伯脸都红了。可他还是决定找出这位陌生的朋友。

那些绵羊厌恶地你看看我我看看你。

“别乱叫了，威尔伯！”最老的那只绵羊说，“如果你在这里真有个新朋友，你这样叫恐怕只会打搅他休息。你怎么能肯定，你那位朋友喜欢早起呢？”

“各位，请原谅，”威尔伯低声说，“我无意让大家不高兴。”

他乖乖地朝着门躺下来。他不知道，其实他那位朋友就在附近。老羊说得对――这位朋友还在睡觉。很快勒维就给他送早饭了。威尔伯冲出去，急急忙忙地吃了个精光，还把食槽舔了个遍。正当威尔伯躺下要打他的早盹时，他又听见了昨天夜里叫他的那个细小的声音。

“敬礼！”那个声音说。

威尔伯一下子跳起来。“敬――什么？”他叫道。

“敬礼！”那个声音重复道。

“这话是什么意思，你在哪里？”威尔伯尖声大叫，“请你，请你告诉我，你在什么地方。什么是敬礼？”

“敬礼是句问候语，”那个声音说，“我说‘敬礼’，我只是喜欢用这种方式来表示‘你好’或者‘你早’。至于我在什么地方，那很简单。你只要抬头朝门犄角这儿看看！我就在这上面。看，我在挥手呢！”

威尔伯终于看到了如此友善地和自己交谈的小动物。门框上方结了一张大蜘蛛网，一只灰色大蜘蛛正倒挂在网的高处。她有八条腿，她正在向威尔伯挥动其中的一条腿，友好地打着招呼呢。“现在看见我啦？”她问道。

“噢，确实看见了，”威尔伯说，“确实看见了！你好！早上好！敬礼！很高兴看到你。请问你叫什么名字？我可以知道你的名字吗？”

“我的名字嘛，”蜘蛛说，“叫夏洛。”

“我觉得你很美。”威尔伯说。

“嗯，我很漂亮，”夏洛回答说，“这是毫无疑问的。几乎所有的蜘蛛都长得很美。我真希望能看清你，威尔伯，就像你能看清我一样。”

“你为什么看不清我呢？”小猪问道，“我就在这儿呀。”

“没错，不过我近视，”夏洛回答说，“我一向近视得厉害。在某些方面这也很好，可在某些方面就不那么好了。看我捆住这只苍蝇吧。”

一只苍蝇飞起来，误撞到夏洛的网上，被粘粘的蜘蛛丝缠住了。苍蝇拼命扑打翅膀，想要挣脱逃走。

“首先，”夏洛说，“我要靠近它。”她头朝下向苍蝇扑下去。她下来时，一根细丝从她尾部抽出来。“接下来，我要把它捆住，”她抓住苍蝇，吐出几根丝捆住它，直到裹得它动也不能动。

威尔伯惊恐地看着这一切。他几乎不能相信他所看到的事，虽然他也讨厌苍蝇，可还是为这只苍蝇感到难过。

“好了！”夏洛说，“现在我让它失去知觉，好叫它舒服些。”她咬了苍蝇一口。“它现在什么感觉也没有了，它可以当我的美味早餐了。”

“你是说你吃苍蝇？”威尔伯倒抽一口凉气。

“当然。苍蝇、虫子、蝴蝶――一切太不小心给我的网捉住了的东西。当然，我不是真的吃掉它们。我是喝它们――喝它们的血。我喜欢血。”夏洛说。她的声音听起来越来越清脆，越来越快活了。

“别说了！”威尔伯道，“请别说这样的话！”

“为什么不？这是真的，我得说实话。虽然我也不愿意吃苍蝇和虫子，可我天生就这样。我只是生来就结网捕食昆虫。千百万年前，我们蜘蛛就靠捕捉苍蝇和虫子为生了。”

“这很残忍。”威尔伯回答说。

“这个嘛，你没有发言权。”夏洛说，“你有人给你送饭吃。可没有人给我东西吃。我得自己谋生。我靠自己的本事过活。我得机智灵活，要不然就得挨饿。我得自己想办法，能捉到什么就捉什么，来什么捉什么。再说，”夏洛抖着她的一条腿说，“你知道吗，如果我不捉虫子，不吃掉它们，虫子就会增多、繁殖，多得把所有的东西一扫而光？”

“真的？”威尔伯说，“我可不想发生这样的事。这么说，你的网也许还是个好东西。”

母鹅听到了他们的这番对话，在那里嘎嘎自语：“生活里有许多事威尔伯还不懂。”她想，“他的确是只天真的小猪。他甚至不知道到了圣诞节有什么事要临头；他一点都不知道，祖克曼先生和勒维正在密谋杀掉他。”

夏洛静静地站在苍蝇上面，准备去吃它。威尔伯躺下来闭上眼睛。由于一夜没睡好，加上首次遇到新朋友的激动，使他感到分外疲倦。 “好啦，”他心里说，“我终于有一个新朋友了，真不错。可这是多危险的友谊啊！夏洛凶狠、残忍、狡诈、嗜血――样样都不是我喜欢的。我怎么能让自己去试着喜欢她呢，哪怕她好看，当然，又聪明？”

威尔伯像那些初交新朋友的人一样，被疑惑和恐惧困扰着。不过到时候他就会发现，他误解了夏洛。在夏洛凶猛残忍的外表下，有一颗善良的心，到头来，她会显示出自己是个多么忠实的朋友。

（书航选编）