Charlotte’s Web (III)

◎E.B.White

Track 9

作為一只豬，威爾伯似乎只能接受任人宰割的命運了，但夏洛卻承諾要救威爾伯。這是一場關于信任、勇氣、拯救與自我拯救的對話，一起讀讀吧！

“Charlotte?” he said.

“Yes?” said the spider.

“Were you serious when you1)promised you would keep them from killing me?”

“I was never more serious in my life.I am not going to let you die, Wilbur.”

“How are you going to save me?” asked Wilbur, whose curiosity was very strong on this point.

“Well,” said Charlotte,2)vaguely, “I don’t really know.But I’m working on a plan.”

“That’s wonderful,” said Wilbur.“How is the plan coming, Charlotte? Have you got very far with it? Is it coming along pretty well?” Wilbur was3)trembling again,but Charlotte was cool and4)collected.

“Oh, it’s coming all right,” she said, lightly.“The plan is still in its early stages and hasn’t completely shaped up yet, but I’m working on it.”

“When do you work on it?” begged Wilbur.

“When I’m hanging head-down at the top of my web.That’s when I do my thinking, because then all the blood is in my head.”

“I’d be only too glad to help in any way I can.”

“Oh, I’ll work it out alone,” said Charlotte.“I can think better if I think alone.”

“All right,” said Wilbur.“But don’t fail to let me know if there’s anything I can do to help, no matter how5)slight.”

“Well,” replied Charlotte, “you must try to build yourself up.I want you to get plenty of sleep, and stop worrying.Never hurry and never worry!Chew your food thoroughly and eat every bit of it, except you must leave just enough for Templeton.Gain weight and stay well—that’s the way you can help.Keep fit, and don’t lose your nerve.Do you think you understand?”

“Yes, I understand,” said Wilbur.

1) promisev.承諾

2) vaguelyadv.含糊地

3) tremblev.顫抖

4) collectedadj.鎮靜的

5) slightadj.輕微的；不足道的

“夏洛？”他說。

“嗯？”蜘蛛說。

“你曾承諾過不讓他們殺我，你是認真的嗎？”

“在我一生中還從沒這么認真過呢。我不會讓你死的，威爾伯。”

“你打算怎么救我呢？”強烈地想知道這點的威爾伯問。

“唔，”夏洛含混地說，“我還不知道呢。但是我正在制訂計劃。”

“好極了，”威爾伯說，“這計劃的開始是怎樣的，夏洛？你已經想出很多步驟了嗎？它進展得非常順利嗎？”威爾伯又打了一個冷戰，可夏洛還是非常冷靜。

“哦，計劃就快弄好了，”她輕聲地說，“這計劃才剛剛開頭，沒有成形，不過我會弄好的。”

“你什么時候能想好？”威爾伯乞求道。

“在我倒掛在我的網上的時候吧。那時我才能想事情，因為那時全身的血才會涌到我的腦袋里。”

“我非常愿意在我力所能及的范圍內幫助你。”

“哦，我將一個人解決它，”夏洛說，“我一個人時會想出更好的辦法。”

“好吧，”威爾伯說，“但是如果有什么我能做的，不管是多么小的事兒，你也別忘了告訴我。”

“好的，”夏洛回答，“你必須加強你的信心。我要你保持充足的睡眠，不要再擔憂了。永遠也不要著急和擔心！慢慢地吃光你的每一點食物，除了你剩給坦普爾曼的那些。把自己吃胖，好好活著——這就是你能幫我做的。保持健康，不要氣餒。你明白了嗎？”

“是的，我懂了。”威爾伯說。