柳林風聲：Like Summer Tempests Came His Tears 蟾蜍淚下如雨

The Rat put out a neat little brown paw, gripped Toad firmly by the scruff of the neck, and gave a great hoist and a pull; and the water-logged Toad came up slowly but surely over the edge of the hole, till at last he stood safe and sound in the hall, streaked with mud and weed to be sure, and with the water streaming off him, but happy and high-spirited as of old, now that he found himself once more in the house of a friend, and dodgings and evasions were over, and he could lay aside a disguise that was unworthy of his position and wanted such a lot of living up to.

河鼠伸出一只整潔的褐色小爪子，緊緊揪著蟾蜍的頸皮，使勁往上拽。渾身滴水的蟾蜍于是慢慢地但穩(wěn)穩(wěn)地上了洞沿，安然無恙地站到了門廳里。他身上自然滿是污泥和水草，可他又像往日一樣快活得意，因為他知道，自已又來到老友家，再也不用東躲西藏了，那套不合身份丟人現(xiàn)眼的偽裝，也可以扔掉了。

‘O, Ratty!’ he cried. ‘I’ve been through such times since I saw you last, you can’t think! Such trials, such sufferings, and all so nobly borne! Then such escapes, such disguises such subterfuges, and all so cleverly planned and carried out! Been in prison—got out of it, of course! Been thrown into a canal—swam ashore! Stole a horse—sold him for a large sum of money! Humbugged everybody—made ‘em all do exactly what I wanted! Oh, I AM a smart Toad, and no mistake! What do you think my last exploit was? Just hold on till I tell you----‘

“鼠兄啊!”他喊道，“自打和你分手以后，我過的什么日子，你簡直沒法想象!那么多的考驗，那么多的苦難，我全都英勇地承受住了!接著是絕處逢生，喬裝打扮，計謀策略，全是我一手巧妙地設計出來又付諸實施的!因為我給他們關進了監(jiān)獄，不過我自然逃了出來!又給扔進了水渠，可我游上岸了!又偷了一匹馬，賣了一大筆錢!我騙過了所有的人，叫他們乖乖地聽我的吩咐!你瞧，我是不是一只聰明能干的蟾蜍?沒錯!你知道我最后一場冒險是什么?別忙，聽我給你講——”

‘Toad,’ said the Water Rat, gravely and firmly, ‘you go off upstairs at once, and take off that old cotton rag that looks as if it might formerly have belonged to some washerwoman, and clean yourself thoroughly, and put on some of my clothes, and try and come down looking like a gentleman if you CAN; for a more shabby, bedraggled, disreputable-looking object than you are I never set eyes on in my whole life! Now, stop swaggering and arguing, and be off! I’ll have something to say to you later!’

“蟾蜍，”河鼠說，態(tài)度嚴肅又堅定，“你馬上給我上樓去，脫掉身上這件破布衫，這衣裳像是一個洗衣婦穿過的_好好洗刷干凈，換上我的衣服，再下樓來，看能不能像個紳士的樣子。我這輩子還沒見過一個比你更寒磣、邋遢、丟人現(xiàn)眼的家伙!好啦，別吹牛，別爭辯，快去吧!呆會兒，我有話對你說!”

Toad was at first inclined to stop and do some talking back at him. He had had enough of being ordered about when he was in prison, and here was the thing being begun all over again, apparently; and by a Rat, too! However, he caught sight of himself in the looking-glass over the hat-stand, with the rusty black bonnet perched rakishly over one eye, and he changed his mind and went very quickly and humbly upstairs to the Rat’s dressing-room. There he had a thorough wash and brush-up, changed his clothes, and stood for a long time before the glass, contemplating himself with pride and pleasure, and thinking what utter idiots all the people must have been to have ever mistaken him for one moment for a washerwoman.

蟾蜍起初不愿就此住口，還想回敬他幾句。坐牢的時候，他就老是被人支來使去，他受夠了，現(xiàn)在又來了，而且支使他的是一只老鼠!不過。他偶然從帽架上的鏡子里，瞥見了自己的尊容，一頂褪色的黑色女帽，俏皮地歪扣在一只眼上，他立刻改變了主意，二話沒說，乖乖地上了樓，鉆進了河鼠的穿衣室。他徹頭徹尾洗刷了一遍，換了衣服，久久地站在鏡子跟前，沾沾自喜地欣賞著自己，心想，那幫家伙竟會錯把他當成一個洗衣婦，真是一群白癡!

By the time he came down again luncheon was on the table, and very glad Toad was to see it, for he had been through some trying experiences and had taken much hard exercise since the excellent breakfast provided for him by the gipsy. While they ate Toad told the Rat all his adventures, dwelling chiefly on his own cleverness, and presence of mind in emergencies, and cunning in tight places; and rather making out that he had been having a gay and highly-coloured experience. But the more he talked and boasted, the more grave and silent the Rat became.

他下樓時，午飯已經(jīng)擺在桌上。蟾蜍看見午飯，心里好高興，因為自吃過吉卜賽人那頓豐盛的早餐之后，他又經(jīng)歷了不少險情，消耗了大量的體力。吃午飯時，蟾蜍向河鼠敘述他的全部歷險，著重談他自己如何聰明機警，他在危急關頭如何從容鎮(zhèn)定，身處困境時如何機敏狡詰。他把這一切說得仿佛是一段輕松愉快豐富多采的奇遇。但他越是夸夸其談，河鼠就越是神情嚴肅，沉默不語。

When at last Toad had talked himself to a standstill, there was silence for a while; and then the Rat said, ‘Now, Toady, I don’t want to give you pain, after all you’ve been through already; but, seriously, don’t you see what an awful ass you’ve been making of yourself? On your own admission you have been handcuffed, imprisoned, starved, chased, terrified out of your life, insulted, jeered at, and ignominiously flung into the water—by a woman, too! Where’s the amusement in that? Where does the fun come in? And all because you must needs go and steal a motor-car. You know that you’ve never had anything but trouble from motor-cars from the moment you first set eyes on one. But if you WILL be mixed up with them—as you generally are, five minutes after you’ve started—why STEAL them? Be a cripple, if you think it’s exciting; be a bankrupt, for a change, if you’ve set your mind on it: but why choose to be a convict? When are you going to be sensible, and think of your friends, and try and be a credit to them? Do you suppose it’s any pleasure to me, for instance, to hear animals saying, as I go about, that I’m the chap that keeps company with gaol-birds?’

蟾蜍講呀講呀，終于打住了。接著是片刻的沉默，然后河鼠開腔了。“好了，老蟾，我本不想使你難過，不管怎么說，你吃過不少苦頭。不過，說老實話，難道你看不出，你把自己變成了一頭蠢驢嗎?你自己承認，你被捕入獄，挨餓受凍，受到追捕，嚇得死去活來，蒙受屈辱，遭到嘲弄，被扔進河里——而且是被一個女人!這有什么好玩的?哪來的樂趣?歸根到底，都因為你硬要去偷一輛汽車。你很清楚，打從你頭一眼見到汽車，除了不斷地惹禍，什么好處你也沒撈到。要是你非玩汽車不可——你向來就是這樣，只要玩開了頭，就上癮——那又何必去偷呢?要是你覺得殘廢了有趣，那就落個殘廢好啦。要是你想嘗嘗破產(chǎn)的滋味，那就去破一次產(chǎn)好啦。可為什么偏偏要去犯罪?你什么時候才變得明白些，替你的朋友們想想，為他們爭口氣?我出門在外。聽到別的動物在背后議論，說我的哥們是個罪犯，你想我會好受嗎?”

Now, it was a very comforting point in Toad’s character that he was a thoroughly good-hearted animal and never minded being jawed by those who were his real friends. And even when most set upon a thing, he was always able to see the other side of the question. So although, while the Rat was talking so seriously, he kept saying to himself mutinously, ‘But it WAS fun, though! Awful fun!’ and making strange suppressed noises inside him, k-i-ck-ck-ck, and poop-p-p, and other sounds resembling stifled snorts, or the opening of soda-water bottles, yet when the Rat had quite finished, he heaved a deep sigh and said, very nicely and humbly, ‘Quite right, Ratty! How SOUND you always are! Yes, I’ve been a conceited old ass, I can quite see that; but now I’m going to be a good Toad, and not do it any more. As for motor-cars, I’ve not been at all so keen about them since my last ducking in that river of yours. The fact is, while I was hanging on to the edge of your hole and getting my breath, I had a sudden idea—a really brilliant idea—connected with motor-boats—there, there! don’t take on so, old chap, and stamp, and upset things; it was only an idea, and we won’t talk any more about it now. We’ll have our coffee, AND a smoke, and a quiet chat, and then I’m going to stroll quietly down to Toad Hall, and get into clothes of my own, and set things going again on the old lines. I’ve had enough of adventures. I shall lead a quiet, steady, respectable life, pottering about my property, and improving it, and doing a little landscape gardening at times. There will always be a bit of dinner for my friends when they come to see me; and I shall keep a pony-chaise to jog about the country in, just as I used to in the good old days, before I got restless, and wanted to DO things.’

蟾蜍的性格，有一點是足以令人寬慰的，那就是，他確實是一只善良的動物，從不計較真正朋友的嘮叨數(shù)落。即使他執(zhí)迷于什么，他也能看到問題的另一面。在河鼠嚴厲地開導他時，他私下里還在嘟噥：“可那確實好玩，好玩得要命!”并且壓低了嗓門，發(fā)出一些古怪的噪音，克——克——克，噗——噗——噗，以及類似沉悶的鼾聲或者開汽水瓶的聲音。不過。當河鼠快要說完時。他卻深深嘆了口氣，非常溫和謙遜地說：“太對了。鼠兄!你的理由老是那么充足!是啊，我曾經(jīng)是一頭狂妄自大的蠢驢，這點我算明白了;不過現(xiàn)在我要做一只好蟾蜍，再也不干蠢事了。至于汽車嘛、自從我掉進你的河里以后，我對它已經(jīng)不大感興趣了。事實是，在我攀住你的洞口喘氣時，我忽然有了一個新的想法——一個絕妙的想法——是和汽船有關的——好啦，好啦!別發(fā)火，老伙計，別跺腳，留神打翻東西;這不過是個想法罷了，咱們現(xiàn)在不去談它。還是喝杯咖啡，抽支煙，安安靜靜聊會兒天，然后我就消消停停踱回我的蟾宮，換上我自己的衣服，讓一切都恢復老樣子。我冒險也冒夠了。我要過一種平平穩(wěn)穩(wěn)、安安逸逸、正正經(jīng)經(jīng)的生活，經(jīng)營經(jīng)營我的產(chǎn)業(yè)，作些改進;閑時栽花種草，美化環(huán)境。朋友們來，總會有飯菜招待。我要備一輛輕便馬車，乘上它去四鄉(xiāng)轉轉，就像過去那些好時光那樣，再不心浮意躁，總想胡作非為了。”

‘Stroll quietly down to Toad Hall?’ cried the Rat, greatly excited. ‘What are you talking about? Do you mean to say you haven’t HEARD?’

“消消停停踱回蟾宮?”河鼠激動地喊道。“瞧你說的!難道你沒聽說——”

‘Heard what?’ said Toad, turning rather pale. ‘Go on, Ratty! Quick! Don’t spare me! What haven’t I heard?’

“聽說什么?”蟾蜍說，臉色一下變白了，“說下去，鼠兄!快說呀!別怕我受不了!我沒聽說什么呀?”

‘Do you mean to tell me,’ shouted the Rat, thumping with his little fist upon the table, ‘that you’ve heard nothing about the Stoats and Weasels?’

“難道，”河鼠大聲喊道、小拳頭重重地敲著桌子，“你根本沒聽說過白鼬和黃鼠狼的事嗎?”

What, the Wild Wooders?’ cried Toad, trembling in every limb. ‘No, not a word! What have they been doing?’

“什么?是那些野林里的野獸?”蟾蜍喊道，渾身劇烈地發(fā)抖。“不，壓根兒沒聽說過!他們都干了些什么?”

‘—And how they’ve been and taken Toad Hall?’ continued the Rat.

“你不知道，他們強占了蟾官?”河鼠又說。

Toad leaned his elbows on the table, and his chin on his paws; and a large tear welled up in each of his eyes, overflowed and splashed on the table, plop! plop!

蟾蜍把胳臂肘支在桌上，兩爪托著腮。大滴的淚，泉水般涌 出眼眶，濺落在桌面上，噗!噗!

‘Go on, Ratty,’ he murmured presently; ‘tell me all. The worst is over. I am an animal again. I can bear it.’

“說下去，鼠兄，”過了一會，他說，“全都告訴我吧。最痛苦的時刻已經(jīng)過去，我緩過勁來了。我能挺得住。”

‘When you—got—into that—that—trouble of yours,’ said the Rat, slowly and impressively; ‘I mean, when you—disappeared from society for a time, over that misunderstanding about a—a machine, you know—‘

“自打你——遇上——那——那樁麻煩事以后，”河鼠緩慢而意味深長地說，“我是說，在你為了那樁汽車糾紛，很久沒在社交場合露面以后——”

Toad merely nodded.

蟾蜍只是點點頭。

‘Well, it was a good deal talked about down here, naturally,’ continued the Rat, ‘not only along the river-side, but even in the Wild Wood. Animals took sides, as always happens. The River-bankers stuck up for you, and said you had been infamously treated, and there was no justice to be had in the land nowadays. But the Wild Wood animals said hard things, and served you right, and it was time this sort of thing was stopped. And they got very cocky, and went about saying you were done for this time! You would never come back again, never, never!’

“呃，這一帶的人自然都議論紛紛，”河鼠接著說。“不光在沿河一帶，而且在野林里也一樣。動物們照例分成兩派。河上的動物都向著你，說你受到不公正的對待，說現(xiàn)如今國內毫無正義可言。可是野林動物卻說得很難聽，他們說，你是自作自受，罪有應得，現(xiàn)在是制止這類胡作非為的時候了。他們趾高氣揚，四下里散布說，這回你可完蛋了，再也回不來了!永遠回不來了!”

Toad nodded once more, keeping silence.

蟾蜍又點了點頭，仍舊一言不發(fā)。

‘That’s the sort of little beasts they are,’ the Rat went on. ‘But Mole and Badger, they stuck out, through thick and thin, that you would come back again soon, somehow. They didn’t know exactly how, but somehow!’

“那號小動物一貫是這樣的，”河鼠接著說。“可鼴鼠和獾卻不辭勞苦，到處宣傳說，你早晚會回來的。其實他們并不知道你怎樣回來，但是相信你總會有辦法回來的!”

Toad began to sit up in his chair again, and to smirk a little.

蟾蜍在椅子上坐直了身子，臉上浮現(xiàn)出一絲傻笑。

‘They argued from history,’ continued the Rat. ‘They said that no criminal laws had ever been known to prevail against cheek and plausibility such as yours, combined with the power of a long purse. So they arranged to move their things in to Toad Hall, and sleep there, and keep it aired, and have it all ready for you when you turned up. They didn’t guess what was going to happen, of course; still, they had their suspicions of the Wild Wood animals. Now I come to the most painful and tragic part of my story. One dark night—it was a VERY dark night, and blowing hard, too, and raining simply cats and dogs—a band of weasels, armed to the teeth, crept silently up the carriage-drive to the front entrance. Simultaneously, a body of desperate ferrets, advancing through the kitchen-garden, possessed themselves of the backyard and offices; while a company of skirmishing stoats who stuck at nothing occupied the conservatory and the billiard-room, and held the French windows opening on to the lawn.

“他們根據(jù)歷史事實來論證，”河鼠繼續(xù)說。“他們說，像你這樣一個沒臉沒皮、伶牙俐齒的動物，外加錢袋的力量，沒有一條刑法能給你定罪。所以，他倆把自己的鋪蓋搬進蟾宮，就睡在那兒，經(jīng)常打開門窗通通風，一切準備停當，只等你回來。當然，他們沒有預計到后來發(fā)生的事，不過他們總是不放心那些野林動物。現(xiàn)在，我要講到最痛苦最悲慘的一段了。在一個漆黑的夜里，刮著狂風，下著瓢潑大雨，一幫子黃鼠狼，全副武裝。偷偷從大車道爬到大門口。同時，一群窮兇極惡的雪貂，打菜園子那頭偷襲上來;占領了后院和下房，還有一伙吵吵鬧鬧肆無忌憚的白鼬，占領了暖房和彈子房，把守了面對草坪的法式長窗。

‘The Mole and the Badger were sitting by the fire in the smoking-room, telling stories and suspecting nothing, for it wasn’t a night for any animals to be out in, when those bloodthirsty villains broke down the doors and rushed in upon them from every side. They made the best fight they could, but what was the good? They were unarmed, and taken by surprise, and what can two animals do against hundreds? They took and beat them severely with sticks, those two poor faithful creatures, and turned them out into the cold and the wet, with many insulting and uncalled-for remarks!’

“鼴鼠和獾當時正在吸煙室，坐在爐旁談天說地，對要發(fā)生的事沒有絲毫預感，因為那夜天氣惡劣，動物們一般是不會外出活動的。冷不防，那些殘暴的家伙竟破門而入，從四面八方撲向他們。他們奮力抵抗，可那又管什么用?兩只手無寸鐵的動物，怎么對付得了幾百只動物的突然襲擊?那些家伙抓住這兩個可憐的忠實的動物，用棍子狠打，嘴里還罵著不堪入耳的臟話，把他們趕到風雨交加的冰冷的屋外。”

Here the unfeeling Toad broke into a snigger, and then pulled himself together and tried to look particularly solemn.

聽到這里，沒心肝的蟾蜍居然偷偷地噗嗤笑了出來，跟著又斂容正色，做出特別莊重嚴肅的樣子。

‘And the Wild Wooders have been living in Toad Hall ever since,’ continued the Rat; ‘and going on simply anyhow! Lying in bed half the day, and breakfast at all hours, and the place in such a mess (I’m told) it’s not fit to be seen! Eating your grub, and drinking your drink, and making bad jokes about you, and singing vulgar songs, about—well, about prisons and magistrates, and policemen; horrid personal songs, with no humour in them. And they’re telling the tradespeople and everybody that they’ve come to stay for good.’

“打那以后，那些野林動物就在蟾宮住了下來，”河鼠接著說，“他們?yōu)樗麨?。白天賴床睡懶覺，一躺就是半天，整天隨時隨地吃早餐。聽說，那地方給糟踐得一塌糊涂，簡直看不得了!吃你的，喝你的，給你編派難聽的笑話，唱粗鄙下流的歌——呃，什么監(jiān)獄啦，縣官啦，警察啦，無聊透頂?shù)牧R人的歌，一點也不幽默。而且，他們還對買賣人和所有的人揚言，要在蟾宮永久住下去啦。”

‘O, have they!’ said Toad getting up and seizing a stick. ‘I’ll jolly soon see about that!’

“他們敢!”蟾蜍說，站起來，抓住一根棍子，“我馬上就去教訓他們!”

‘It’s no good, Toad!’ called the Rat after him. ‘You’d better come back and sit down; you’ll only get into trouble.’

“沒有用。蟾蜍!”河鼠沖他后背喊道，“你給我回來，坐下;你只會惹禍的。”’

But the Toad was off, and there was no holding him. He marched rapidly down the road, his stick over his shoulder, fuming and muttering to himself in his anger, till he got near his front gate, when suddenly there popped up from behind the palings a long yellow ferret with a gun.

可是蟾蜍已經(jīng)走啦，喊也喊不回來。他快步向大路走去，棍子扛在肩上，忿忿地噴著口沫，嘴里咕噥著，罵罵咧咧，徑直來到蟾宮大門前。突然，從柵欄后面鉆出一只腰身長長的黃色雪貂，手握一桿槍。

‘Who comes there?’ said the ferret sharply.

“來者是何人?”雪貂厲聲問道。

‘Stuff and nonsense!’ said Toad, very angrily. ‘What do you mean by talking like that to me? Come out of that at once, or I’ll----‘

“廢話!”蟾蜍怒氣沖沖地說。“你竟敢對我出言不遜?快滾開，要不，我——”

The ferret said never a word, but he brought his gun up to his shoulder. Toad prudently dropped flat in the road, and BANG! a bullet whistled over his head.

雪貂二話不說，把槍舉到肩頭。蟾蜍提防著臥倒在地上。砰!一顆子彈從他頭上呼嘯而過。

The startled Toad scrambled to his feet and scampered off down the road as hard as he could; and as he ran he heard the ferret laughing and other horrid thin little laughs taking it up and carrying on the sound.

蟾蜍嚇了一跳，蹦了起來。拔腿就跑，順著來路拼命奔逃。他聽見那雪貂的狂笑，跟著還有另一些可怕的尖笑聲。

He went back, very crestfallen, and told the Water Rat.

他垂頭喪氣地回來，把經(jīng)過告訴了河鼠。

‘What did I tell you?’ said the Rat. ‘It’s no good. They’ve got sentries posted, and they are all armed. You must just wait.’

“我不是跟你說過嗎?”河鼠說。“那沒有用。他們設了崗哨，而且全都有武器。你必須等待。”

Still, Toad was not inclined to give in all at once. So he got out the boat, and set off rowing up the river to where the garden front of Toad Hall came down to the waterside.

不過，蟾蜍還是不甘心就此罷休。他把船駕了出來，向河上游劃去。蟾宮的花園，就延伸到河邊。

Arriving within sight of his old home, he rested on his oars and surveyed the land cautiously. All seemed very peaceful and deserted and quiet. He could see the whole front of Toad Hall, glowing in the evening sunshine, the pigeons settling by twos and threes along the straight line of the roof; the garden, a blaze of flowers; the creek that led up to the boat-house, the little wooden bridge that crossed it; all tranquil, uninhabited, apparently waiting for his return. He would try the boat-house first, he thought. Very warily he paddled up to the mouth of the creek, and was just passing under the bridge, when . . . CRASH!

他劃到能夠看見老宅的地方，伏在槳上仔細觀察。一切都顯得非常寧靜，空無一人。他看到蟾宮的整個正面，在夕照下發(fā)亮;沿著筆直的屋檐棲息著三三兩兩的鴿子;花園里百花怒放;通向船塢的小河汊，橫跨河汊的小木橋，全都靜悄悄，不見人影，似乎在期待他的歸來。他想先進船塢試試。他小小翼翼地劃進小河汊，剛要從橋下鉆過去，只聽得——轟隆!

A great stone, dropped from above, smashed through the bottom of the boat. It filled and sank, and Toad found himself struggling in deep water. Looking up, he saw two stoats leaning over the parapet of the bridge and watching him with great glee. ‘It will be your head next time, Toady!’ they called out to him. The indignant Toad swam to shore, while the stoats laughed and laughed, supporting each other, and laughed again, till they nearly had two fits—that is, one fit each, of course.

一塊大石頭從橋上落下來，砸穿了船底。船里灌滿了水，沉了下去。蟾蜍在深水里掙扎。他抬頭看，只見兩只白鼬從橋欄桿上探出身來，樂不可支地瞅著他，沖他嚷道：“下回該輪到你的腦袋了，癩蛤蟆!”氣忿的蟾蜍向岸邊游去，兩只白鼬哈哈大笑，笑得抱成一團，跟著又放聲大笑，笑得幾乎暈過去兩次——當然是一只白鼬一次。

The Toad retraced his weary way on foot, and related his disappointing experiences to the Water Rat once more.

蟾蜍沒精打采地走著回去，又一次把這令人失望的經(jīng)歷告訴河鼠。

‘Well, WHAT did I tell you?’ said the Rat very crossly. ‘And, now, look here! See what you’ve been and done! Lost me my boat that I was so fond of, that’s what you’ve done! And simply ruined that nice suit of clothes that I lent you! Really, Toad, of all the trying animals—I wonder you manage to keep any friends at all!’

“哼，我怎么跟你說的?”河鼠十分氣惱地說。“現(xiàn)在，你瞧你!你是個什么東西，干的什么好事!把我心愛的船給弄沒了，這就是你干的!把我借給你的漂亮衣服給毀了!說實在的，蟾蜍你這個動物叫人傷透腦筋了——真不知道。誰還愿意跟你做朋友!”

The Toad saw at once how wrongly and foolishly he had acted. He admitted his errors and wrong-headedness and made a full apology to Rat for losing his boat and spoiling his clothes. And he wound up by saying, with that frank self-surrender which always disarmed his friend’s criticism and won them back to his side, ‘Ratty! I see that I have been a headstrong and a wilful Toad! Henceforth, believe me, I will be humble and submissive, and will take no action without your kind advice and full approval!’

蟾蜍立刻看到，他的所作所為是大錯特錯，愚蠢透頂了。他承認自己的過失和糊涂，為了弄丟河鼠的船，弄壞了他的衣服，他向河鼠深深道歉。他坦率的認錯態(tài)度，往往會軟化朋友們的批評。博得他們的諒解。他就用這種口氣對河鼠說：“鼠兄!我知道，我是個魯莽任性的家伙!請相信我，從今往后，我要變得謙卑順從，不經(jīng)你善意的勸告和充分的贊同，我絕不采取任何行動!”

‘If that is really so,’ said the good-natured Rat, already appeased, ‘then my advice to you is, considering the lateness of the hour, to sit down and have your supper, which will be on the table in a minute, and be very patient. For I am convinced that we can do nothing until we have seen the Mole and the Badger, and heard their latest news, and held conference and taken their advice in this difficult matter.’

性情溫和的河鼠已經(jīng)心平氣和了，他說：“如果真能這樣，那我就勸你，現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)晚了，你坐下來吃晚飯——再過一會兒，晚飯就擺上桌了——耐著性子。因為我認為，咱倆現(xiàn)在是無能為力，要等見到鼴鼠和獾以后再說。聽聽他們講最近的情況，商量一下，看他們對這件棘手事兒有什么高招。”

‘Oh, ah, yes, of course, the Mole and the Badger,’ said Toad, lightly. ‘What’s become of them, the dear fellows? I had forgotten all about them.’

“噢，哦，是呀，那當然。鼴鼠和獾，”蟾蜍輕輕地說。“這兩位親愛的朋友，他們現(xiàn)在怎么樣?我把他們全忘啦。”

‘Well may you ask!’ said the Rat reproachfully. ‘While you were riding about the country in expensive motor-cars, and galloping proudly on blood-horses, and breakfasting on the fat of the land, those two poor devoted animals have been camping out in the open, in every sort of weather, living very rough by day and lying very hard by night; watching over your house, patrolling your boundaries, keeping a constant eye on the stoats and the weasels, scheming and planning and contriving how to get your property back for you. You don’t deserve to have such true and loyal friends, Toad, you don’t, really. Some day, when it’s too late, you’ll be sorry you didn’t value them more while you had them!’

“虧你還問一聲!”河鼠責備他說。“在你開著豪華汽車滿世界兜風，騎著駿馬得意地奔馳，吃喝享用天下的美食時，那兩個可憐的忠實朋友卻不管天晴下雨，都露宿在野外，天天吃粗食，夜夜睡硬鋪，替你守著房子.巡邏地界，隨時隨地監(jiān)視那些白鼬和黃鼠狼。絞盡腦汁籌劃怎樣替你奪回財產(chǎn)。這樣真誠忠實的朋友，你不配。真的，蟾蜍，你不配?？傆幸惶?，你會懊悔當初沒有珍惜他們 的友情，到那時，悔之晚矣!”

‘I’m an ungrateful beast, I know,’ sobbed Toad, shedding bitter tears. ‘Let me go out and find them, out into the cold, dark night, and share their hardships, and try and prove by----Hold on a bit! Surely I heard the chink of dishes on a tray! Supper’s here at last, hooray! Come on, Ratty!’

“我是個忘恩負義的畜牲，我知道，”蟾蜍抽泣著說，流下了傷心的眼淚。“我這就找他們去，在冰冷漆黑的夜里出去找他們，分擔他們的疾苦，我要證明——等一等，沒錯，我聽到茶盤上碗碟的丁當聲!晚飯到底來了，烏啦!來呀，鼠兄!”

The Rat remembered that poor Toad had been on prison fare for a considerable time, and that large allowances had therefore to be made. He followed him to the table accordingly, and hospitably encouraged him in his gallant efforts to make up for past privations.

河鼠記得，可憐的蟾蜍有好長時間吃監(jiān)獄的飯食，所以需要多為他準備些飯菜。于是他跟著蟾蜍坐到餐桌旁，殷勤地勸他多吃，好補上前些時的虧損。

They had just finished their meal and resumed their arm-chairs, when there came a heavy knock at the door.

他們剛吃完，坐到圈椅上，就聽見大門上重重的一聲敲擊。

Toad was nervous, but the Rat, nodding mysteriously at him, went straight up to the door and opened it, and in walked Mr. Badger.

蟾蜍立時緊張起來，可是河鼠詭秘地沖他點點頭，徑直走到門口，打開門。進來的是獾先生。

He had all the appearance of one who for some nights had been kept away from home and all its little comforts and conveniences. His shoes were covered with mud, and he was looking very rough and touzled; but then he had never been a very smart man, the Badger, at the best of times. He came solemnly up to Toad, shook him by the paw, and said, ‘Welcome home, Toad! Alas! what am I saying? Home, indeed! This is a poor home-coming. Unhappy Toad!’ Then he turned his back on him, sat down to the table, drew his chair up, and helped himself to a large slice of cold pie.

獾的那副模樣，看上去足足有幾夜沒有回家，得不到家中的小小舒適和方便。他鞋上滿是泥，衣著不整，毛發(fā)蓬亂。不過，即便在最體面的時候，獾也不是個十分講究儀表的動物。他神態(tài)肅穆地走到蟾蜍跟前，伸出爪子和他握手，說道：“歡迎回家來，蟾蜍!瞧我都說些什么?還說什么家!這次回家可真夠慘的。不幸的蟾蜍!”說罷，他轉過身坐到餐桌旁，拉攏椅子，切了一大塊冷餡餅，吃起來。

Toad was quite alarmed at this very serious and portentous style of greeting; but the Rat whispered to him, ‘Never mind; don’t take any notice; and don’t say anything to him just yet. He’s always rather low and despondent when he’s wanting his victuals. In half an hour’s time he’ll be quite a different animal.’

這樣一種極其嚴肅又吉兇未卜的歡迎方式，使蟾蜍感到忐忑不安?？墒呛邮笄那膶λf：“沒關系、別在意;暫且什么也別跟他說。他在缺食的時候、總是情緒低落、沒精打采的。過半個鐘頭，他就會換了一副模樣。”

So they waited in silence, and presently there came another and a lighter knock. The Rat, with a nod to Toad, went to the door and ushered in the Mole, very shabby and unwashed, with bits of hay and straw sticking in his fur.

于是他們默不作聲地等著，不一會。又響起了一下較輕的敲門聲。河鼠沖蟾蜍點點頭，走去開門，迎進來鼴鼠。鼴鼠也是衣衫破舊，沒有洗刷，毛上還沾著些草屑。

‘Hooray! Here’s old Toad!’ cried the Mole, his face beaming. ‘Fancy having you back again!’ And he began to dance round him. ‘We never dreamt you would turn up so soon! Why, you must have managed to escape, you clever, ingenious, intelligent Toad!’

“啊哈!這不是小蟾兒嗎!”鼴鼠喜不自勝地喊道。“沒想到你居然回來了!”他圍著蟾蜍跳起舞來。“我們壓根兒想不到，你回來得這么快!一定是逃出來的吧，你這聰明、機靈的蟾蜍!”

The Rat, alarmed, pulled him by the elbow; but it was too late. Toad was puffing and swelling already.

河鼠忙拽了拽他的袖子，可是晚了。蟾蜍又挺胸鼓肚吹起牛來。

‘Clever? O, no!’ he said. ‘I’m not really clever, according to my friends. I’ve only broken out of the strongest prison in England, that’s all! And captured a railway train and escaped on it, that’s all! And disguised myself and gone about the country humbugging everybody, that’s all! O, no! I’m a stupid ass, I am! I’ll tell you one or two of my little adventures, Mole, and you shall judge for yourself!’

“聰明?哪里哪里!”他說，“我其實并不聰明，我的朋友們都不認為我聰明。我只不過是越獄，逃出了英國最堅固的監(jiān)牢，如此而已!只不過搭上一列火車，乘車逃之夭夭。如此而已!只不過喬裝了一下。在鄉(xiāng)間轉游，瞞過了所有的人。如此而已!不不!我不聰明。我是一頭蠢驢，是的!我給你講講我的一兩段小小歷險記，你自己來判斷好了!”

‘Well, well,’ said the Mole, moving towards the supper-table; ‘supposing you talk while I eat. Not a bite since breakfast! O my! O my!’ And he sat down and helped himself liberally to cold beef and pickles.

“好吧，好吧，”鼴鼠說著，向餐桌走去，“我一邊吃，一邊聽你講好嗎?打早飯以后，一口東西都沒進肚啦!真夠嗆!真夠嗆!”他坐下來，隨意吃著冷牛肉和酸泡菜。

Toad straddled on the hearth-rug, thrust his paw into his trouser-pocket and pulled out a handful of silver. ‘Look at that!’ he cried, displaying it. ‘That’s not so bad, is it, for a few minutes’ work? And how do you think I done it, Mole? Horse-dealing! That’s how I done it!’

蟾蜍兩腿叉開站在爐毯上，爪子伸進褲兜，掏出一把銀幣。“瞧這個!”他大聲說。賣弄著手里的銀幣。“幾分鐘就搞到這么多，不賴吧?鼴鼠，你猜我是怎么搞到的?賣馬，就是這樣!”

‘Go on, Toad,’ said the Mole, immensely interested.

“講下去，蟾蜍，”鼴鼠說，他很感興趣。

‘Toad, do be quiet, please!’ said the Rat. ‘And don’t you egg him on, Mole, when you know what he is; but please tell us as soon as possible what the position is, and what’s best to be done, now that Toad is back at last.’

“蟾蜍，安靜些吧，求你!”河鼠說。“鼴鼠。別慫恿他講下去，他的毛病，你不是不知道。既然現(xiàn)在蟾蜍回來了，請趕快告訴我們，目前情況如何。咱們該怎么辦。”

‘The position’s about as bad as it can be,’ replied the Mole grumpily; ‘and as for what’s to be done, why, blest if I know! The Badger and I have been round and round the place, by night and by day; always the same thing. Sentries posted everywhere, guns poked out at us, stones thrown at us; always an animal on the look-out, and when they see us, my! how they do laugh! That’s what annoys me most!’

“情況嘛。簡直糟透了。”鼴鼠氣呼呼地說。“至于該怎么辦，鬼曉得!獾和我沒日沒夜圍著那地方轉，情況始終一樣_到處都布了崗哨，槍口對準了我們，朝我們扔石頭;隨時隨地都有一只動物在盯望。一看到我們，好家伙，你聽聽他們那個笑!那是最叫我惱火的了!”

‘It’s a very difficult situation,’ said the Rat, reflecting deeply. ‘But I think I see now, in the depths of my mind, what Toad really ought to do. I will tell you. He ought to----‘

“情況的確很不妙，”河鼠深深地沉思著，“不過我認為，我現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)明白，蟾蜍該干什么。我說，他應該——”

‘No, he oughtn’t!’ shouted the Mole, with his mouth full. ‘Nothing of the sort! You don’t understand. What he ought to do is, he ought to----‘

“不，他不應該!”鼴鼠嘴里塞得滿滿的，大聲喊道。“那絕對不行!你不明白。他該干的是——”

‘Well, I shan’t do it, anyway!’ cried Toad, getting excited. ‘I’m not going to be ordered about by you fellows! It’s my house we’re talking about, and I know exactly what to do, and I’ll tell you. I’m going to----‘

“哼，不管怎么說，那個我不干!”蟾蜍激動地喊道。“我才不聽你們這些人調遣吶!現(xiàn)在談論的是我的房子，該干什么，我自己清楚。我告訴你們，我要——”

By this time they were all three talking at once, at the top of their voices, and the noise was simply deafening, when a thin, dry voice made itself heard, saying, ‘Be quiet at once, all of you!’ and instantly every one was silent.

他們三個一齊扯開嗓門兒說話，吵鬧聲震耳欲聾。這當兒，只聽得一個尖細的、干巴巴的聲音說：“你們全都肅靜!”霎時間，房里鴉雀無聲。

It was the Badger, who, having finished his pie, had turned round in his chair and was looking at them severely. When he saw that he had secured their attention, and that they were evidently waiting for him to address them, he turned back to the table again and reached out for the cheese. And so great was the respect commanded by the solid qualities of that admirable animal, that not another word was uttered until he had quite finished his repast and brushed the crumbs from his knees. The Toad fidgeted a good deal, but the Rat held him firmly down.

說話的是獾。他剛吃完餡餅，在椅子上轉過身來，嚴厲地望著他們三個?？吹剿麄兌荚谧⒁饴?，在等他發(fā)話時，他卻掉轉身去伸手取酪干。這位穩(wěn)重可靠的動物在伙伴們當中享有很高的威望。他們再也不吭聲，一直等他吃完酪干。撣掉膝上的碎屑。蟾蜍一個勁扭來扭去，躁動不寧，河鼠牢牢地把他按住。

When the Badger had quite done, he got up from his seat and stood before the fireplace, reflecting deeply. At last he spoke.

獾吃完后，站起來，走到壁爐前，凝神思索。然后，他開腔了。

‘Toad!’ he said severely. ‘You bad, troublesome little animal! Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? What do you think your father, my old friend, would have said if he had been here to-night, and had known of all your goings on?’

“蟾蜍!”他聲色俱厲地說。“你這個調皮的小壞蛋!難道你不覺得害臊嗎?你想想，要是你的父親、我的那位老朋友今晚在這里，知道你都干了些什么，他會怎么說?”

Toad, who was on the sofa by this time, with his legs up, rolled over on his face, shaken by sobs of contrition.

蟾蜍正翹腿倚在沙發(fā)上，聽到這話，側身掩面，全身抖動，痛悔地抽泣起來。

‘There, there!’ went on the Badger, more kindly. ‘Never mind. Stop crying. We’re going to let bygones be bygones, and try and turn over a new leaf. But what the Mole says is quite true. The stoats are on guard, at every point, and they make the best sentinels in the world. It’s quite useless to think of attacking the place. They’re too strong for us.’

“算啦，算啦!”獾接著說，語氣稍為溫和些。“沒關系，別哭啦。既往不咎，從新開始吧，不過鼴鼠說的全是實情。白鼬們步步為營，而且他們是世上最精良的衛(wèi)兵。正面進攻是絕對辦不到的。咱們寡不敵眾。”

‘Then it’s all over,’ sobbed the Toad, crying into the sofa cushions. ‘I shall go and enlist for a soldier, and never see my dear Toad Hall any more!’

“這么說，一切都完啦，”蟾蜍哽咽著說，把頭埋在沙發(fā)靠墊里，痛哭起來。“我要報名當兵去，永不再見我親愛的蟾宮了。”

‘Come, cheer up, Toady!’ said the Badger. ‘There are more ways of getting back a place than taking it by storm. I haven’t said my last word yet. Now I’m going to tell you a great secret.’

“好啦好啦，小蟾兒，打起精神來!”獾說。“要收復一個地方，除了大舉進攻，還有別的一些辦法。我活還沒說完吶?，F(xiàn)在，我要告訴你們一個大秘密。”

Toad sat up slowly and dried his eyes. Secrets had an immense attraction for him, because he never could keep one, and he enjoyed the sort of unhallowed thrill he experienced when he went and told another animal, after having faithfully promised not to.

蟾蜍慢慢地坐起來，擦干了眼淚。秘密對他總是有極大的吸引力，這是因為他從來保守不住任何秘密。每當他忠實地保證絕不泄密以后，他就把秘密告訴另一個動物。這種有罪的興奮感，是他最喜歡的。

‘There—is—an—underground—passage,’ said the Badger, impressively, ‘that leads from the river-bank, quite near here, right up into the middle of Toad Hall.’

“有——一條——地下——通道，”獾一字一頓意味深長地說，“從離我們這里不遠的河邊，一直通到蟾宮的中心。”

‘O, nonsense! Badger,’ said Toad, rather airily. ‘You’ve been listening to some of the yarns they spin in the public-houses about here. I know every inch of Toad Hall, inside and out. Nothing of the sort, I do assure you!’

“誰說的，獾，沒有的事!”蟾蜍頗為得意地說。“你是聽信了酒店里那些人胡編亂謅的話。蟾宮的里里外外，每一寸地方，我都了如指掌。我敢向你保證，根本沒有什么地下通道。”

‘My young friend,’ said the Badger, with great severity, ‘your father, who was a worthy animal—a lot worthier than some others I know—was a particular friend of mine, and told me a great deal he wouldn’t have dreamt of telling you. He discovered that passage—he didn’t make it, of course; that was done hundreds of years before he ever came to live there—and he repaired it and cleaned it out, because he thought it might come in useful some day, in case of trouble or danger; and he showed it to me. “Don’t let my son know about it,” he said. “He’s a good boy, but very light and volatile in character, and simply cannot hold his tongue. If he’s ever in a real fix, and it would be of use to him, you may tell him about the secret passage; but not before.”’

“我的年輕朋友，”獾非常嚴肅認真地說，“你的父親，他是一位德高望重的動物——比我所認識的其他動物都要高尚。他和我是至交，曾經(jīng)把他不愿讓你知道的許多事告訴過我。他發(fā)現(xiàn)了那條通道——當然，不是他挖的;那是早在他來這里幾百年以前就存在的——他把它修整了，清掃了。因為他想，也許有朝一日，遇到危難時，能派上用場。他領我去看過。他對我說：“別讓我兒子知道，他倒是個好孩子，只是太輕浮，不穩(wěn)重，嘴巴把不住關。要是日后他真的遇到麻煩，而用得上通道時，再告訴他，但事先不要告訴他。”

The other animals looked hard at Toad to see how he would take it. Toad was inclined to be sulky at first; but he brightened up immediately, like the good fellow he was.

河鼠和鼴鼠盯著蟾蜍瞧，看他如何反應。蟾蜍起初有點惱意，可是很快就面露喜色。他就是這么一只脾氣隨和的動物。

‘Well, well,’ he said; ‘perhaps I am a bit of a talker. A popular fellow such as I am—my friends get round me—we chaff, we sparkle, we tell witty stories—and somehow my tongue gets wagging. I have the gift of conversation. I’ve been told I ought to have a salon, whatever that may be. Never mind. Go on, Badger. How’s this passage of yours going to help us?’

“是啊，是啊，”他說。“也許我是有點多嘴多舌。我交游這么廣，朋友們老是圍著我轉.一塊兒開玩笑，說俏皮話，講幽默故事，我就免不了有時多說兩句。誰叫我天生有口才呢。人家說，我應該主持一個沙龍。先不說那個。講下去，獾。你的這條通道，對我們有什么用?”

‘I’ve found out a thing or two lately,’ continued the Badger. ‘I got Otter to disguise himself as a sweep and call at the back-door with brushes over his shoulder, asking for a job. There’s going to be a big banquet to-morrow night. It’s somebody’s birthday—the Chief Weasel’s, I believe—and all the weasels will be gathered together in the dining-hall, eating and drinking and laughing and carrying on, suspecting nothing. No guns, no swords, no sticks, no arms of any sort whatever!’

“最近我查訪到一兩個情況。”獾接著說。“我叫水獺冒充掃煙囪的，扛著笤帚，到后門口去討活干。他了解到。明天晚上。蟾宮里要舉行一個盛大的宴會，給什么人——大概是給那個黃鼠狼頭頭——做壽，所有的黃鼠狼都要聚集在宴會廳里，吃喝玩樂窮開心。要鬧很長時間。刀劍、棍棒，任何一件武器都不會帶!”

‘But the sentinels will be posted as usual,’ remarked the Rat.

“可崗哨還會照樣布置呀?”河鼠提醒說。

‘Exactly,’ said the Badger; ‘that is my point. The weasels will trust entirely to their excellent sentinels. And that is where the passage comes in. That very useful tunnel leads right up under the butler’s pantry, next to the dining-hall!’

“對，”獾說，“這正是我想到的。黃鼠狼們完全信賴他們的那些精良的哨兵。所以，那條通道就派上用場了。那條極有用的地道，正好直通宴會廳隔壁的配膳室的地板底下!”

‘Aha! that squeaky board in the butler’s pantry!’ said Toad. ‘Now I understand it!’

“啊哈!配膳室地上有塊嘎吱吱響的地板!”蟾蜍說。“現(xiàn)在我全明白了!”

‘We shall creep out quietly into the butler’s pantry—‘ cried the Mole.

“咱們可以偷偷爬進配膳室——”鼴鼠喊道。

‘—with our pistols and swords and sticks—‘ shouted the Rat.

“帶上手槍、刀劍和棍棒——”河鼠嚷道。

‘—and rush in upon them,’ said the Badger.

“——沖進去，直撲他們，”獾說。

‘—and whack ‘em, and whack ‘em, and whack ‘em!’ cried the Toad in ecstasy, running round and round the room, and jumping over the chairs.

“——把他們痛打一通，痛打一通，痛打一通!”蟾蜍喜不自勝地大喊，在房間里兜著圈兒跑。從一張椅子跳到另一張椅子。

‘Very well, then,’ said the Badger, resuming his usual dry manner, ‘our plan is settled, and there’s nothing more for you to argue and squabble about. So, as it’s getting very late, all of you go right off to bed at once. We will make all the necessary arrangements in the course of the morning to-morrow.’

“那好，”獾說，又回到他一貫的干巴巴的態(tài)度，“咱們的方案就這么定了，你們再也無需爭吵了?，F(xiàn)在夜已深，你們都睡覺去。明天上午咱們再作必要的安排。”

Toad, of course, went off to bed dutifully with the rest—he knew better than to refuse—though he was feeling much too excited to sleep. But he had had a long day, with many events crowded into it; and sheets and blankets were very friendly and comforting things, after plain straw, and not too much of it, spread on the stone floor of a draughty cell; and his head had not been many seconds on his pillow before he was snoring happily. Naturally, he dreamt a good deal; about roads that ran away from him just when he wanted them, and canals that chased him and caught him, and a barge that sailed into the banqueting-hall with his week’s washing, just as he was giving a dinner-party; and he was alone in the secret passage, pushing onwards, but it twisted and turned round and shook itself, and sat up on its end; yet somehow, at the last, he found himself back in Toad Hall, safe and triumphant, with all his friends gathered round about him, earnestly assuring him that he really was a clever Toad.

蟾蜍自然也乖乖地跟著那兩個上床去了——他知道拒絕是沒用的——盡管他太興奮了，毫無睡意。不過，他度過了一個漫長的白天，經(jīng)歷了成堆的事兒，床單被褥畢竟是非常親切舒適的東西。何況不久前，他還在陰冷潮濕的地牢石板地上的稻草堆里睡過。所以，腦袋一沾枕頭。他就幸福地打起鼾來。自然，他做了許多許多夢;夢見他正需要道路時，道路都從身邊溜走了;夢見水渠在后面追他，并且抓住了他;夢見他正在大擺宴席，一只拖船駛進了宴會廳，船上滿載著他一周要洗的臟衣服;夢見他孤零零一人在秘密通道里跋涉，那通道忽然扭曲了，轉過身來，搖晃著坐直了。不過，末末了，他到底還是平安勝利地回到了蟾宮，所有的朋友都圍在身邊。熱情洋溢地贊揚說，他的確是一只聰明的蟾蜍。

He slept till a late hour next morning, and by the time he got down he found that the other animals had finished their breakfast some time before. The Mole had slipped off somewhere by himself, without telling any one where he was going to. The Badger sat in the arm-chair, reading the paper, and not concerning himself in the slightest about what was going to happen that very evening. The Rat, on the other hand, was running round the room busily, with his arms full of weapons of every kind, distributing them in four little heaps on the floor, and saying excitedly under his breath, as he ran, ‘Here’s-a-sword-for-the-Rat, here’s-a-sword-for-the Mole, here’s-a-sword-for-the-Toad, here’s-a-sword-for-the-Badger!Here’s-a-pistol-for-the-Rat, here’s-a-pistol-for-the-Mole, here’s-a-pistol-for-the-Toad, here’s-a-pistol-for-the-Badger!’ And so on, in a regular, rhythmical way, while the four little heaps gradually grew and grew.

第二天早上，他起床很遲，下樓時，發(fā)現(xiàn)別人都吃過早飯了。鼴鼠自個兒溜了出去，沒說要上哪兒。獾坐在圈椅上看報，對晚上要發(fā)生的事，半點也不關心。河鼠呢，卻在屋里來回奔忙，懷里抱著各種各樣的武器、在地上把它們分成四小堆，一邊跑，一邊上氣不接下氣興奮地說：“這把劍給河鼠，這把給鼴鼠，這把給蟾蜍，這把給獾!這支手槍給河鼠，這支給鼴鼠，這支給蟾蜍，這支給獾!”等等，等等，說得有板有眼，那四小堆就越長越高了。

‘That’s all very well, Rat,’ said the Badger presently, looking at the busy little animal over the edge of his newspaper; ‘I’m not blaming you. But just let us once get past the stoats, with those detestable guns of theirs, and I assure you we shan’t want any swords or pistols. We four, with our sticks, once we’re inside the dining-hall, why, we shall clear the floor of all the lot of them in five minutes. I’d have done the whole thing by myself, only I didn’t want to deprive you fellows of the fun!’

“你干得好倒是好，河鼠，”獾從報紙上抬眼望著那只忙碌的小動物;“我并不想責怪你。不過咱們這回是要繞開白鼬和他們的那些可惡的槍械。我斷定，咱們用不著什么刀槍之類。咱們四個，一人一根棍子，只要進了宴會廳，不消五分鐘，就能把他們全部清除干凈。其實我一個人就能包下來，不過我不愿剝奪你們幾個的樂子!”

‘It’s as well to be on the safe side,’ said the Rat reflectively, polishing a pistol-barrel on his sleeve and looking along it.

“保險點總沒壞處吧，”河鼠沉吟著說，他把一支槍筒在袖子上擦得锃亮，順著槍管察看。

The Toad, having finished his breakfast, picked up a stout stick and swung it vigorously, belabouring imaginary animals. ‘I’ll learn ‘em to steal my house!’ he cried. ‘I’ll learn ‘em, I’ll learn ‘em!’

蟾蜍吃完早飯，拾起一根粗棍，使勁掄著，痛打想象中的敵人。“叫他們搶我的房子!”他喊道，“我要學習他們，我要學習他們!”

‘Don’t say “learn ‘em,” Toad,’ said the Rat, greatly shocked. ‘It’s not good English.’

“別說‘學習他們’，蟾蜍，”河鼠大為震驚地說。“這不是地道的英語。”

‘What are you always nagging at Toad for?’ inquired the Badger, rather peevishly. ‘What’s the matter with his English? It’s the same what I use myself, and if it’s good enough for me, it ought to be good enough for you!’

“你干嗎老是挑蟾蜍的刺兒?”獾老大不高興地說。“他的英語又怎么啦?我自己就那么說。要是我認為沒問題，你也應該認為沒問題!”。

‘I’m very sorry,’ said the Rat humbly. ‘Only I THINK it ought to be “teach ‘em,” not “learn ‘em.”’

“對不起，”河鼠謙恭地說。“我只是覺得，應該說‘教訓’他們，而不是‘學習’他們”①

‘But we don’t WANT to teach ‘em,’ replied the Badger. ‘We want to LEARN ‘em—learn ‘em, learn ‘em! And what’s more, we’re going to DO it, too!’

“可我們并不要‘教訓’他們，”獾回答說。“我們就是要‘學習’他們——學習他們，學習他們!再說，我們正是要這樣去做呀!”①蟾蜍和獾的英語用詞不當，把teach(教訓)說成了learn(學習)。——譯注

‘Oh, very well, have it your own way,’ said the Rat. He was getting rather muddled about it himself, and presently he retired into a corner, where he could be heard muttering, ‘Learn ‘em, teach ‘em, teach ‘em, learn ‘em!’ till the Badger told him rather sharply to leave off.

“那好吧，就依你的，”河鼠說。他自己也給鬧糊涂了。他縮到一個角落里，嘴里反復嘟噥著“學習他們，教訓他們。教訓他們，學習他們!”直到獾喝令他住口才罷。

Presently the Mole came tumbling into the room, evidently very pleased with himself. ‘I’ve been having such fun!’ he began at once; ‘I’ve been getting a rise out of the stoats!’

不一會，鼴鼠翻著筋斗沖進屋來。他顯然很是得意。“我干得真痛快!”他說，“我把那些白鼬全惹惱了!”

‘I hope you’ve been very careful, Mole?’ said the Rat anxiously.

“鼴鼠，但愿你剛才沒有魯莽行事!”河鼠擔心地問。

‘I should hope so, too,’ said the Mole confidently. ‘I got the idea when I went into the kitchen, to see about Toad’s breakfast being kept hot for him. I found that old washerwoman-dress that he came home in yesterday, hanging on a towel-horse before the fire. So I put it on, and the bonnet as well, and the shawl, and off I went to Toad Hall, as bold as you please. The sentries were on the look-out, of course, with their guns and their “Who comes there?” and all the rest of their nonsense. “Good morning, gentlemen!” says I, very respectful. “Want any washing done to-day?”

“我也希望沒有，”鼴鼠充滿自信地說。“早上我去廚房。看看早點是不是熱著，等蟾蜍起來好吃。忽然看見爐灶前的毛巾架上，掛著蟾蜍昨天回來時穿的那件洗衣婦的衣裳，我動了個念頭。我把它穿上，又戴上帽子，披上大圍巾，大搖大擺一直走到蟾宮大門口。那些哨兵自然拿著槍在把守大門，吆喝‘來者何人?’還有那一套胡言亂語。‘先生們，早上好!’我恭恭敬敬地說，‘今兒個有衣服要洗嗎?’

‘They looked at me very proud and stiff and haughty, and said, “Go away, washerwoman! We don’t do any washing on duty.” “Or any other time?” says I. Ho, ho, ho! Wasn’t I FUNNY, Toad?’

“他們瞪眼瞧我，又傲氣又拘板，說‘滾開，洗衣婆!我們在執(zhí)勤，沒衣服要洗!’我說，‘那我改天再來吧?’哈，哈，哈!蟾蜍，你看，我多逗!”

‘Poor, frivolous animal!’ said Toad, very loftily. The fact is, he felt exceedingly jealous of Mole for what he had just done. It was exactly what he would have liked to have done himself, if only he had thought of it first, and hadn’t gone and overslept himself.

“你這個可憐的、輕浮的動物!”蟾蜍不屑地說。其實，他對鼴鼠剛才做的事嫉妒得要命。那正是他自己想干的，可惜他事先沒想到，睡懶覺睡過頭了。

‘Some of the stoats turned quite pink,’ continued the Mole, ‘and the Sergeant in charge, he said to me, very short, he said, “Now run away, my good woman, run away! Don’t keep my men idling and talking on their posts.” “Run away?” says I; “it won’t be me that’ll be running away, in a very short time from now!”’

“有幾個白鼬有點惱怒了，”鼴鼠接著說，“那個當班的警官沖我嚷道：‘馬上滾開，婆子，滾!我手下的人在值勤的時候不許聊天!’‘叫我滾?’我說，‘只怕要不了多久，該滾的就不是我啦!’”

‘O MOLY, how could you?’ said the Rat, dismayed.

“哎呀，鼴鼠，你怎么可以這樣說?”河鼠驚慌地說。

The Badger laid down his paper.

獾放下手里的報紙。

‘I could see them pricking up their ears and looking at each other,’ went on the Mole; ‘and the Sergeant said to them, “Never mind HER; she doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”’

“我看到他們豎起耳朵，互相對看一眼，”鼴鼠接著說;“警官對他們說：‘甭搭理她，她自己也不知道在胡說些什么。’

‘”O! don’t I?”’ said I. ‘”Well, let me tell you this. My daughter, she washes for Mr. Badger, and that’ll show you whether I know what I’m talking about; and YOU’LL know pretty soon, too! A hundred bloodthirsty badgers, armed with rifles, are going to attack Toad Hall this very night, by way of the paddock. Six boatloads of Rats, with pistols and cutlasses, will come up the river and effect a landing in the garden; while a picked body of Toads, known at the Die-hards, or the Death-or-Glory Toads, will storm the orchard and carry everything before them, yelling for vengeance. There won’t be much left of you to wash, by the time they’ve done with you, unless you clear out while you have the chance!” Then I ran away, and when I was out of sight I hid; and presently I came creeping back along the ditch and took a peep at them through the hedge. They were all as nervous and flustered as could be, running all ways at once, and falling over each other, and every one giving orders to everybody else and not listening; and the Sergeant kept sending off parties of stoats to distant parts of the grounds, and then sending other fellows to fetch ‘em back again; and I heard them saying to each other, “That’s just like the weasels; they’re to stop comfortably in the banqueting-hall, and have feasting and toasts and songs and all sorts of fun, while we must stay on guard in the cold and the dark, and in the end be cut to pieces by bloodthirsty Badgers!’”

“‘什么!我不知道?’我說。‘好吧，我告訴你，我女兒是給獾先生洗衣服的，你說我知道不知道。而且你們很快也會知道的!就在今天晚上，一百個殺氣騰騰的獾，提著來復槍，要從馬場那邊進攻蟾宮。滿滿六船的河鼠，帶著手槍和棍棒，要從河上過來，在花園登陸;還有一隊精心挑選的蟾蜍，號稱敢死隊，自命‘不成功便成仁’，要襲擊果園，揚言要報仇雪恨，見什么拿什么。等他們把你們掃蕩一空，那時你們就沒什么可洗的了，除非你們趁早撤出去!’說完我就跑開了。等到他們看不見我時，我就躲起來，然后沿著溝渠爬回來，隔著樹籬偷瞄了他們一眼。他們全都慌作一團，四散奔逃，互相碰撞摔倒，人人都發(fā)號施令，可沒一個人聽;那個警官，不停地把一批批的白鼬派到遠處，跟著又另派一批白鼬去把他們叫回來、我聽見他們亂吵吵說，‘都怪那些黃鼠狼，他們要在宴會廳里快活，大吃大喝。又唱又跳，尋歡作樂，卻派我們在又冷又黑的屋外站崗放哨，臨了還得被那些殺人不眨眼的獾剁成肉醬!’”

‘Oh, you silly ass, Mole!’ cried Toad, ‘You’ve been and spoilt everything!’

“哎呀，鼴鼠，你這個蠢驢!”蟾蜍嚷道。“你把一切全搞糟了!”

‘Mole,’ said the Badger, in his dry, quiet way, ‘I perceive you have more sense in your little finger than some other animals have in the whole of their fat bodies. You have managed excellently, and I begin to have great hopes of you. Good Mole! Clever Mole!’

“鼴鼠，”獾用他那干巴巴的平靜的聲調說，“我看，你一個小指里的才智，比別的動物整個肥胖身子里的才智還要多。你干得太好了，我對你寄予很大希望。好鼴鼠!聰明的鼴鼠!”

The Toad was simply wild with jealousy, more especially as he couldn’t make out for the life of him what the Mole had done that was so particularly clever; but, fortunately for him, before he could show temper or expose himself to the Badger’s sarcasm, the bell rang for luncheon.

蟾蜍嫉妒得簡直要瘋了，他尤其弄不通，鼴鼠這樣干，怎么反倒聰明;不過幸好，對獾的譏諷，他還來不及發(fā)作和暴露自已，午飯的鈴聲就響了。

It was a simple but sustaining meal—bacon and broad beans, and a macaroni pudding; and when they had quite done, the Badger settled himself into an arm-chair, and said, ‘Well, we’ve got our work cut out for us to-night, and it will probably be pretty late before we’re quite through with it; so I’m just going to take forty winks, while I can.’ And he drew a handkerchief over his face and was soon snoring.

午飯簡單但實惠——咸肉，大扁豆，外加通心粉布丁。吃完飯，獾安坐在一張圈椅上，說：“好啦，咱們今晚的工作步驟已經(jīng)確定了，恐怕要很晚才能辦完;所以，趁現(xiàn)在還有時間，我要打個盹兒。”說罷，他用一塊手帕蓋住臉.不一會就鼾聲大作了。

The anxious and laborious Rat at once resumed his preparations, and started running between his four little heaps, muttering, ‘Here’s-a-belt-for-the-Rat, here’s-a-belt-for-the Mole, here’s-a-belt-for-the-Toad, here’s-a-belt-for-the-Badger!’ and so on, with every fresh accoutrement he produced, to which there seemed really no end; so the Mole drew his arm through Toad’s, led him out into the open air, shoved him into a wicker chair, and made him tell him all his adventures from beginning to end, which Toad was only too willing to do. The Mole was a good listener, and Toad, with no one to check his statements or to criticise in an unfriendly spirit, rather let himself go. Indeed, much that he related belonged more properly to the category of what-might-have-happened-had-I-only-thought-of-it-in-time-instead-of-ten-minutes-afterwards. Those are always the best and the raciest adventures; and why should they not be truly ours, as much as the somewhat inadequate things that really come off?

性急而勤快的河鼠，立即又干起他的備戰(zhàn)工作，在他那四小堆武器之間來回跑動，一面嘴里咕噥著“這根皮帶給河鼠，這根給獾!”等等，等等。新的裝備不斷增加，像是沒有個完。鼴鼠呢，他挽著蟾蜍的臂，把他帶到屋外，推進一張?zhí)僖危颈局v自己的歷險過程。這正是蟾蜍求之不得的。鼴鼠很善于傾聽別人講話，他不打岔，也不作不友好的評論，于是蟾蜍就海闊天空地神聊起來。其實，他所講的，大部分屬于那種“要是我早想到而不是十分鐘以后才想到事情就會那樣發(fā)生”的性質。既然那都是最精彩最刺激的歷險故事，何不把它們和那些實際發(fā)生但不太夠味兒的經(jīng)歷一樣，也看成是我們的真實經(jīng)歷呢?