杨柳风 07（在线收听）

Chapter Seven The Spirit of Nature

It was a very hot evening a few weeks later. Mole lay on the grass next to the river. He was waiting for Rat to come home. Mole had spent the day with some friends and Rat had gone to visit Otter. It was dark and Rat hadn’t returned. He was probably staying up late talking to Otter.

It was still too hot to go inside. Mole had decided to wait for his friend by the river. Soon he heard Rat coming.

“Oh, it’s so much cooler next to the river.” He said.

He sat down and stared at the water. He was quiet and he seemed to be thinking about something.

“Did you eat dinner with Otter and his family?” asked Mole after a few moments.

“Oh, of course.” said Rat. “They wouldn’t let me leave without eating. You know how kind Otter and his family are. And we had a very nice time. However, I felt terrible. The family is very worried and unhappy. But they don’t want me to know it. Mole, I’m afraid they’re in serious trouble. Otter’s son, Portly, is missing again.”

“What? That little animal.” said Mole. “He is always leaving home to have adventures by himself. He gets lost for a few days, but he always returns home. And every animal around here knows him and likes him. I’m sure he is safe. You and I have seen Portly when he’s lost. He was many miles from home, but he wasn’t scared.

“Yes. But this time it’s more serious.” said the Rat. “Portly has been gone for many days now. The Otters have looked everywhere for him. He’s disappeared. Otter is afraid. He doesn’t want to frighten his family too much. But when I left their house Otter said he would come with me. Then he and I had a private talk. He’s afraid for his son. Portly hasn’t learned to swim yet, you see. And humans will catch and kill otters when they get the chance. Otter told me he’s going to spend the night watching by the river. There is a place Portly like to play. Otter hopes Portly would go there if he has lost.”

Mole and Rat sat there quietly for a while. They were thinking of poor Otter waiting for his little son to come home. How lonely and worried he must be!

After a while, Rat said, “Well, I guess it’s time for bed.”

But he didn’t move.

“Rat,” said Mole slowly. “I can’t go in and go to sleep now. I feel like I’ve got to do something to help Otter. Maybe we can’t help, but we can try. What do you think? We’ll get the boat out and row it up the river. The moon will rise in an hour and then we’ll search for Portly as hard as we can. Who knows? We may find some clue or hear some news about him.”

“That’s just what I was thinking!” said Rat. “I’m not tired and it’s not too many hours until sunrise.

Mole and Rat got their boat out and began to travel up the river. It was a clear quiet night. There were many stars in the sky. There were many animals outside. They were talking to each other and working together.

Soon the large silver moon rose in the sky. The two friends traveled up the river for a little while and then began to search in the bushes, trees, holes and tunnels for a little Portly, the Otter.

They searched for some time, then traveled up the river some more, then they searched again. They continued in this way for many hours until the moon set in the sky.

After the moon had set, the sky grew lighter. The grass and trees became easier to see. A bird sang a song and then was quiet. A gentle wind blew through the trees.

Rat was sitting in the front of the boat while Mole was rowing. Suddenly Rat stood up. He was listening to something very carefully. But Mole could not hear it. After a few moments, Rat sat down again. Mole looked at him curiously.

“It’s gone.” cried Rat softly. “I heard some music. It was so beautiful, strange and new. If it had to end so soon, then I wish I had never heard it. Now nothing in life seems good. I only want to hear that beautiful music again and listen to it forever. Wait, now I hear it again!”

Rat listened carefully. He had an astonished look on his face. He looked happier than Mole had ever seen him.

“Now the music is getting softer. I can’t hear it anymore.” He said after a few moments. “Oh, Mole, if only you could hear this music! How beautiful it is! It is clear, joyful and sweet. It is the sound of a flute. I think that the person who plays the flute is calling us. Come on, Mole, we must find him.”

Mole was amazed.

“All right.” he said, “As for me, I hear nothing. I only hear the wind moving through the trees.”

Rat did not answer him. He was busy listening to the mysterious music. He was trembling with joy.

Quietly Mole rowed the boat up the river. They were very close to the grass now.

Then Rat suddenly said, “Now the music is nearer. Do you hear it? Oh, you do hear it, Mole?

And Mole did hear the mysterious beautiful music. He stood very still and listened. It was the most beautiful music he had ever heard. It was like music from heaven. He saw tears of joy on Rat’s cheeks.

For a minute, the two animals did not move. Then Mole continued to row the boat. Rat was right. Someone or something was calling them. The beautiful music was leading them somewhere. They did not know where.

No birds sing and there was no wind. Except for the wonderful music, everything was still and quiet. It seemed to Rat and Mole that the world had never been so beautiful. The grass was fresh and green. The flowers smelled sweeter than before. All the colors of the forest were bright and clear.

Soon they saw a very small island in the middle of the river. The island was surrounded by trees. Both the animals suddenly knew that they had to go to the island. They needed to see what was behind all those trees. They didn’t understand why. They thought they were answering the call of the mysterious music.

In a few moments, they had arrived at the island. Without speaking, Mole and Rat got out of their boat. They tied it to a tree by the water. They walked slowly through the trees. Then they saw that they were in a beautiful space filled with grass and flowers. The space was surrounded by cherry, apple and other fruit trees.

“Here is the place.” said the Rat. “It is a holy place. We will surely find Him here.”

Mole didn’t need to ask who He was. Suddenly he felt a strange amazing feeling in his heart. He felt both incredibly happy and afraid. He could not lift his head to see what stood in front of him. But he could see that there was a bright golden light shining all around him. He felt that someone was very near, that someone was not from this earth.

Slowly Mole turned to look at Rat. He saw that Rat was trembling. The golden light grew brighter. Everything was silent. Perhaps Mole would have never raised his head, but something was commanding him. Even if it meant he would die that moment, he had to obey.

Mole raised his head and looked straight ahead. He looked into the eyes of a great Spirit.

It was the Spirit of Nature.

The Spirit of Nature was the friend and helper of all animals. The Spirit had a flute in his hand. He had a long beard, curly hair and kind eyes. In the Spirit’s large arms was the lost little Otter, Portly. Portly was sleeping just like a baby.

Somehow, Mole was able to say, “Rat, are you afraid?”

“Afraid?” whispered Rat. Rat’s eyes were shining with love. “of him? And yet, somehow... Oh, Mole, I’m afraid.”

Then the two animals bowed to the great Spirit.

At that moment, the sun began to rise. The sun’s light shone brightly into Mole and Rat’s eyes. They could not see for a moment. When they looked again, they saw that the Spirit was gone. The air was filled with the sounds of birds’ singing. The birds were welcoming the new day.

Mole and Rat stared at each other and didn’t say anything. They understood the meaning of what they had seen. But now the Spirit was gone and they would never see him again. They suddenly felt extremely sad and lonely.

However a cool wind suddenly touched their skins. The wind was magic. The Spirit of Nature created it. When the Spirit of Nature helps animals in trouble, he is always careful to make them forget that they have seen him. Otherwise, the amazing memory might make them bored with their ordinary life. Then they would be unhappy.

Mole and Rat felt this magic wind on their faces. They immediately forgot that they had seen the Spirit. Mole rubbed his eyes.

“What were you just seeing, Rat?” he asked.

“I think I was seeing that we might find Otter’s son here.” said Rat slowly.

Suddenly he shouted, “And there he is. It’s little Portly!”

He ran towards the baby otter. The baby was sleeping on the ground. But Mole stood still for a moment. He felt as if he had just woken up from a beautiful dream, but he couldn’t remember it at all. He stood there for a minute, thinking deeply. Then he signed sadly and joined Rat.

Portly, the otter, woke up. He was very happy to see his father’s friends. Often they had played with him at home. But soon Portly began to run around the island. He seemed to be looking for someone. He seemed very upset and finally began to cry. Mole ran to comfort him. Rat was looking at the ground.

There were some large footprints there.

“I think some large animal has been here.” Rat said slowly.

He tried to think about it. Had he seen a large animal? It seemed to Rat that he had seen something here. Something astonishing! What was it? He couldn’t remember.

“Come on, Rat.” said Mole, “Think of poor Otter waiting by the river, we’ve got to take Portly home.”

When little Portly found out that he was going to take a ride in Rat’s boat, he forgot about being sad. The three animals got into their boat and traveled down the river again.

It was a beautiful morning. Soon they saw the path that lead to Otter’s home. They pulled up the boat close to the grass. Then they took Portly out of the boat and said, “Now, off you go, little Portly. Go home to your family.”

They watched as the little otter ran quickly along the path. He was making little sounds in his otter language. These sounds meant, “father, father, where are you? I’m home!” Then they saw Otter running down the path towards his son.

They continued to row down the river.

Mole said, “Rat, I feel terribly tired. We often stay out all night. But for some reason, I can’t keep my eyes open. I feel as if we’ve just had some great and exciting adventure, but we haven’t. We only went out to search for Portly, and we found him.”

“I feel just the same way.” said Rat. “I’m exhausted. I wonder why we both feel this way.”

They were quiet for a while enjoying the warm sunshine.

After a while Rat turned to Mole and said, “Mole, this is the most beautiful day. Do you hear the wind moving through the grass? It’s just like music.”

“It is, isn’t it? I almost believe that I hear someone singing. What do you think the words are?” asked Mole.

“I hear it, too. Let me try to listen.” said the Rat.

After a moment he said, “It seems to be a song about forgetting your troubles and being happy.”

“I don’t understand. What does that mean?” asked Mole.

But Rat had already fallen asleep. He had a peaceful smile on his face.