Charlotte and Wilbur were alone. Wilbur lay resting after the excitement and strain of the ceremony. His medal still hung from his neck; by looking out of the corner of his eye he could see it.
夏洛和威尔伯单独待着。经过颁奖典礼上一番兴奋和紧张后，威尔伯躺下来休息。他的奖章仍然挂在脖子上，通过眼角的余光就能看到它。
"Charlotte," said Wilbur after a while, "why are you so quiet?"
“夏洛，”过了一会儿威尔伯说，“你为什么这么安静?”
"I like to sit still," she said."I've always been rather quiet."
“我喜欢静静地坐着，”她说。“我一直都十分安静？”
"Yes, but you seem specially so today. Do you feel all right?"
“是的，但今天你似乎出奇地安静。你感觉还好吗?”
"A little tired, perhaps. But I feel peaceful. Your success in the ring this morning was to a small degree, my success.Your future is assured. You will live, secure and safe, Wilbur. Nothing can harm you now. These autumn days will shorten and grow cold. The leaves will shake loose from the trees and fall. Christmas will come, then the snows of winter. You will live to enjoy the beauty of the frozen world, for you mean a great deal to Zuckerman and he will not harm you, ever. Winter will pass, the days will lengthen, the ice will melt in the pasture pond. The song sparrow will return and sing, the frogs will awake, the warm wind will blow again. All these sights and sounds and smells will be yours to enjoy, Wilbur--this lovely world, these precious days...”
也许有点儿累吧。但我觉得很平静。今天早上你在围栏里的成功，在小小的程度上也是我的成功。你的未来有保证了。你将生活得十分安全，威尔伯。现在没有什么能伤害你。秋天的白昼会缩短，天气会变冷。叶子将从树上松动落下。圣诞节即将来临，之后是冬天的飘雪。你将活着享受冰天雪地的美景，因为对于朱克曼先生来说，你意义重大，他不会伤害你的，永远不会。冬天会过去，白昼会延长，牧场池塘上的冰将融化。篱雀将飞回来歌唱，青蛙要苏醒，温暖的风会再次吹起。所有这些景象、声音和香气都将供你享受，威尔伯—这个美好的世界，这些珍贵的日子……”
Charlotte stopped. A moment later a tear came to Wilbur's eye. "Oh, Charlotte," he said. "To think that when I first met you I thought you were cruel and bloodthirsty!"
夏洛停了下来。不一会儿，眼泪涌入了威尔伯的眼眶。“哦，夏洛，”他说，“想当初第一次见到你，我还以为你很残忍，嗜血成性呢!”
When he recovered from his emotion, he spoke again.
等他从情绪中恢复过来，他又说话了。
"Why did you do all this for me?" he asked. "I don't deserve it. I've never done anything for you."
“你为什么要为我做这一切？”他问，“我不值得。我从来没有为你做过任何事情。”
"You have been my friend," replied Charlotte.
“你一直是我的朋友，”夏洛答道。
"That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you.After all, what's a life, anyway? We're born, we live a little while, we die. A spider's life can't help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies.By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyones life can stand a little of that."
“这本身就是一件了不起的事。我为你结网，因为我喜欢你。毕竟，生命到底是什么啊?我们出生，活一阵子，之后死去。蜘蛛的生命无非就是一团糟，全忙着捕食和吃苍蝇。但是，通过帮助你，或许我可以提升一点我生活的价值。毫无疑问，人活着该做一点有意义的事情。”
"Well," said Wilbur. "I'm no good at making speeches. I haven't got your gift for words. But you have saved me, Charlotte, and I would gladly give my life for you-I really would."
“嗯，”威尔伯说。“我不善于演讲。我没有你能说会道的天赋。但你救了我，夏洛，我很乐意为你献出我的生命—我真的愿意。”
"I'm sure you would. And I thank you for your generous sentiments."
“我相信你会的。我感谢你的慷慨情怀。”
"Charlotte," said Wilbur. "We're all going home today. The Fair is almost over. Won't it be wonderful to be back home in the barn cellar again with the sheep and the geese?Aren't you anxious to get home?"
“夏洛，”威尔伯说。“我们今天都要回家了。集市差不多结束了。重新回到谷仓，与那些羊和鹅团聚不是很美吗?你不急着回家吗?”
For a moment Charlotte said nothing. Then she spoke in a voice so low Wilbur could hardly hear the words.
有一阵子夏洛什么话也没说。之后，她用一个威尔伯几乎无法听到的很低的声音说:
"I will not be going back to the barn," she said. Wilhur leapt to his feet. "Not going back?" he cried. "Charlotte, what are you talking about?"
“我不会回到谷仓了，”她说。威尔伯跳了起来。“不回去?”他哭着.“夏洛，你在说什么？”
"I'm done for ," she replied. "In a day or two I'll be dead. I haven't even strength enough to climb down into the crate. I doubt if I have enough silk in my spinnerets to lower me to the ground."
“我的生命要终止了，”她答道。“一两天后我就会死去。我甚至没有足够的力气爬到下面板条箱里。我怀疑我的吐丝器里是否有足够的丝把我吊到地面。”
Hearing this, Wilbur threw himself down in an agony of pain and sorrow.Great sobs racked his body. "Charlotte," he moaned. "Charlotte! My true friend!"
听到这话，威尔伯瘫坐下来，极度痛苦和悲伤。他大声抽泣，浑身哆嗦。“夏洛，”他呻吟着。“夏洛!我真正的明友!”
"Come now, let's not make a scene," said the spider. "Be quiet, Wilbur. Stop thrashing about!"
“别这样，我们不要婆婆妈妈了”蜘蛛说。“安静点，威尔伯。不要折腾自已了！”
But I can't stand it," shouted Wilbur. "I won't leave you here alone to die. If you're going to stay here I shall stay, too."
“但我控制不住，”威尔伯喊道。“我不会留下你独自等死。如果你要留在这里，我也要留下。”
"Don't be ridiculous," said Charlotte. "You can't stay here.”
“别傻丁，”夏洛说。“你不能留在这里。”
Wilbur was in a panic. He raced round and round the pen. Suddenly he had an idea he thought of the egg sac and the five hundred and fourteen little spiders that would hatch in the spring. If Charlotte herself was unable to go home to the barn, at least he must take her children along.
威尔伯惊慌不已。他在猪圈里飞奔了一圈又一圈。突然他有了一个想法——他想起了那个卵袋和五百十四只将在春季孵化的小蜘蛛。万一夏洛自已无法回到吞仓，至少他必须把她的孩子们带走。
课堂笔记：
1."to some degree"是使用频率极高的固定短语.由此引申的词组有:"to a degree/to some degree/to a certain degree"(在一定程度上);"to a little degree/to a small degree"(在很小的程度上);"to a large degree / to a big degree"(在很大的程度上)。
2."tremendous”一词足以说明夏洛对友谊的珍视.为了帮助威尔伯逃过被宰杀的危险，夏洛悄悄地在网上分别织下了“some pig"(王牌猪)，"terrific"(了不起)，"radiant"(光彩照人)和“humble"(谦逊)四个词，使威尔伯逐渐从一只被主人嫌弃的小猪仔变成让主人引以为傲的名牌猪，同时帮助威尔伯获得了新生.
3.夏洛认为蜘蛛的生活就是乱槽糟一团，全忙着捕食苍蝇.“can't help doing sth.”表示“忍不住做某事，无法停止做某事”，言语之间透出夏洛对这种生活的不满，显示出她的与众不同.“with”引导的介词短语用作补语，补充说明“something of a mess"(乱糟糟的生活).
4."heaven knows”在口语中表示"确定，无疑”，用以加强语气.句型结构“...can/ could stand sth.”表示“应该做某事(因为这是一件好事)”.
5."be done for"为非正式用语，有“破损不堪;坏了:没命;精疲力竭”等含义，此处指夏洛认为自己疲惫不堪，生命即将结束.
6.分词短语"hearing this”用作伴随状语，词组"throw oneself down"(瘫软在地)非常形象地描绘了威尔伯极为痛苦悲伤的心情.
7."make / cause a scene”表示“(在公众场合)吵闹，争执，发脾气”. |