《夏洛特的網》：終於等到你，還好我沒放棄

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《Charlotte"s Web》第十五期

Chapter 5 Charlotte III

Soon Lurvy appeared with slops for breakfast.

不久魯維來送早飯了。

Wilbur rushed out, ate everything in a hurry, and licked the trough.

威伯衝出去急忙把食物吃光，還把食槽舔了個遍。

The sheep moved off down the lane, the gander waddled along behind them, pulling grass.

綿羊們向小路走去，後面跟著搖搖擺擺的公鵝。

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.

就在威伯準備躺下來睡個早覺時，他又聽到了昨夜的那種聲音。

"Salutations!" said the voice.

「致敬！」那個聲音說。

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

威伯跳了起來。「致什麼？」他問。

"Salutations!" said the voice.

「致敬！」那聲音重複道。

"What are they, and where are you?" screamed Wilbur.

「這個詞兒是什麼意思，你又在哪兒？」威伯尖叫起來。

"Please, please, tell me where you are. And what are salutations?"

「求求你，求求你，告訴我你在哪兒吧。還有，致敬是什麼意思？」

"Salutations are greetings," said the voice.

「致敬是句問候用語，」那個聲音說道。

"When I say "salutations", it"s just my fancy way of saying hello or good morning.

「當我說『致敬』，就等於對你說『你好』或是『早上好』。

Actually, it"s a silly expression, and I am surprised that I used it at all.

實際上，這是種愚蠢的表達方式，真奇怪我剛才怎麼會用這麼一個詞兒。

As for my whereabouts, that"s easy. Look up here in the corner of the doorway!

你想知道我在哪兒嗎？那很容易。往門框上角看！我在這兒。

Here I am. Look, I"m waving!"

看，我在揮手哩！」

At last Wilbur saw the creature that had spoken to him in such a kindly way.

威伯終於找到了如此友善的和自己交談的動物。

Stretched across the upper part of the doorway was a big spiderweb, and hanging from the top of the web, head down, was a large grey spider.

門框的上方拉著一張大蜘蛛網，一隻大灰蜘蛛正倒掛在網的高處。

She was about the size of a gumdrop.

她只有一粒樹膠糖丸那麼大。

She had eight legs, and she was waving one of them at Wilbur in friendly greeting.

她長著八條腿，正用其中的一條腿友好地對威伯致意呢。

"See me now?" she asked.

「現在看到我了？」她問。

"Oh, yes indeed," said Wilbur.

「噢，確實看見了，」威伯說。

"Yes indeed! How are you? Good morning! Salutations! Very pleased to meet you.

「確實看見了！你好！早上好！致敬！很高興認識你。

What is your name, please? May I have your name?"

請問芳名？我可以問你的名字嗎？」

"My name," said the spider," is Charlotte."

「我的名字，」蜘蛛說，「叫夏洛。」

"Charlotte what?" asked Wilbur, eagerly.

「夏洛什麼？」威伯渴切地問。

"Charlotte A. Cavatica. But just call me Charlotte."

「夏洛·A·卡瓦蒂娜。你就叫我夏洛好了。」

"I think you"re beautiful," said Wilbur.

「我覺得你真很漂亮，」威伯說。

"Well, I am pretty," replied Charlotte.

「謝謝，我是很漂亮，」夏洛回答。

"There"s no denying that. Almost all spiders are rather nice-looking.

「那是毫無疑問的。幾乎所有的蜘蛛都長得相當好看。

I"m not as flashy as some, but I"ll do. I wish I could see you, Wilbur, as clearly as you can see me."

我不像別的蜘蛛那麼艷麗，不過我也算可以了。我希望能看清你，威伯，就像你能看清我一樣。」

"Why can"t you?" asked the pig. "I"m right here."

「你為什麼看不清我？」小豬問。「我就在這兒呀。」

"Yes, but I"m near-sighted," replied Charlotte.

「是的，不過我近視，」夏洛回答。

"I"ve always been dreadfully near-sighted. It"s good in some ways, not so good in others. Watch me wrap up this fly."

「我的近視十分嚴重。這對我既有好處，也有壞處。你看我來抓住這隻蒼蠅。」

朗讀：迪新

來源：英文小說網

背景音樂：Yann Tiersen - Porz Goret

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