夏洛的網(wǎng) Chapter 14：多里安醫(yī)生

The next day was Saturday. Fern stood at the kitchen sink drying the breakfast dishes as her mother washed them. Mrs. Arable worked silently. She hoped Fern would go out and play with other children, instead of heading for the Zuckermans' barn to sit and watch animals.

次日是星期六。芬站在廚房的水槽邊，擦著母親剛洗完的早餐用過的碗碟。阿拉貝爾太太靜靜地干著。她希望芬能出去和別的孩子一起玩，而不是有空就往祖克曼家的谷倉跑，坐在那里看動物。

"Charlotte is the best storyteller I ever heard," said Fern, poking her dish towel into a cereal bowl.

“夏洛是我見過的人中，故事講得最棒的，”芬說著，用餐巾紙抹著飯碗。

"Fern," said her mother sternly, "you must not invent things. You know spiders don't tell stories. Spiders can't talk.""Charlotte can," replied Fern. "She doesn't talk very loud, but she talks.""What kind of story did she tell?" asked Mrs. Arable.

“芬，”她的母親嚴(yán)厲地說，“你不要再胡說了。你知道蜘蛛根本不會講故事。蜘蛛不會說話。”“夏洛能，”芬回答，“她的聲音雖不大，但卻能說話。”“她講什么故事了?”阿拉貝爾太太問。

"Well," began Fern, "she told us about a cousin of hers who caught a fish in her web. Don't you think that's fascinating?""Fern, dear, how would a fish get in a spider's web?" said Mrs. Arable. "You know it couldn't happen. You're making this up.""Oh, it happened all right," replied Fern. "Charlotte never fibs. This cousin of hers built a web across a stream. One day she was hanging around on the web and a tiny fish leaped into the air and got tangled in the web. The fish was caught by one fin, Mother; its tail was wildly thrashing and shining in the sun. Can't you just see the web, sagging dangerously under the weight of the fish? Charlotte's cousin kept slipping in, dodging out, and she was beaten mercilessly over the head by the wildly thrashing fish, dancing in, dancing out, throwing...""Fern!" snapped her mother. "Stop it! Stop inventing these wild tales!""I'm not inventing," said Fern. "I'm just telling you the facts.""What finally happened?" asked her mother, whose curiosity began to get the better of her.

“嗯，”芬開始道，“她給我們講了一個她表妹用蜘蛛網(wǎng)捕魚的故事。你不覺得那有趣極了嗎?”“芬，親愛的，魚怎么會跑到蜘蛛網(wǎng)里去了呢?”阿拉貝爾太太說，“你知道這不可能。你在撒謊。”“噢，就是有這么回事，”芬回答，“夏洛從不騙人。她的表妹在小溪中間拉了一張網(wǎng)。一天，她正在網(wǎng)里呆著，一條跳上水面的小魚蹦到了她的網(wǎng)里。這條魚的一條鰭被捆住了，媽媽。它的尾巴拼命地?fù)u晃，還在太陽下閃著銀光呢。你見過被一條魚壓得幾乎墜到水面的蜘蛛網(wǎng)嗎?夏洛的表妹來回閃躲著，進(jìn)攻著，雖然腦袋被那條亂蹦的魚殘忍地揍了很多下，也還是在和魚搏斗著，不停地往魚身上纏絲……"“芬!”她的母親打斷了她，“別說了!別再編造這些荒唐的故事了!”“我沒編造，”芬說，“我只是在告訴你事實而已。”“那最后怎么樣了?”她的母親問。這時她反有點兒好奇了。

"Charlotte's cousin won. She wrapped the fish up, then she ate him when she got good and ready. Spiders have to eat, the same as the rest of us.""Yes, I suppose they do," said Mrs. Arable, vaguely.

“夏洛的表妹贏了。她把魚都包了起來。等她休息過來，就把魚吃了。蜘蛛也吃東西，就像我們一樣。”“是的，我想是吧。”阿拉貝爾太太有氣無力地說。

"Charlotte has another cousin who is a balloonist. She stands on her head, lets out a lot of line, and is carried aloft on the wind. Mother, wouldn't you simply love to do that?""Yes, I would, come to think of it," replied Mrs. Arable. "But Fern, darling, I wish you would play outdoors today instead of going to Uncle Homer's barn. Find some of your playmates and do something nice outdoors. You're spending too much time in that barn--it isn't good for you to be alone so much.""Alone?" said Fern. "Alone? My best friends are in the barn cellar. It is a very sociable place. Not at all lonely."Fern disappeared after a while, walking down the road toward Zuckermans'. Her mother dusted the sitting room. as she worked she kept thinking about Fern. It didn't seem natural for a little girl to be so interested in animals. Finally Mrs. Arable made up her mind she would pay a call on old Doctor Dorian and ask his advice. She got in the car and drove to his office in the village.

“夏洛還有一個汽球駕駛員表妹。她從頭頂放出許多絲，乘著它們在風(fēng)里飛。媽媽，你不喜歡這么做嗎?”“是的，我喜歡，”阿拉貝爾太太回答，“但是芬，親愛的，我希望你今天別去霍默舅舅的谷倉了，到外面和別的孩子玩吧。找?guī)讉€好伙伴，在戶外一起玩。你在谷倉花的時間太多了——你一個人孤獨(dú)地在那里并不好。”“孤獨(dú)?”芬說，“孤獨(dú)?我最好的朋友都在谷倉地窖里呢。那是個很好的交際場所。在那里一點兒也不會孤獨(dú)的。”芬出去了，不久她又走上了去祖克曼家谷倉的路。她的母親打掃著起居室。她一邊干著一邊想著芬的事情。一個小女孩如此對動物著迷，似乎不太正常。最終，她下定決心，去找多里安醫(yī)生，聽聽他的意見。她上了車，往醫(yī)生的鄉(xiāng)村診所駛?cè)ァ?/p>

Dr. Dorian had a thick beard. He was glad to see Mrs. Arable and gave her a comfortable chair.

多里安醫(yī)生是個大胡子。看到阿拉貝爾太太，他很高興地請她坐到了一把舒適的椅子里。

"It's about Fern," she explained. "Fern spends entirely too much time in the Zuckermans' barn. It doesn't seem normal. She sits on a milk stool in a corner of the barn cellar, near the pigpen, and watches animals, hour after hour. She just sits and listens."Dr. Dorian leaned back and closed his eyes.

“是關(guān)于芬的事情，”她解釋道，“芬把太多的時間都花在了祖克曼家的谷倉里。這好像不太正常。她就坐在谷倉地窖角落里的一個擠奶凳上，在豬圈旁邊，一小時一小時地看那些動物。她只是坐在那里看和聽。”多里安醫(yī)生仰面躺進(jìn)椅子里，閉著眼聽著。

"How enchanting!" he said. "It must be real nice and quiet down there. Homer has some sheep, hasn't he?""Yes," said Mrs. Arable. "but it all started with that pig we let Fern raise on a bottle. She calls him Wilbur. Homer bought the pig, and ever since it left our place Fern has been going to her uncle's to be near it.""I've been hearing things about that pig," said Dr. Dorian, opening his eyes. "The say he's quite a pig.""Have you heard about the words that appeared in the spider's web?" asked Mrs. Arable nervously.

“多令人心醉呀!”他說，“那一定是個不錯而又寧靜的地方?；裟皇沁€有一些綿羊嗎?”“是的，”阿拉貝爾太太說，“但所有的事情都由我們讓芬用奶瓶給一頭小豬喂奶開始的。她管小豬叫威伯?；裟I了那頭豬。而自從小豬走了，芬就天天去舅舅家看那頭豬。”“我也聽說過那頭豬，”多里安醫(yī)生睜開眼說，“他們說那是頭不一般的豬。”“你聽說過那些織在蜘蛛網(wǎng)里的話了嗎?”阿拉貝爾太太神秘地問。

"Yes," replied the doctor.

“是的。”醫(yī)生回答。

"Well, do you understand it?" asked Mrs. Arable.

“那么，你明白那是怎么回事嗎?”阿拉貝爾太太問。

"Understand what?""do you understand how there could be any writing in a spider's web?""Oh, no," said Dr. Dorian. "I don't understand it. But for that matter I don't understand how a spider learned to spin a web in the first place. When the words appeared, everyone said they were a miracle. But nobody pointed out that the web itself is a miracle.""What's miraculous about a spider's web?" said Mrs. Arable. "I don't see why you say a web is a miracle--it's just a web.""Ever try to spin one?" asked Dr. Dorian.

“明白什么?”“你明白那蜘蛛網(wǎng)里怎么會有那些字嗎?”“哦，不，”多里安醫(yī)生說，“我不明白。我連蜘蛛是怎么學(xué)會織網(wǎng)的都不明白。當(dāng)那些字被織出來后，人人都說那是個奇跡。卻沒人指出蜘蛛網(wǎng)本身也算一個奇跡。”“蜘蛛網(wǎng)有什么神奇的?” 阿拉貝爾太太說，“我不明白你為何說蜘蛛網(wǎng)是奇跡——它不過是張網(wǎng)嘛。”“你也織過一張網(wǎng)?”多里安醫(yī)生問。

Mrs. Arable shifted uneasily in her chair. "No," she replied. "But I can crochet a doily and I can knit a sock.""Sure," said the doctor. "But somebody taught you, didn't they?""My mother taught me.""Well, who taught a spider? A young spider knows how to spin a web without any instructions from anybody. Don't you regard that as a miracle?""I suppose so," said Mrs. Arable. "I never looked at it that way before. Still, I don't understand it, and I don't like what I can't understand.""None of us do," said Dr. Dorian, sighing. "I'm a doctor. Doctors are supposed to understand everything. But I don't understand everything, and I don't intend to let it worry me."Mrs. Arable fidgeted. "Fern says the animals talk to each other. Dr. Dorian, do you believe animals talk?""I never heard one say anything," he replied. "But that proves nothing. It is quite possible that an animal has spoken civilly to me and that I didn't catch the remark because I wasn't paying attention. Children pay better attention than grownups. If Fern says that the animals in Zuckerman's barn talk, I'm quite ready to believe her. Perhaps if people talked less, animals would talk more. People are incessant talkers--I can give you my word on that.""Well, I feel better about Fern," said Mrs. Arable. "You don't think I need worry about her?""Does she look well?" asked the doctor.

阿拉貝爾太太不安地在椅子上動了動。“不，”她回答，“但是我能鉤一張茶杯墊，我也會織一只襪子。”“的確，”醫(yī)生說，“但那是有人教你的，不是嗎?”“我母親教我的。”“很好，可誰來教蜘蛛呢?一只年輕的蜘蛛不需任何人的指導(dǎo)就懂得織網(wǎng)。你不認(rèn)為這是個奇跡嗎?”“我想是吧，”阿拉貝爾太太說，“以前我從沒想過這種事情。我不明白那些話是怎么織到網(wǎng)里去的。我不明白這個，而且我也不喜歡我不能明白的東西。”“我們都是如此，”多里安醫(yī)生嘆息道，“我是一個醫(yī)生。醫(yī)生被認(rèn)為什么都懂。但是我?guī)缀跏裁炊疾欢?，我不打算讓它們來困擾我。”阿拉貝爾太太煩躁起來。“芬說動物們能互相交談。多里安醫(yī)生，你相信動物能說話嗎?”“我從沒聽人這么說過，”他回答，“但那證明不了什么。很可能有一個動物曾禮貌地對我講過話，而我卻沒聽到，因為我根本就沒去注意。孩子們比成人更注意這些。如果芬說祖克曼的谷倉里的動物能說話，我倒很愿意相信她。也許人類若少說一點兒，動物就能多說一些吧。成人都是滔滔不絕的演說家——我想對你說的意思就在這些話里。”“不過，現(xiàn)在我更擔(dān)心芬了，”阿拉貝爾太太說，“你不覺得我該為她擔(dān)心嗎?”“她看起來怎么樣?”醫(yī)生問。

"Oh, yes.""Appetite good?""Oh, yes, she's always hungry.""Sleep well at night?""Oh, yes.""Then don't worry," said the doctor.

“哦，還行。”“胃口好嗎?”“噢，是的，她總是很餓。”“晚上睡得好嗎?”“哦，是的。”“那就沒什么可擔(dān)心的了。”醫(yī)生說。

"Do you think she'll ever start thinking about something besides pigs and sheep and geese and spiders?

“你不認(rèn)為她該想想除了豬，綿羊，母鵝，蜘蛛以外的事情嗎?”

"How old is Fern?

“芬多大了?”

"She's eight.""Well," said Cr. Dorian, "I think she will always love animals. But I doubt that she spends her entire life in Homer Zuckerman's barn cellar. How about boys--does she know any boys?""She knows Henry Fussy," said Mrs. Arable brightly.

“她八歲了。”“哦，”多里安醫(yī)生說，“我想她會永遠(yuǎn)喜愛動物的，但我不信她會把她的全部時間都花在霍默·祖克曼的谷倉地窖里。和男孩子們——她認(rèn)識某個男孩嗎?”“她認(rèn)識亨利·富塞。”阿拉貝爾太太輕快地說。

Dr. Dorian closed his eyes again and went into deep thought. "Henry Fussy," he mumbled. "Hmm. Remarkable. Well, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Let Fern associate with her friends in the barn if she wants to. I would say, offhand, that spiders and pigs ,were fully as interesting as Henry Fussy. Yet I predict that the day will come when even Henry will drop some chance remark that catches Fern's attention. It's amazing how children change from year to year. How's Avery?" he asked, opening his eyes wide.

多里安醫(yī)生又閉上眼，陷入了沉思。“亨利·富塞，”他嘀咕，“呣，值得注意。不過我還是認(rèn)為你沒什么好擔(dān)心的。如果她高興，就讓芬和她在谷倉的朋友在一起吧。我要說的是，我只是隨便說說，那蜘蛛和豬幾乎同亨利·富塞一樣有趣。我推想，有一天亨利終究會引起芬的注意的。孩子們的興趣會一年年的變得讓你驚奇的。埃弗里怎么樣?”他睜大了眼睛問。

"Oh, Avery," chuckled Mrs. Arable. "Avery is always fine. Of course, he gets into poison ivy and gets stung by wasps and bees and brings frogs and snakes home and breaks everything he lays his hands on. He's fine.""Good!" said the doctor.

“噢，埃弗里，”阿拉貝爾太太笑了，“埃弗里總是很好。當(dāng)然，他有時會爬到野葛里去，被黃蜂和蜜蜂蜇著，還會把青蛙和蛇帶到家里，打碎他手邊的每一件東西。他很好。”“太好了!”醫(yī)生說。

Mrs. Arable said goodbye and thanked Dr. Dorian very much for his advice. She felt greatly relieved.

阿拉貝爾太太道了再見，又對多里安醫(yī)生的忠告表示了由衷的感謝。她感到心里特別的輕松。