A spider's web is stronger than it looks. Although it is made of thin, delicate strands, the web is not easily broken. However, a web gets torn every day by the insects that kick around in it, and a spider must rebuild it when it gets full of holes. Charlotte liked to do her weaving during the late afternoon, and Fern liked to sit nearby and watch. One afternoon she heard a most interesting conversation and witnessed a strange event.
一張蜘蛛網(wǎng)實(shí)質(zhì)上要比它看上去的樣子要結(jié)實(shí)。雖然它是用精細(xì)的絲線織成的，但卻不太容易被弄破?？墒?，一個(gè)蜘蛛網(wǎng)每天都要被那些昆蟲又撞又踢，所以里面還是會(huì)出現(xiàn)殘破的地方。如果里面的破洞太多了，蜘蛛就得重新把網(wǎng)織好才行。夏洛喜歡在傍晚織網(wǎng)，芬也喜歡坐在旁邊看她織。一天下午，芬聽到了一場(chǎng)最有趣的談話，并目睹了一起奇怪的事件。

“You have awfully hairy legs, Charlotte,” said Wilbur, as the spider busily worked at her task.
“你長(zhǎng)著可怕而又多毛的長(zhǎng)腿，夏洛，”當(dāng)夏洛正在忙著她的工作時(shí)，威伯說(shuō)。

“My legs are hairy for a good reason,” replied Charlotte. “Furthermore, each leg of mine has seven sections—the coxa, the trochanter, the femur, the patella, the tibia, the metatarsus, and the tarsus.”
“我的腿上有毛，是有原因的，”夏洛回答?！按送?，我的每條腿都由七節(jié)骨頭構(gòu)成——髖骨，坐骨，大腿骨，膝蓋骨，脛骨，跗骨，蹠骨?！?/p>

Wilbur sat bolt upright, “You're kidding,” he said.
威伯猛地坐了起來(lái)。“你騙人?！彼f(shuō)。

“No, I'm not, either.”
“不，我一點(diǎn)兒也沒(méi)騙你。”

“Say those names again, I didn't catch them the first time.”
“把那幾個(gè)名字再說(shuō)一遍，我沒(méi)記住?！?/p>

“Coxa, trochanter, femur, patella, tibia, metatarsus, and tarsus.”
“髖骨，坐骨，大腿骨，膝蓋骨，脛骨，跗骨，蹠骨?！?/p>

“Goodness!” said Wilbur, looking down at his own chubby legs. “I don't think my legs have seven sections.”
“天哪！”威伯說(shuō)著，往下看看自己的胖腿。“我不信我的腿上有七根骨頭。”

“Well,” said Charlotte, “you and I lead different lives. You don't have to spin a web. That takes real leg work.”
“哦，”夏洛說(shuō)，“你和我的生活方式不同。你不用織網(wǎng)，那可全是用腿干的活兒?！?/p>

“I could spin a web if I tried,” said Wilbur, boasting. “I've just never tried.”
“如果我學(xué)學(xué)，也能會(huì)織網(wǎng)，”威伯吹噓道。“我只是從沒(méi)學(xué)過(guò)而已。”

“Let's see you do it,” said Charlotte. Fern chuckled softly, and her eyes grew wide with love for the pig.
“讓我看看你能否學(xué)會(huì)，”夏洛說(shuō)。芬圓睜著眼睛滿是愛意地看著威伯，偷偷地笑了。

“O.K.,” replied Wilbur. “You coach me and I'll spin one. It must be a lot of fun to spin a web. How do I start?”
“好的?！蓖卮??！澳憬涛铱椧粡埦W(wǎng)吧。織網(wǎng)一定是特別好玩的。我先要怎么做呢？”

“Take a deep breath!” said Charlotte, smiling. Wilbur breathed deeply.
“深呼吸！”夏洛微笑著說(shuō)。威伯深吸了一口氣。

“Now climb to the highest place you can get to, like this.”
“現(xiàn)在爬到你能到的最高地方去，就像這樣?！?/p>

Charlotte raced up to the top of the doorway. Wilbur scrambled to the top of the manure pile.
夏洛跑到了門框的最上端。威伯爬到了牛糞堆的最上面。

“Very good!” said Charlotte. “Now make an attachment with your spinnerets, hurl yourself into space, and let out a dragline as you go down!”
?“很好！”夏洛說(shuō)，“現(xiàn)在用你的絲囊造絲把自己用力拋向空中，下落時(shí)把絲線抽出來(lái)！”

Wilbur hesitated a moment, then jumped out into the air. He glanced hastily behind to see if a piece of rope was following him to check his fall, but nothing seemed to be happening in his rear, and the next thing he knew he landed with a thump. “Ooomp!” he grunted.
威伯猶豫了一下，然后朝空中跳去。他扭身回望，看后面是否有一小根能阻止他下落的粘線，可卻發(fā)現(xiàn)后部似乎什么變化都沒(méi)有，接著他便聽到了自己重重地撞在地上的聲音?！班荒?！”他咕嚕著抱怨道。

Charlotte laughed so hard her web began to sway.
夏洛笑得連她的網(wǎng)都搖晃起來(lái)。

“What did I do wrong?” asked the pig, when he recovered from his bump.
“我哪一步做錯(cuò)了？”清醒過(guò)來(lái)以后，威伯問(wèn)道。

“Nothing,” said Charlotte. “It was a nice try.”
“都沒(méi)錯(cuò)，”夏洛說(shuō)，“你練得很好?！?/p>

“I think I'll try again,” said Wilbur, cheerfully. “I believe what I need is a little piece of string to hold me.”
“我想我該再試一次?！蓖謥?lái)勁兒了?！拔蚁嘈胚@一次我只需要一段能拴住我的繩子就夠了?！?/p>

The pig walked out to his yard. “You there, Templeton?” he called. The rat poked his head out from under the trough.
威伯走到院子里?！澳阍趩?，坦普爾曼？”他喊道。老鼠從食槽下探出了頭。

“Got a little piece of string I could borrow?” asked Wilbur. “I need it to spin a web.”
“我能向你借一小根繩子嗎？”威伯請(qǐng)求?！蔽乙盟鼇?lái)織網(wǎng)。”

“Yes, indeed,” replied Templeton, who saved string. “No trouble at all. Any thing to oblige.” He crept down into his hole, pushed the goose egg out of the way, and returned with an old piece of dirty white string. Wilbur examined it.
“好的，可以?！庇欣K子的坦普爾曼回答。“這事兒很容易，你不必客氣?！彼崎_洞口的那只鵝蛋，鉆進(jìn)了洞里，一會(huì)兒就抓著一根臟舊的白繩子出來(lái)了。威伯檢查了一下。

“That's just the thing,” he said. “Tie one end to my tail, will you, Templeton?”
“就是這東西，”他說(shuō)?！疤蛊諣柭?，請(qǐng)你把繩子的一頭系到我的尾巴上，好嗎？”

Wilbur crouched low, with his thin, curly tail toward the rat. Templeton seized the string, passed it around the end of the pig's tail, and tied two half hitches. Charlotte watched in delight. Like Fern, she was truly fond of Wilbur, whose smelly pen and stale food attracted the flies that she needed, and she was proud to see thathe was not a quitter and was willing to try again to spin a web.
威伯趴下來(lái)，把他那根又細(xì)又彎的尾巴朝向老鼠那邊。坦普爾曼抓住繩子，把它繞到威伯的尾巴尖上，打了兩個(gè)結(jié)。夏洛開心地看著這一切。像芬一樣，她也是真心的喜歡威伯，這不只是因?yàn)樗求a臟的豬圈與尿的臭味兒能招來(lái)她需要的蒼蠅，還因?yàn)樗湴恋乜闯鏊皇且粋€(gè)懦夫，勇于一再的學(xué)習(xí)織網(wǎng)。

While the rat and the spider and the little girl watched, Wilbur climbed again to the top of the manure pile, full of energy and hope.
就在老鼠，蜘蛛和小女孩的注視下，威伯又滿懷著活力與希望爬到牛糞堆的頂上。

“Everybody watch!” he cried. And summoning all his strength, he threw himself into the air, headfirst. The string trailed behind him. But as he had neglected to fasten the other end to anything, it didn't really do any good, and Wilbur landed with a thud, crushed and hurt. Tears came to his eyes. Templeton grinned. Charlotte just sat quietly. After a bit she spoke.
“大家看著！”他叫著，拼著全身的力氣，頭朝前往空中跳去。繩子雖然系在他身后，但是他忘了把另一頭拴到什么地方了，這可真糟糕，威伯砰的一聲就著了陸，把自己跌傷了。淚水開始在他的眼眶打轉(zhuǎn)了。坦普爾曼呲著牙大笑起來(lái)。夏洛沉默了片刻，才開始說(shuō)話。

“You can't spin a web, Wilbur, and I advise you to put the idea out of your mind. You lack two things needed for spinning aweb.”
“你不能織網(wǎng)，威伯，我勸你把這念頭從腦子里趕出去吧。你缺少織網(wǎng)所必需的兩種東西?！?/p>

“What are they?” asked Wilbur, sadly.
“那都是什么？”威伯喪氣地問(wèn)。

“You lack a set of spinnerets, and you lack know-how. But cheer up, you don't need a web. Zucherman supplies you with three big meals a day. Why should you worry about trapping food?”
“你缺少一副絲囊，你也缺乏織網(wǎng)的技巧。但是振作些，你不需要織網(wǎng)，反正祖克曼先生每天都給你提供三頓大餐。你又何必為捕食的事情操心？”

Wilbur sighed. “You're ever so much cleverer and brighter thanI am, Charlotte. I guess I was just trying to show off. Serves me right.”
威伯悲嘆?！澳惚任乙斆髁胬枚?，夏洛?？晌乙蚕腼@一顯我的能耐。我這是活該?！?/p>

Templeton untied his string and took it back to his home. Charlotte returned to her weaving.
坦普爾曼把他的繩子解下來(lái)，帶回了他的家。夏洛又繼續(xù)她的織網(wǎng)工作了。

“You needn't feel too badly, Wilbur,” she said. “Not many creatures can spin webs. Even men aren't as good at it as spiders, although they think they're pretty good, and they'll try anything. Did you ever hear of the Queensborough Bridge?”
“你不必太難過(guò)，威伯，”她說(shuō)?！安皇撬械膭?dòng)物都會(huì)織網(wǎng)的。即使人類也不能織得像蜘蛛一樣好，雖然他們自認(rèn)很優(yōu)秀，可以學(xué)會(huì)任何事情。你聽說(shuō)過(guò)昆斯伯勒大橋嗎？”

Wilbur shook his head. “Is it a web?”
威伯搖搖頭?！澳鞘且粡埦W(wǎng)嗎？”

“Sort of,” replied Charlotte. “But do you know how long it took men to build it? Eight whole years. My goodness, I would have starved to death waiting that long. I can make a web in a single evening.”
“有點(diǎn)兒像吧，”夏洛回答?！澳阒廊藗冇昧硕嗑貌沤ǔ伤膯?？整整八年。我的老天，如果我的網(wǎng)等那么久才能織成，我早餓死了。我只用一個(gè)晚上就能織出一張網(wǎng)?！?/p>

“What do people catch in the Queensborough Bridge—bug?” asked Wilbur.
“人們?cè)诶ニ共沾髽蛏献ナ裁础x子嗎？”威伯問(wèn)。

“No,” said Charlotte. “They don't catch anything. They just keep trotting back and forth across the bridge thinking there is something better on the other side. If they'd hang head-down at the top of the thing and wait quietly, maybe something good would comealong. But no—with men it's rush, rush, rush, every minute. I'm glad I'm a sedentary spider.”
“不，”夏洛說(shuō)?！八麄兪裁匆膊蛔?。他們只是覺(jué)得那上面比別的地方更好，所以就不停地在上面來(lái)回疾馳。如果他們頭朝下靜靜地掛在橋上等著，也許會(huì)等來(lái)一些好東西吧?？伤麄儏s不這么做——人們總是在橋上狂奔，狂奔，狂奔，每分鐘都是如此。我很高興我只是一只定居的蜘蛛。”

“What does sedentary mean?” asked Wilbur.
“定居是什么意思？”威伯問(wèn)。

“Means I sit still a good part of the time and don't go wandering all over creation. I know a good thing when I see it, and my web is a good thing. I stay put and wait for what comes. Gives me a chance to think.”
“就是說(shuō)，我大部分時(shí)間都可以靜靜地呆著，不必滿世界亂跑。當(dāng)我一眼望去，就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)什么是好東西，我的網(wǎng)就是一個(gè)好東西。因?yàn)樵诳椌W(wǎng)或等待什么東西飛來(lái)時(shí)，我總有我充分思考的機(jī)會(huì)。”

“Well, I'm sort of sedentary myself, I guess,” said the pig. “I have to hang around here whether I want to or not. You know where I'd really like to be this evening?”
“哦，那么我也是一種定居的動(dòng)物，我猜，”威伯說(shuō)?！耙?yàn)椴还芟膊幌矚g我都得呆在這兒。你知道今天晚上我最想去哪里嗎？”

“Where?”
“哪里？”

“In a forest looking for beechnuts and truffles and delectable roots, pushing leaves aside with my wonderful strong nose, searching and sniffing along the ground, smelling, smelling, smelling…”
“我想去大森林里尋找柏子，麥蕈，還有令我開心的樹根，用我那奇妙而又強(qiáng)壯的鼻子把腐葉都清走，沿著地面搜索，吸取，聞呀，聞呀，聞呀……"

“You smell just the way you are,” remarked a lamb who had just walked in. I can smell you from here. You're the smelliest creature in the place.”
“好像你正在森林里聞似的，”剛走進(jìn)來(lái)的羊羔挖苦道，“我從這里就能聞到你的味兒。你是這地方最臭的動(dòng)物?！?/p>

Wilbur hung his head. His eyes grew wet with tears. Charlotte noticed his embarrassment and she spoke sharply to the lamb.
威伯傷心地垂下了頭。他的眼睛被淚水打濕了?？吹剿y過(guò)的樣子，夏洛毫不客氣地譏諷起羊羔來(lái)。

“Leave Wilbur alone!” she said. “he has a perfect right to smell, considering his surroundings. You're no bundle of sweet peas yourself. Furthermore, you are interrupting a very pleasant conversation. What were we talking about, Wilbur, when we were so rudely interrupted?”
“用不著你管威伯！”她說(shuō)?！吧钤谶@種環(huán)境里，他已經(jīng)算是很干凈的了。你自己也不是什么甜豌豆。此外，你正在打攪我們之間的愉快談話。我們談到哪兒了，威伯，在我們的談話被無(wú)禮打斷之前？”

“Oh, I don't remember,” said Wilbur. “It doesn't make any difference. Let's not talk any more for a while, Charlotte. I'm getting sleepy. You go ahead and finish fixing your web and I'll just lie here and watch you. It's a lovely evening.” Wilbur stretched out on his side.
“噢，我不記得了，”威伯說(shuō)?！斑@沒(méi)什么關(guān)系。我們別再談下去了，夏洛。我有點(diǎn)兒困了。你還是繼續(xù)把你的網(wǎng)修補(bǔ)完吧，我就躺在這兒看你織。這是一個(gè)多么可愛的夜晚。”威伯伸了個(gè)懶腰躺下了。

（來(lái)源：愛思英語(yǔ) 編輯：丹妮）