E.B.White

《夏洛的网》是一部描写友情的童话。在朱克曼家的谷仓里，小猪威尔伯和蜘蛛夏洛建立了最真挚的友谊。当威尔伯的生命有危险时，看似渺小的夏洛用自己的力量救了威尔伯，但这时，蜘蛛夏洛的生命却走到了尽头……

《夏洛的网》是一部可以与《小王子》相媲美的世界名著。这部作品初次出版于1952年，已有20多种译文，发行近千万册。

本文节选自《夏洛的网》第十八章。

“Special announcement！”said the loud speaker in a pompous voice. “The management of the Fair takes great pleasure in presenting Mr. Homer L. Zuckerman and his famous pig. The truck bearing this extraordinary animal is now approaching the infield. Kindly stand back and give the truck room to proceed！In a few moments the pig will be unloaded in the special judging ring in front of the grandstand，where a special award will be made. Will the crowd please make way and let the truck pass. Thank you.”Wilbur trembled when he heard this speech. He felt happy but dizzy. The truck crept along slowly in low speed. Crowds of people surrounded it，and Mr. Arable had to drive very carefully in order not to run over anybody. At last he managed to reach the judges' stand. Avery jumped out and lowered the tailgate.

“I'm scared to death，”whispered Mrs. Zuckerman. “Hundreds of people are looking at us.”

“Cheer up，”replied Mrs. Arable，“this is fun.”“Unload your pig，please！”said the loud speaker.

“特別消息！”广播喇叭里以一种炫耀的声音说，“展览会的主办者正在非常荣幸地为各位介绍霍默·祖克曼先生和他的名猪。装着这头非凡的动物的卡车现在正朝我们开过来。请往后退，让卡车开过来！这头猪马上就要被送到大看台前的特别裁判场来，并在那里被授予特别奖。请大家后退，让卡车通过。谢谢你们。”当听到这些报道时，威伯颤抖起来，他幸福得都要晕过去了。卡车慢慢地往前开着，周围挤满了人。阿拉贝尔先生不得不开得很小心，以免压到人。最后他终于设法开到了裁判场前。埃弗里跳下车，打开后车门。

“我要吓死了，”祖克曼太太低语，“几百人在看着我们呢。”

“振作些，”阿拉贝尔夫人回答，“那不是很有趣嘛。”“请把你们的猪抬下来！”扩音器里说。

“All together，now，boys！”said Mr. Zuckerman. Several men stepped forward from the crowd to help lift the crate. Avery was the busiest helper of all.

“Tuck your shirt in，Avery！”cried Mrs. Zuckerman. “And tighten your belt. Your pants are coming down.”“Can't you see I'm busy？”replied Avery in disgust.

“Look！”cried Fern，pointing. “There's Henry！”“Don't shout，Fern！”said her mother. “And don't point！”“Can't I please have some money？”asked Fern. “Henry invited me to go on the Ferris wheel again，only I don't think he has any money left. He ran out of money.”Mrs. Arable opened her handbag. “Here，”she said. “Here is forty cents. Now don't get lost！And be back at our regular meeting place by the pigpen very soon！”Fern raced off，ducking and dodging through the crowd，in search of Henry.

“The Zuckerman pig is now being taken from his crate，”boomed the voice of the loud speaker. “Stand by for an announcement！”Templeton crouched under the straw at the bottom of the crate. “What a lot of nonsense！”muttered the rat. “What a lot of fuss about nothing！”Over in the pigpen，silent and alone，Charlotte rested. Her two front legs embraced the egg sac. Charlotte could hear everything that was said on the loud speaker. The words gave her courage. This was her hour of triumph.

As Wilbur came out of the crate，the crowd clapped and cheered. Mr. Zuckerman took off his cap and bowed. Lurvy pulled his big handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the sweat from the back of his neck. Avery knelt in the dirt by Wilbur's side，busily stroking him and showing off. Mrs. Zuckerman and Mrs. Arable stood on the running board of the truck.

“現在，一起用力，孩子们！”祖克曼先生说，几个男人从人群中挤出来帮忙抬箱子。埃弗里是几个人中最忙的一个。

“把你的衬衫掖进去，埃弗里！”祖克曼太太喊，“再紧紧你的裤带。你的裤子要掉下来了。”“你没看见我正忙着吗？”埃弗里不高兴地回答。

“看，”芬叫着指去，“那是亨利！