夏洛的网 第216期:温暖的风(6)

 The young spiders just waved. 那些小蜘蛛只是招手。

For several days and several nights they crawled here and there, 有好几天几夜，它们爬来爬去，

up and down, around and about, 爬上爬下，绕过来绕过去，

waving at Wilbur, trailing tiny draglines behind them, and exploring their home. 向威尔伯招手，在它们身后拖着细丝，探索它们的家。

There were dozens and dozens of them. 它们几十只几十只。

Wilbur couldn't count them, but he knew that he had a great many new friends. 威尔伯不会数数，不过它知道，它有了许多新朋友。

They grew quite rapidly. 它们长得很快。

Soon each was as big as a BB shot. 没多久，每一只都有bb猎枪弹那么大了(直径0.18英寸)。

They made tiny webs near the sac. 它们在袋子附近结出一丁点大的网。

Then came a quiet morning when Mr. Zuckerman opened a door on the north side. 接着到了一个安静的早晨，朱克曼先生把北边的一扇门打开。

A warm draft of rising air blew softly through the barn cellar. 一股温暖的气流轻轻地穿过谷仓底。

The air smelled of the damp earth, 空气中有潮湿的泥土香味，

of the spruce woods, 有云杉树的香味，

of the sweet springtime. 有甜蜜的春天气息。

The baby spiders felt the warm updraft. 蜘蛛娃娃们感觉到温暖的上升气流。

One spider climbed to the top of the fence. 一只小蜘蛛爬到栅栏的顶上。

Then it did something that came as a great surprise to Wilbur. 接着它做出一件让威尔伯大为吃惊的事。

The spider stood on its head, 那小蜘蛛倒过头来竖蜻蜓站着，

pointed¹ its spinnerets in the air, 把吐丝器指向天空，

and let loose a cloud of fine silk. 吐出一篷漂亮的丝。

The silk formed a balloon. 这些丝成了一个气球。

As Wilbur watched, the spider let go of the fence 威尔伯就那么眼巴巴地看着它离开栅栏，

and rose into the air. 飞到空中去了。

"Good-bye!" it said, as it sailed through the doorway². “再见！”小蜘蛛飞出门时，说了一声。

"Wait a minute!" screamed Wilbur.  "Where do you think you're going?" “等一等！”威尔伯尖叫，“你这是上哪儿去啊？”

But the spider was already out of sight. 可是小蜘蛛已经飞得没影了。

Then another baby spider crawled to the top of the fence, 接着又是一只小蜘蛛爬到栅栏顶上，

stood on its head, made a balloon, and sailed away. 用头倒立，吐出一个气球，也飞走了。

Then another spider.  Then another. 接着又是一只小蜘蛛。接着又是一只。

The air was soon filled with tiny balloons, each balloon carrying a spider. 空中很快飞满了小气球，每个小气球带走一只小蜘蛛。

Wilbur was frantic³. 威尔伯简直要发疯了。

Charlotte's babies were disappearing at a great rate. 夏洛的小宝宝们很快都不见了。

"Come back, children!" he cried. “回来，孩子们！”威尔伯大叫。

"Good-bye!" they called.  "Good-bye, good-bye!" “再见！”它们纷纷叫道，“再见，再见！”

 

1 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

2 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

3 frantic   

adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的

参考例句：

• I've had a frantic rush to get my work done.我急急忙忙地赶完工作。
• He made frantic dash for the departing train.他发疯似地冲向正开出的火车。