03-01-06-风语河岸柳 [10]
'Get off! ' said the Raf, with his mouth full of fried bread.
'I thought I'd find you here all right, 'said the Otter happily. ' Everybody along the river bank has been so worried about you. Rat never came home last night, and nor did Mole; something terrible has happened, they said. But if anyone's in trouble, Badger usually gets to hear about it, so I came straight here this morning. And oh my, didn't the Wild Wood look grand, with the snow everywhere and the red sun coming up, shining through the black trees! Halfway here I met one of those silly rabbits. He told me that Mole had lost his way last night, and that “They” were out and chasing him all over the wood . I' d like to meet one of “Them” myself this morning, and tell them what I think. '
' Weren' t you at all—um－afraid
asked the Mole, remembering how frightened he had been.
' Afraid
' The Otter laughed and showed this strong white teeth. ' I don' t think any of them would argue with me. Here, Mole, be a good fellow and fry me some eggs. I' m terribly hungry, and I've got a lot to talk about with Ratty here. Haven't seen him for weeks. '
Breakfast was almost finished when the Badger entered, looking sleepy. ' It' s nearly time for lunch, ' he said. ' Stay and have some with us, Otter. You must be hungry this cold morning. '
The hedgehogs were sent home, the breakfast things were cleared away, and soon the four animals sat down to lunch together. The Rat and the Otter were having a long conversation about river-bank matters, so the Mole began to talk to the Badger.
' This is a wonderful, comfortable home you have here, ' he said. ' There' s really nothing better than a place underground like this. You can shut off the world up there when you don't want it. And when you do, you can just go up and there' s the world waiting for you. '
The Badger smiled warmly at him. ' That' s just what I say, ' he replied. ' Down here, you' re safe and dry and warm. With a house above ground, you' ve got to worry about fire, and wind and rain, holes in the roof and broken windows. No, above ground is fine in its way, but one' s home should be underground. '
The Mole agreed with everything that the Badger said. His own little home was underground, so it was natural for him to feel comfortable there. He and the Badger became very friendly, and after lunch the Badger took him all round his home, down tunnel after tunnel, through room after room. The Mole was interested in everything and thought it was all wonderful. '
When they got back to the kitchen, the Rat was walking up and down, very restless. Unlike the Mole, he didn' t really feel comfortable underground. He wanted to be back in his own home, where the windows looked out over the river, and where he could hear the wind whispering through the trees.
' Come along, Mole, ' he said. ' We must get off while it's daylight. We don't want to spend another night lost in the Wild Wood. '
' It' s all right, ' said the Otter. ' I' m coming with you and I know all the paths. '
'You mustn' t worry, Ratty, ' added the Badger calmly. ' My tunnels go further than you think, and I' ve several back doors at the edge of the wood-although I keep them secret from most people. '
So the journey home was really very easy. When they came out of the Badger's secret back door, they found a path across the fields and soon they could see the river in front of them. The Mole looked back at the Wild Wood for a moment, thinking of the terror that he had felt there. Then he hurried on after the others, happy to be back in the open fields, and looking forward to the bright firelight of home.
■ 4 与獾先生相遇
他们耐心地等了很长时间，在雪地里又蹦又跳以保持身体的暖和。最后他们终于听到了脚步慢腾腾地向门口走来。然后门开了，仅仅够露出一只长鼻子和一对困倦的眼睛。
“是谁，”一个低沉、愠怒的声音问道，“这么晚还来串门？”
“噢，獾，”水鼠叫道，“请让我们进去。是我，水鼠，还有我的朋友鼹鼠，我们在雪地里迷路了。”
“什么？”獾用完全不同的语调说，“亲爱的阿鼠！在雪地里迷路，在野树林！赶快进来，你们俩，先暖和暖和。”
听到门在他们身后关起来，把野树林隔离在外，对鼹鼠和水鼠来说，这真是美妙的时刻。他们跟着獾向下走过长长的黑通道，来到一个大大的厨房。那儿有明亮的炉火，四周摆放着舒服的扶手椅，一张特大的木桌和长椅。
“这种夜晚小动物们是不应该出来的，”獾慈父般地说，“坐在火边，我给你们取点晚餐。”
很快他们就烤干了衣服，也感觉暖和了，野树林的危险像一场恶梦显得已很遥远。晚餐准备好了。它够十只饥饿的