The Mole1 had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home.  First with brooms, then with dusters; then on ladders and steps and chairs, with a brush and a pail of whitewash2; till he had dust in his throat and eyes, and splashes of whitewash all over his black fur, and an aching back and weary arms.  Spring was moving in the air above and in the earth below and around him, penetrating3 even his dark and lowly little house with its spirit of divine discontent and longing4.  It was small wonder, then, that he suddenly flung down his brush on the floor, said ‘Bother!’ and ‘O blow!’ and also ‘Hang spring-cleaning!’ and bolted out of the house without even waiting to put on his coat.  Something up above was calling him imperiously, and he made for the steep little tunnel which answered in his case to the gravelled carriage-drive owned by animals whose residences are nearer to the sun and air.  So he scraped and scratched and scrabbled and scrooged and then he scrooged again and scrabbled and scratched and scraped, working busily with his little paws and muttering to himself, ‘Up we go!  Up we go!’ till at last, pop! his snout came out into the sunlight, and he found himself rolling in the warm grass of a great meadow.

整个上午，鼹鼠都在勤奋地干活，为他小小的家屋作春季大扫除，先用扫帚扫，再用掸子掸，然后登上梯子、椅子什么的，拿着刷子，提着灰浆桶，刷墙，直干到灰尘呛了嗓子，迷了眼，全身乌黑的毛皮溅满了白灰浆，腰也酸了，臂也痛了。春天的气息，在他头上的天空里吹拂，在他脚下的泥土里游动，在他四周围飘荡。春天那奇妙的追求、巴望的精神，甚至钻进了他那阴暗低矮的小屋。怪不得他猛地把刷子往地下一扔，嚷道：“烦死人了！”“去它的！” “什么春季大扫除，见它的鬼去吧！”连大衣也没顾上穿，就冲出家门了。上面有种力量在急切地召唤他，于是他向着陡峭的地道奔去。这地道，直通地面上的碎石子大车道，而这车道是属于那些住在通风向阳的居室里的动物的。鼹鼠又掏又挠又爬又挤，又挤又爬又挠又掏，小爪子忙个不竭，嘴里还不住地念念叨叨，“咱们上去啰！咱们上去啰！”末末了，噗的一声，他的鼻尖钻出了地面，伸到了阳光里，跟着，身子就在一块大草坪暖暖的软草里打起滚来。

‘This is fine!’ he said to himself.  ‘This is better than whitewashing6!’  The sunshine struck hot on his fur, soft breezes caressed7 his heated brow, and after the seclusion8 of the cellarage he had lived in so long the carol of happy birds fell on his dulled hearing almost like a shout.  Jumping off all his four legs at once, in the joy of living and the delight of spring without its cleaning, he pursued his way across the meadow till he reached the hedge on the further side.

“太棒了！”他自言自语说，“可比刷墙有意思！”太阳晒在他的毛皮上，暖烘烘的，微风轻抚着他发热的额头，在洞穴里蛰居了那么久，听觉都变得迟钝了，连小鸟儿欢快的鸣唱，听起来都跟大声喊叫一样。生活的欢乐，春天的愉悦，又加上免了大扫除的麻烦，他乐得纵身一跳，腾起四脚向前飞跑，横穿草坪，一直跑到草坪尽头的篱笆前。

‘Hold up!’ said an elderly rabbit at the gap.  ‘Sixpence for the privilege of passing by the private road!’

“站住！”篱笆豁口处，一只老兔子喝道。“通过私人道路，得交六便士！”

He was bowled over in an instant by the impatient and contemptuous Mole, who trotted10 along the side of the hedge chaffing the other rabbits as they peeped hurriedly from their holes to see what the row was about. ‘Onion-sauce!  Onion-sauce!’ he remarked jeeringly11, and was gone before they could think of a thoroughly12 satisfactory reply.  Then they all started grumbling13 at each other.  ‘How STUPID you are!  Why didn’t you tell him----‘ ‘Well, why didn’t YOU say----‘  ‘You might have reminded him ----‘ and so on, in the usual way; but, of course, it was then much too late, as is always the case.

鼹鼠很不耐烦，态度傲慢，根本没把老兔子放在眼里，一时倒把老兔子弄得不知如何是好。鼹鼠顺着篱笆一溜小跑，一边还逗弄着别的兔子，他们一个个从洞口探头窥看，想知道外面到底吵些什么。“蠢货！蠢货！”他嘲笑说，不等他们想出一句解气的话来回敬他，就一溜烟跑得没影儿了。这一来，兔子们七嘴八舌互相埋怨起来。“瞧你多蠢，干吗不合错误他说……”“哼，那你干吗不说……”“你该警告他……”诸如此类，按例总是这一套。当然啰，按例总是——太晚啦。

It all seemed too good to be true.  Hither and thither14 through the meadows he rambled15 busily, along the hedgerows, across the copses, finding everywhere birds building, flowers budding, leaves thrusting— everything happy, and progressive, and occupied.  And instead of having an uneasy conscience pricking16 him and whispering ‘whitewash!’ he somehow could only feel how jolly it was to be the only idle dog among all these busy citizens.  After all, the best part of a holiday is perhaps not so much to be resting yourself, as to see all the other fellows busy working.

一切都那么美好，好得简直不像是真的。他跑过一片又一片的草坪，沿着矮树篱，穿过灌木丛，匆匆地游逛。处处都看到鸟儿做窝筑巢，花儿含苞待放，叶儿挤挤嚷嚷——万物都显得快乐，忙碌，奋进。他听不到良心在耳边嘀咕：“刷墙！”只觉得，在一大群忙忙碌碌的公民傍边，做一只唯一的懒狗，是多么惬意。看来，过休假日最舒心的方面，还不是本身得到休憩，而是看到别人都在忙着干活。

He thought his happiness was complete when, as he meandered17 aimlessly along, suddenly he stood by the edge of a full-fed river.  Never in his life had he seen a river before—this sleek18, sinuous19, full-bodied animal, chasing and chuckling20, gripping things with a gurgle and leaving them with a laugh, to fling itself on fresh playmates that shook themselves free, and were caught and held again.  All was a-shake and a-shiver—glints and gleams and sparkles, rustle21 and swirl22, chatter23 and bubble.  The Mole was bewitched, entranced, fascinated. By the side of the river he trotted as one trots24, when very small, by the side of a man who holds one spell-bound by exciting stories; and when tired at last, he sat on the bank, while the river still chattered25 on to him, a babbling26 procession of the best stories in the world, sent from the heart of the earth to be told at last to the insatiable sea.

他漫无目的地闲逛着，忽然来到一条水流丰盈的大河边，他觉得真是快乐绝顶了。他这辈子还从来没有见过一条河哩。这只光光滑滑、蜿蜿蜒蜒、身躯庞大的动物，不竭地追逐，轻轻地欢笑。它每抓住什么，就格格低笑，把它们扔掉时，又哈哈大笑，转过来又扑向新的玩伴。它们挣扎着甩开了它，可到底还是被它逮住，抓牢了。它浑身颤动，晶光闪闪，沸沸扬扬，吐着旋涡，冒着泡沫，喋喋不休地唠叨个没完。这景象，简直把鼹鼠看呆了，他心驰神迷，像着了魔似的。他沿着河边，迈着小碎步跑，像个小娃娃紧跟在大人身边，听他讲惊险故事，听得入了迷似的。他终于跑累了，在岸边坐了下来。可那河还是一个劲儿向他娓娓而谈，它讲的是世间最好听的故事。这些故事发自地心深处，一路讲下去，最终要向那听个没够的大海倾诉。

As he sat on the grass and looked across the river, a dark hole in the bank opposite, just above the water’s edge, caught his eye, and dreamily he fell to considering what a nice snug27 dwelling-place it would make for an animal with few wants and fond of a bijou riverside residence, above flood level and remote from noise and dust.  As he gazed, something bright and small seemed to twinkle down in the heart of it, vanished, then twinkled once more like a tiny star.  But it could hardly be a star in such an unlikely situation; and it was too glittering and small for a glow-worm.  Then, as he looked, it winked28 at him, and so declared itself to be an eye; and a small face began gradually to grow up round it, like a frame round a picture.

他坐在草地上，朝着河那边张望时，忽见对岸有个黑黑的洞口，恰好在水面上边。他梦悠悠地想，要是一只动物要求不外高，只想有一处小巧玲珑的河边住宅，涨潮时淹不着，又远离尘嚣，这个住所倒是满舒适的。他正呆呆地凝望，忽觉得，那洞穴的中央有个亮晶晶的小东西一闪，忽隐忽现，像一颗小星星。不外，出现在那样一个地方，不会是星星。要说是萤火虫嘛，又显得太亮，也太小。望着望着，阿谁亮东西竟冲他眨巴了一下，可见那是一只眼睛。接着，围着那只眼睛，渐渐显出一张小脸，恰像一幅画，嵌在画框里。

A brown little face, with whiskers.

A grave round face, with the same twinkle in its eye that had first attracted his notice.

Small neat ears and thick silky hair.

It was the Water Rat!

Then the two animals stood and regarded each other cautiously.

一张棕色的小脸，腮边有两撇胡鬚。

一张神情严肃的圆脸，眼睛里闪着光，就是一开始引起他注意的那种光。

一对精巧的小耳朵，一头丝一般浓密的毛发。

那是河鼠！

随后，两只动物面对面站着，谨慎地互相打量。

‘Hullo, Mole!’ said the Water Rat.

“嗨，鼹鼠！”河鼠招呼道。

‘Hullo, Rat!’ said the Mole.

“嗨，河鼠！”鼹鼠答道。

‘Would you like to come over?’ enquired29 the Rat presently.

“你愿意过这边来吗？”河鼠问。

‘Oh, its all very well to TALK,’ said the Mole, rather pettishly30, he being new to a river and riverside life and its ways.

“嗳，说说倒容易，”鼹鼠没好气地说，因为他是初次见识一条河，还不熟悉水上的生活习惯。

The Rat said nothing, but stooped and unfastened a rope and hauled on it; then lightly stepped into a little boat which the Mole had not observed.  It was painted blue outside and white within, and was just the size for two animals; and the Mole’s whole heart went out to it at once, even though he did not yet fully31 understand its uses.

河鼠二话没说，弯腰解开一条绳子，拽拢来，然后轻轻地跨进鼹鼠原先没有注意到的一只小船。那小船外面漆成蓝色，里面漆成白色，鼹鼠的心，一下子飞到了小船上，虽然他还不大明白它的用场。

The Rat sculled smartly across and made fast.  Then he held up his forepaw as the Mole stepped gingerly down.  ‘Lean on that!’ he said.  ‘Now then, step lively!’ and the Mole to his surprise and rapture33 found himself actually seated in the stern of a real boat.

河鼠干练地把船划到对岸，停稳了。他伸出一只前爪，搀着鼹鼠不寒而栗地走下来。“扶好了！”河鼠说，“现在，轻轻地跨进来！”于是鼹鼠又惊又喜地发现，本身真的坐进了一只真正的小船的尾端。

‘This has been a wonderful day!’ said he, as the Rat shoved off and took to the sculls again.  ‘Do you know, I’ve never been in a boat before in all my life.’

“今天太美了！”鼹鼠说。这时，河鼠把船撑离岸边，拿起双桨。“你知道吗，我这辈子还从没坐过船哩！”

‘What?’ cried the Rat, open-mouthed:  ‘Never been in a—you never— well I—what have you been doing, then?’

“什么？”河鼠张大嘴巴惊异地喊道，“从没坐过——你是说你从没——哎呀呀——那你都干什么来着？”

‘Is it so nice as all that?’ asked the Mole shyly, though he was quite prepared to believe it as he leant back in his seat and surveyed the cushions, the oars34, the rowlocks, and all the fascinating fittings, and felt the boat sway lightly under him.

“坐船真那么美吗？”鼹鼠有点不好意思地问。其实，在他斜倚着座位，仔细打量着座垫、桨片、桨架，以及所有那些令人心驰神往的设备，感到小船在身下轻轻摇曳时，他早就相信这一点了。

‘Nice?  It’s the ONLY thing,’ said the Water Rat solemnly, as he leant forward for his stroke.  ‘Believe me, my young friend, there  is NOTHING—absolute nothing—half so much worth doing as simply messing

about in boats.  Simply messing,’ he went on dreamily: ‘messing—about—in—boats; messing----

“美？这是世上并世无双的美事，”河鼠俯身划起桨来。“请相信我，年轻伴侣，世界上再也没有——绝对没有——比乘船游逛更有意思的事啦。什么也不干，只是游逛，”他梦呓般地喃喃说，“坐在船上，到处游逛，游逛……”

‘‘Look ahead, Rat!’ cried the Mole suddenly.

“把稳前面，河鼠！”鼹鼠忽地惊叫一声。

It was too late.  The boat struck the bank full tilt35.  The dreamer, the joyous36 oarsman, lay on his back at the bottom of the boat, his heels in the air.

太迟了。小船一头撞到了岸边。阿谁梦悠悠、美滋滋的舟子四脚朝天，跌倒在船底。

图片

‘—about in boats—or WITH boats,’ the Rat went on composedly, picking himself up with a pleasant laugh. ‘In or out of ‘em, it doesn’t matter.  Nothing seems really to matter, that’s the charm of it.  Whether you get away, or whether you don’t; whether you arrive at your destination or whether you reach somewhere else, or whether you never get anywhere at all, you’re always busy, and you never do anything in particular; and when you’ve done it there’s always something else to do, and you can do it if you like, but you’d much better not.  Look here!  If you’ve really nothing else on hand this morning, supposing we drop down the river together, and have a long day of it?’

“坐在船上——或者跟着船——到处游逛，”河鼠开怀大笑，一骨碌爬起来，若无其事地说下去。“呆在船里，或者呆在船外，这都无所谓。好像什么都无所谓，这就是它叫人着迷的地方。不管你上哪儿，或者不上哪儿；不管你到达目的地，还是到达另一个地方，还是不到什么地方，你总在忙着，可又没专门干什么特别的事；这件事干完，又有别的事在等着你，你乐意的话，可以去干，也可以不干。好啦，要是今天上午你确实没别的事要做，那咱们是不是一块儿划到下游去，逛它一整天？”

The Mole waggled his toes from sheer happiness, spread his chest with a sigh of full contentment, and leaned back blissfully into the soft cushions.  ‘WHAT a day I’m having!’ he said.  ‘Let us start at once!’

鼹鼠乐得直晃脚丫子，腆着胸脯，舒心地长吁一口气，惬意地躺倒在软绵绵的座垫上。“今天我可要痛痛快快玩它一天！”他说，“咱们这就动身吧！”

‘Hold hard a minute, then!’ said the Rat.  He looped the painter through a ring in his landing-stage, climbed up into his hole above, and after a short interval37 reappeared staggering under a fat, wicker luncheon-basket.

“那好，等一等，只消一会儿！”河鼠说。他把缆绳穿过码头上的一个环，系住，然后爬进码头上面自家的洞里，不多时，摇摇晃晃地捧着一只胖大的藤条午餐篮子出来了。

‘Shove that under your feet,’ he observed to the Mole, as he passed it down into the boat.  Then he untied38 the painter and took the sculls again.

“把它推到你脚下，”河鼠把篮子递上船，对鼹鼠说。然后他解开缆绳，拿起双桨。

‘What’s inside it?’ asked the Mole, wriggling39 with curiosity.

“这里面都装着些什么？”鼹鼠好奇地扭动着身子。

‘There’s cold chicken inside it,’ replied the Rat briefly;‘cold tongue cold ham cold beef pickled gherkins salad french rolls cress sandwiches potted meat ginger32 beer lemonad esoda water----‘

“有冷鸡肉，”河鼠一口气回答说，“冷舌头冷火腿冷牛肉腌小黄瓜沙拉法国面包卷三明治罐焖肉姜汁啤酒柠檬汁苏打水……”

‘O stop, stop,’ cried the Mole in ecstacies:  ‘This is too much!’

“行啦，行啦，”鼹鼠眉飞色舞地喊道，“太多了！”

‘Do you really think so?’ enquired the Rat seriously.  ‘It’s only what I always take on these little excursions; and the other animals are always telling me that I’m a mean beast and cut it VERY fine!’

“你真的认为太多了？”河鼠一本正经地问，“这只是我平日出游常带的东西；别的动物还老说我是个小气鬼，带的东西刚刚够吃哩！”

The Mole never heard a word he was saying.  Absorbed in the new life he was entering upon, intoxicated40 with the sparkle, the ripple41, the scents42 and the sounds and the sunlight, he trailed a paw in the water and dreamed long waking dreams.  The Water Rat, like the good little fellow he was, sculled steadily43 on and forebore to disturb him.

可河鼠的话，鼹鼠半点也没听进去。他正深深地沉湎在这种新颖生活里，陶醉在波光、涟漪、芳香、水声、阳光之中。他把一只脚爪伸进水里，做着长长的白日梦。心地善良的河鼠，只管稳稳当本地划着桨，不去惊扰他。

‘I like your clothes awfully44, old chap,’ he remarked after some half an hour or so had passed.  ‘I’m going to get a black velvet45 smoking-suit myself some day, as soon as I can afford it.’

“我特喜欢你这身衣裳，老伴计，”约莫过了半个钟头，河鼠才开口说话，“有一天，等我手头便利时，我也要给本身搞一件黑丝绒吸烟服穿穿。”

‘I beg your pardon,’ said the Mole, pulling himself together with an effort.  ‘You must think me very rude; but all this is so new to me.  So—this—is—a—River!’

“你说什么？”鼹鼠好不容易才清醒过来。“你大概觉得我这人很不懂礼貌吧，可这一切对我是太新鲜了。本来，这——就是一条——河。”

‘THE River,’ corrected the Rat.

“是这条河，”河鼠纠正说。

‘And you really live by the river?  What a jolly life!’

“那么，你真的是生活在这条河边啰？多美呀！”

‘By it and with it and on it and in it,’ said the Rat.  ‘It’s brother and sister to me, and aunts, and company, and food and drink, and (naturally) washing.  It’s my world, and I don’t want any other.  What it hasn’t got is not worth having, and what it doesn’t know is not worth knowing.  Lord! the times we’ve had together!  Whether in winter or summer, spring or autumn, it’s always got its fun and its excitements.  When the floods are on in February, and my cellars and basement are brimming with drink that’s no good to me, and the brown water runs by my best bedroom window; or again when it all drops away and, shows patches of mud that smells like plum-cake, and the rushes and weed clog46 the channels, and I can potter about dry shod over most of the bed of it and find fresh food to eat, and things careless people have dropped out of boats!’

“我生活在河边，同河在一起，在河上，也在河里，”河鼠说，“在我看来，这条河，就是我的兄弟姐妹，我的姑姑姨姨，我的伙伴，它供我吃喝，也供我洗涮。它就是我的整个世界；别的的世界，我都不需要。凡是河里没有的，都不值得要，凡是河所不了解的，都不值得了解。主啊！我们在一块度过了多少美妙的时光啊！不管春夏秋冬，它总有趣味，总叫人兴奋。二月里涨潮的时候，我的地窖里灌满了不卫生的汤，黄褐色的河水从我最讲究的卧室的窗前淌过。等落潮以后，一块块泥地露了出来，散发着葡萄干蛋糕的气味，河道里淤满了灯芯草等水草。这时，我又可以在大部分河床上随便溜达，不会弄湿鞋子，可以找到新鲜食物吃，还有那些粗心大意的人从船上扔下来的东西。”