Chapter 1 Before Breakfast 第1章 早饭前
"Where's Papa going with that axe?" said Fern to her mother
“爸爸拿着那把斧子上哪儿去？”弗恩问她妈妈，
as they were setting the table for breakfast.
摆桌子吃早饭的时候。
"Out to the hog house," replied Mrs. Arable.
“上猪圈去，”阿拉布尔太太回答说，
"Some pigs were born last night."
“昨天夜里下小猪了。”
"I don't see why he needs an ax,"
“我不明白，他干吗要拿着把斧子去，”
continued Fern, who was only eight.
只有八岁的弗恩又说。
"Well," said her mother,
“这个嘛，”她妈妈说，
"one of the pigs is a runt.
“有一只小猪是落脚猪。
It's very small and weak,
它太小太弱，
and it will never amount to anything.
不会有出息。
So your father has decided to do away with it."
因此你爸爸拿定主意不要它。”
"Do away with it?" shrieked Fern.
“不要它？”弗恩一声尖叫，
"You mean kill it? Just because it's smaller than the others?"
“你是说要杀掉它？只为了它比别的猪小？”
Mrs. Arable put a pitcher of cream on the table.
阿拉布尔太太在桌子上放下奶油缸。
"Don't yell, Fern!"she said.
“别嚷嚷，弗恩！”她说，
"Your father is right.
“你爸爸是对的。
The pig would probably die anyway."
那小猪反正活不了。”
Fern pushed a chair out of the way and ran outdoors.
弗恩推开挡道的一把椅子，跑出去了。
The grass was wet and the earth smelled of springtime.
青草湿湿的，泥土散发着一股春天气息。
Fern's sneakers were sopping by the time she caught up with her father.
等到追上爸爸，弗恩的帆布鞋都湿了。
"Please don't kill it!" she sobbed. "It's unfair."
“请不要杀它！”她眼泪汪汪地说，“这不公平。”
Mr. Arable stopped walking.
阿拉布尔先生停下了脚步。
"Fern," he said gently, "you will have to learn to control yourself."
“弗恩，”他温和地说，“你得学会控制自己。”
"Control myself?" yelled Fern.
“控制自己？”弗恩叫道，
"This is a matter of life and death, and you talk about controlling myself."
“这是生死攸关的事，你还说什么控制自己。”
Tears ran down her cheeks and she took hold of the ax
泪珠滚滚流下她的脸蛋，她一把抓住斧子，
and tried to pull it out of her father's hand.
打算把它从爸爸手里抢下来。
"Fern," said Mr. Arable,
“弗恩，” 阿拉布尔先生说，
"I know more about raising a litter of pigs than you do.
“养小猪的事我比你懂。
A weakling makes trouble. Now run along!"
落脚猪麻烦大着呢。现在让开吧！”
"But it's unfair," cried Fern.
“可是这不公平，”弗恩叫道，
"The pig couldn't help being born small, could it?
“小猪生下来小，它自己也没办法，对不对？
If I had been very small at birth, would you have killed me?
要是我生下来的时候很小很小，你也把我给杀了吗？”
Mr. Arable smiled.
阿拉布尔先生微笑了。
"Certainly not," he said, looking down at his daughter with love.
“当然不会，”他说着，疼爱地低头看着女儿，
"But this is different. A little girl is one thing, a little runty pig is another."
“不过这是两码事。女孩小是一回事，落脚猪小又是一回事。”
"I see no difference," replied Fern,
“我看不出有什么两样，”弗恩回答说，
still hanging on to the ax.
仍旧抓住斧头不放，
"This is the most terrible case of injustice I ever heard of."
“我听到过那么多不公平的事，这件事是最最不公平的。”
A queer look came over John Arable's face.
约翰.阿拉布尔先生脸上掠过一种古怪的表情。
He seemed almost ready to cry himself.
他觉得自己也要哭出来了。
"All right," he said. "You go back to the house and I will bring the runt when I come in.
“好吧好吧，”他说，“你先回去，我回家的时候把这落脚猪带回来，
I'll let you start it on a bottle, like a baby.
让你用奶瓶喂它奶，像喂小宝宝似的。
Then you'll see what trouble a pig can be."
这下子你就会看到，对付一只小猪有多么麻烦了。”
When Mr. Arable returned to the house half an hour later,
半小时后，阿拉布尔先生回家来了，
he carried a carton under his arm.
胳肢窝里真夹着一个纸箱。
Fern was upstairs changing her sneakers.
这时候弗恩正在楼上换她的帆布鞋。
The kitchen table was set for breakfast,
厨房的桌子上，早饭已经摆好，
and the room smelled of coffee, bacon, damp plaster, and wood-smoke from the stove.
房间里透着咖啡、熏肉、湿灰泥的气味，还有从炉子里飘出来的柴火烟味。
"Put it on her chair!" said Mrs. Arable.
“把它放到她的椅子上去，” 阿拉布尔太太说。
Mr. Arable set the carton down at Fern's place.
阿拉布尔先生就把纸箱放在弗恩的位子上，
Then he walked to the sink and washed his hands and dried them on the roller towel.
然后他走到水池旁边洗了手，用滚筒架上的擦手毛巾擦干。
Fern came slowly down the stairs.
弗恩慢慢地一步一步下楼。
Her eyes were red from crying.
她的眼睛哭红了。
As she approached her chair,
当她走近她那把椅子的时候，
the carton wobbled,
那纸箱摇摇晃晃地，
and there was a scratching noise.
里面发出抓扒的声音。
Fern looked at her father.
弗恩看着她爸爸。
Then she lifted the lid of the carton.
接着她掀起纸箱盖。
There, inside, looking up at her,
从里面抬头看着她的，
was the newborn pig.
正是刚生下来的那只小猪。
It was a white one.
是只小白猪。
The morning light shone through its ears, turning them pink.
晨光透过它的耳朵，把它们映成了粉红色。
"He's yours," said Mr. Arable.
“它是你的了，” 阿拉布尔先生说，
"Saved from an untimely death.
“你让它免于一死。
And may the good Lord forgive me for this foolishness."
愿老天爷原谅我做了这傻事。”
Fern couldn't take her eyes off the tiny pig.
弗恩盯着小猪看，眼睛怎么也离不开它。
"Oh," she whispered.
“噢，”她很轻很轻地说，
"Oh, look at him! He's absolutely perfect."
“噢，瞧它，它棒极了。”
She closed the carton carefully.
她小心地盖上纸箱。
First she kissed her father, then she kissed her mother.
她先亲亲爸爸，再亲亲妈妈。
Then she opened the lid again, lifted the pig out,
然后她又打开箱盖，把小猪抱出来
and held it against her cheek.
贴在脸蛋上。
At this moment her brother Avery came into the room.
这时候她哥哥艾弗里走进房间。
Avery was ten.
艾弗里十岁。
He was heavily armed
他全副武装
an air rifle in one hand, a wooden dagger in the other.
一只手握住一支气枪，一只手握住一把木头短刀。
"What's that?" he demanded.
“那是什么玩意儿？”他问道，
"What's Fern got?"
“弗恩得到什么了？”
"She's got a guest for breakfast," said Mrs. Arable.
“她来了位吃早饭的客人，” 阿拉布尔太太说，
"Wash your hands and face, Avery!"
“你去洗手洗脸吧，艾弗里！”
"Let's see it!" said Avery, setting his gun down.
“让我看看它，”艾弗里放下枪说，
"You call that miserable thing a pig?
“这么可怜的小东西也能叫做猪？
That's a fine specimen of a pig,
它真是猪中楷模，
it's no bigger than a white rat."
还没有一只白老鼠大。”
"Wash up and eat your breakfast, Avery!" said his mother.
“快去洗洗，来吃早饭，艾弗里！”他妈妈说，
"The school bus will be along in half an hour."
“还有半个钟头校车就到。”
"Can I have a pig, too, Pop?" asked Avery.
“我也可以有只猪吗，爸爸？”艾弗里问道。
"No, I only distribute pigs to early risers," said Mr. Arable.
“不，我只把猪送给早起的人，” 阿拉布尔先生说，
"Fern was up at daylight, trying to rid the world of injustice.
“弗恩天一亮就起来打抱不平，要扫尽天下不平事。
As a result, she now has a pig.
结果呢，她现在得到了一只小猪。
A small one, to be sure, but nevertheless a pig.
没错，它是很小，只有一丁点大，不过到底还是猪。
It just shows what can happen if a person gets out of bed promptly.
这正好证明，早起的人会有什么好处。
Let's eat!"
我们吃早饭吧！”
But Fern couldn't eat until her pig had had a drink of milk.
可宝贝小猪不先喝上牛奶，弗恩是吃不下去的。
Mrs. Arable found a baby's nursing bottle and a rubber nipple.
阿拉布尔太太找来一个婴儿奶瓶和一个橡皮奶嘴。
She poured warm milk into the bottle,
她把热牛奶灌进奶瓶，
fitted the nipple over the top,
套上奶嘴，
and handed it to Fern.
递给弗恩说：
"Give him his breakfast!" she said.
“给它吃它的早饭吧！”
A minute later, Fern was seated on the floor in the corner of the kitchen with her infant between her knees,
紧接着，弗恩坐在厨房角落的地板上，把她的小宝宝放在膝间，
teaching it to suck from the bottle.
叫小猪吸奶瓶。
The pig, although tiny,
小猪虽然小，
had a good appetite and caught on quickly.
胃口却很好，很快就学会了。
The school bus honked from the road.
校车在大路上按喇叭了。
"Run!" commanded Mrs. Arable,
“快跑！”
taking the pig from Fern and slipping a doughnut into her hand.
阿拉布尔太太抱起弗恩怀里的小猪，在她手里塞了个炸面圈，吩咐说。
Avery grabbed his gun and another doughnut.
艾弗里抓起他的枪，又拿了一个炸面圈。
The children ran out to the road and climbed into the bus.
两个孩子奔到外面大路上，上了车。
Fern took no notice of the others in the bus.
弗恩不理车上的同学。
She just sat and stared out of the window,
她只是坐在那里看着车窗外，
thinking what a blissful world it was and how lucky she was to have entire charge of a pig.
一个劲儿地想，这是一个多么快乐的世界啊，她一个人拥有一只小猪，又是多么福气啊。
By the time the bus reached school,
等校车来到学校时，
Fern had named her pet,
弗恩已经给她的宝贝猪取好了名字，
selecting the most beautiful name she could think of.
一个她想得出来的最漂亮的名字。
"Its name is Wilbur," she whispered to herself.
“它的名字叫威尔伯，”她悄悄地对自己说了一声。
She was still thinking about the pig
她正在想着她的小猪，
when the teacher said: "Fern, what is the capital of Pennsylvania?"
这时老师问到：“弗恩，宾夕法尼亚州的首府是哪里？”
"Wilbur," replied Fern, dreamily.
“威尔伯，”弗恩像做梦似地说。
The pupils giggled.
同学们格格笑起来。
Fern blushed.
弗恩脸都红了。
