加载中…河--作者：格拉姆
(2025-01-01 17:08:45)
鼹鼠整个早上都在辛苦地打扫着他的小屋。他扫着，洗着；拖地板，掸墙壁，一会儿站在椅子上擦洗着食品柜顶。一会儿钻进床底清理杂物，一会儿又卷起地毯。他不停地清扫着，直到累得胳膊酸脊背疼。
这正是开春时节，到处都充满了春天的气息，就连鼹鼠这个地下阴暗的小窝里也洋溢着春意。春天，意味着万物变化，阳光明媚，新叶吐芽，所以大家一点也不奇怪鼹鼠突然扔下扫帚感叹道：“噢，真无聊！我讨厌大扫除！”地面上有什么东西在召唤着他，他跑出房间，开始挖洞钻向有阳光照耀的地方。
他挖了推，推了挖，嘴里还喃喃自语着“向上！向上！”最后他的鼻子触到了阳光，他发现他正在一块田地的暧烘烘的草丛里。
“这真不错！”鼹鼠说道，“这比大扫除要好的多！”太阳照在他的背上，暖洋洋的，四周有鸟儿在唱着动听的歌。他高兴地蹦了一下，活动活动筋骨，然后穿过田地向树丛走去。他这里走走，那里转转，穿过田野，逛过树林，最大限度地调动自己的视觉，嗅觉和听觉。各处的动物和鸟儿都一边说笑着，一边忙着找食物，忙着为春天筑新巢。鼹鼠可喜欢这些了。
不知不觉，他来到了一条河边。他至今还从未见过河水——这个明澈耀眼的奇妙之物，它欢蹦乱跳地穿梭在岸边树林的倒影之间。它从不停息，匆匆奔流着，却一路欢声笑语。
鼹鼠马上就喜欢上它了。他沿着河岸走着，并一直听着，看着。最后他坐在草地上欣赏着河对岸的风景。那儿有一个黑洞，鼹鼠出神地看着，想：在河边有一间小房子应该会很惬意的。他看着看着，发现有东西在洞里闪烁。很快他看清那是一只眼睛，然后一张脸也出现了。
一张褐色的小脸，长着几根胡须。
眼睛亮亮的，耳朵小小的，毛发厚而亮。
这是只水老鼠。
于是他们俩都站了起来，看着对方。
“你好，鼹鼠！”
“你好，水鼠！”
“你愿意过来吗？”水鼠问道。
“噢，说起来容易，”鼹鼠有点嗔怪地说。河，对他来说是很陌生的，他不知道怎样才能到达河对岸。
水鼠一声没吭便不见了，不久又出现了，坐在一条蓝白相间的小船上，它很快地向鼹鼠这边驶来，靠岸边停了下来。不一会儿，鼹鼠满怀好奇和兴奋地发现他自己确确实实地坐在了一条真正的船上。
“你知道吗，”当水鼠将船划离河岸时，鼹鼠对他说，“我这辈子还从未坐过船呢。”
“什么？”水鼠叫道。“我亲爱的伙计，你算白活了！相信我，”他一本正经地继续着，“没有什么——真的没有什么——比在船上打发时光更惬意。你可以划向河的上游，或下游，还可以随意停下来，一点问题也没有。总有事做，但如果你不想去做也不用勉强，你可以干你愿意干的事。看这儿！如果你今天没事，我们为什么不一起在河上玩它一整天呢？”
鼹鼠带着极大的兴趣听完了这一切。然后，他向后靠坐在那张舒服的座位上回答道：“这将是多么美妙的一天！我们现在就出发吧！”
但是水鼠先回到了洞里，一会儿又出来了，提着一只又大又沉的午餐篮。他把篮子移进船内鼹鼠的脚下，然后开始向下游划去。这俩朋友时不时地聊着天，但更多的时候，鼹鼠仅仅是神思恍惚地注视着河水，享受着自然界的音响，气味，还有阳光。最后他们划离主河道转入一条与大河交汇的小支流。后来水鼠把船停了下来，他们就一起上了岸。岸上高大的柳树掩映着一片松软的绿油油的草地，非常安怡恬静。
鼹鼠坐下来，看了看他的周围，愉快地说道：“多么美丽的地方！”
“该用午餐了，”水鼠边说边打开篮子，“快点，鼹鼠！过来准备吧。”
鼹鼠高兴地服从吩咐，经过一早上的大扫除，他确实非常饿。这是一顿多么丰富的午餐啊！有冷肉和鸡蛋三明治，有炸鸡和西红柿、苹果、香蕉，还有一大块蛋糕。
最后他们再也吃不下了，鼹鼠躺倒在地，懒懒地看着河水。不一会儿，他坐了起来说：“我看见水里有一长串水泡，那是什么？”
“水泡？哦噢！”水鼠友好地向河水那儿叫道。
水泡没了，又转到了另一个地方。很快一个湿漉漉的长着胡须的鼻子出现在河岸边，水獭爬上了岸，抖动着外衣上的水。
“午餐派对！”他边说边径直向食物走去。“你为什么不邀请我，阿鼠？”
“我们不是事先计划好的，”水鼠解释道。“我们今天早上才决定过来的。哦，这是我的朋友，鼹鼠先生。”
“很高兴认识你，”水獭招呼道，这两只动物马上就成了朋友。
“今天所有人似乎都在河上，”水獭边吃边说，“我游到这条支流上是想安静一会儿，不想却碰到你们哥俩在搞午餐派对！”
突然，他们身后浓密的灌木丛里发出了响声，一个大大的黑白脑袋探出头瞅着他们。
“过来，老獾！”水鼠叫道。
獾向前走了几步又停下来，“呣，这么挤！”他愠怒地说着，转身消失在灌木丛里。
“多遗憾！”水鼠叹道。“亲爱的老獾！他人倒不错，就是讨厌人多，今天就甭想见他了。但你给我们说说，谁还在河上？”
“癞蛤蟆出来了，算他一个，”水獭回答道。“坐在他那亮晃晃的新船上，穿着崭新的划船装，总之，什么都是新的！”
水鼠和水獭相互对视一下，然后笑了起来。
“癞蛤蟆总是在尝试新鲜的玩意儿，”水鼠向鼹鼠解释。“但他总是很快又厌倦了。去年是一种房子船，他曾打算在河上度过他的余生。今年他又喜欢上了划艇。”
“当然，他这哥们儿不错，”水獭接着说，“但是他从来不从他的错误里吸取教训！”
从他们坐的地方能看见大河的一点风景。这时，他们恰好看到一艘划艇经过，一只短粗肥胖的动物正在非常吃力、非常笨拙地划船。
“正朝这边来的就是蛤蟆，”水鼠说，“看他！很快就会把船弄翻的。”
“那是当然的，”水獭笑道，癞蛤蟆此时已不在他们视线里了，水獭继续着，“我曾告诉过你关于蛤蟆的故事和那……”
只见岸边的水突然晃动了一下，什么东西银光一闪便不见了，水獭也一晃眼就离开了。鼹鼠低头看着河水，水獭的声音仍在耳边未落，但身影已消失。河面上仅仅留下了一长串水泡。
水鼠自个儿哼着歌，鼹鼠记起来了：在动物世界里，不管你的朋友在何时为何事突然消失，你都不能发表任何看法，否则就会被视为无礼。
“好了，好了，”水鼠说。“我想我们该准备回家了。”
鼹鼠把东西收拾到午餐篮里，很快水鼠就开始轻松地划着船回去了。午后的太阳已落在树后，水鼠在那儿一声不吭沉浸在自己的梦中，鼹鼠则满肚子的午餐，满脑子的兴奋。他开始认为他现在完全了解船了。
过了一会，他说：“阿鼠！拜托，我想划船！”
水鼠微笑着摇摇头。“还不行，我年轻的朋友，”他说。“等你学了几招再划，这并不像看起来那么简单。”
鼹鼠安静了一两分钟，但是他确实非常想划船，他相信他能划得像水鼠那样好。紧接着，他跳了起来，水鼠还没来得及阻止，他已从吃惊的水鼠手中抽过船桨。水鼠从座位上摔了下来，叫道：“停下，你这傻蛋！你会把我们弄下水的！”
鼹鼠用木桨在水面上划过很大的弧度，但双桨根本挨不着水，而他的腿已翘过他的头，他发现他正压在摔倒在船底板上的水鼠身上。惊恐中，他试图站起来，便抓住船的一边，只听——扑通一声。
船翻了，鼹鼠，水鼠，午餐篮统统落入水里。
是水鼠，当然是水鼠把鼹鼠拉出水面，是他把船翻正，找回双桨，从河底捞出午餐篮，然后他笑个不停。
待一切收拾停当，鼹鼠不开心地坐在船上，浑身湿漉漉的，非常可怜。当他们起程回家时，他低声地说，“阿鼠，我亲爱的朋友！我是多么愚蠢，多么不知好歹，我真的非常抱歉。”
“没什么！”水鼠友善地回答道。“我总是在水里出入，不要为此担心。但是我真的认为你应该来和我呆一段时间。你会很舒服的，我将教你划船，教你游泳，不久你就会和我们划得一样好。”
鼹鼠太高兴了，他简直不知道该说什么来感谢他的朋友。
他们回到家，坐在明亮的火炉前用着可口的热乎乎的晚餐，水鼠边吃边说着河上的生活趣事。然后他把鼹鼠带到楼上最好的卧室，不久鼹鼠就暖和地，舒服地躺下了，聆听着他的新朋友——河水——流过窗边的声音。
那是春天慢慢向金色的夏天转变时，鼹鼠所经历的多彩生活的第一天。从那以后，他学着游泳，划船，还学着去喜欢听风声——听它吹过河边的树木和花草时沙沙低语着自己的秘密。
The river
The Mole
worked very hard all morning, cleaning his little home. Hebrushed,
and he washed; he cleaned the floors and the walls, hestood on
chairs to wash the tops of cup boards, he got under the beds,he
took up the carpets. He cleaned and he cleaned, until hisarms and
his back ached with tiredness.
It was springtime,
and the smell and the sound of spring wereeverywhere, even in the
Mole's dark little house under the ground. Andwith the spring comes
the promise of change, of sunshine, of newgreen leaves. So it was
not surprising that the Mole suddenly put downhis brushes and said,
'Oh bother! 'and then, 'I'm tiredof cleaning! 'Something up above
the ground was calling to him, andhe ran out of his house and began
to dig his way upwards to the sun.
He dug and he
pushed, and he pushed and he dug. 'Up we go!Up we go! 'he said to
himself, until at last his nose cameout into the sunlight, and he
found himself in the warm grass of afield.
'This is fine!
'said the Mole. 'This is better than cleaning!'The sunshine was
warm on his back and the air was filled with the songsof birds. He
gave a little jump for happiness, shook himself,and then began to
cross the field towards some trees. Here andthere he went, through
the fields and the woods, looking andsmelling and listening.
Everywhere animals and birds were busy, talkingand laughing,
looking for food, making new homes for the spring.The Mole enjoyed
it all.
Then, suddenly, he
came to a river. He had never seena river before in his life-this
wonderful bright shining thing, whichdanced its way in and out of
the shadows under the trees. It was neverstill for a minute,
hurrying and laughing and talking to itself.
And at once, the
Mole was in love with it. He walked alongthe river bank, listening
and watching all the time. At last hesat down on the grass and
looked across the river to the bank opposite. Therewas a dark hole
in the bank, and the Mole watched it dreamily, thinkingthat it
would be very pleasant to have a little house by the river. Ashe
watched, he saw some thing shining in the hole. Soon he sawthat it
was an eye, and then a face appeared as well.
A brown little
face, with whiskers.
With bright eyes,
and small ears, and thick shiny hair.
It was the Water
Rat!
Then the two
animals stood up and looked at each other.
'Hello, Mole! 'said
the Water Rat.
'Hello, Rat! 'said
the Mole.
'Would you like to
come over?' asked the Rat.
'Oh, it's easy to
talk, 'said the Mole, a littlecrossly. The river was new to him and
he did not know how to get to theother side.
The Rat said
nothing, and disappeared. Then he appeared again,in a little blue
and white boat, which came quickly across theriver towards the
Mole. It stopped by the bank, and a momentlater the Mole, to his
great surprise and excitement, foundhimself actually sitting in a
real boat.
'Do you know, 'he
said, as the Rat began to row away from thebank, 'I've never been
in a boat before in all my life. '
'What?' cried the
Rat. 'My dear fellow, you haven't lived!Believe me, 'he went on
seriously, 'there is nothing-reallynothing-nicer than just messing
about in boats. You can go up river,down river, stay where you are,
it really doesn't matter.There's always something to do, but you
don't have to do it if youdon't want to. You can do what you like.
Look here! Ifyou're not busy today, why don't we spend the day on
the rivertogether?'
The Mole had
listened to all this with great interest. Now he satback in the
comfortable seat and said, 'What a wonderful day this is!Let's
start at once! '
But first the Rat
went into his hole, and after a while came outcarrying a very large
and heavy lunch basket. This went in to the boat,under the Mole's
feet, and then the Rat began to row down river.The two friends
talked from time to time, but mostly the Mole justwatched the river
dreamily, enjoying the sounds and the smells and thesunlight. At
last they turned off the big river into a little sideriver that
came down to join it. The Rat stopped the boat and they gotout on
to a bank of soft green grass under tall willow trees. It wasvery
quiet and very peaceful.
The Mole sat down
and looked around him. 'What a beautiful place!'he said
happily.
'Time for lunch,
'said the Rat, opening the basket. 'Comeon, Mole! Let's get to
work. '
The Mole was happy
to obey, because he was very hungry indeed afterall his cleaning
earlier in the day. And what a lunch it was! Therewere cold meats
and egg sandwiches, cooked chicken and tomatoes, applesand bananas
and a large cake.
When at last they
could eat no more, the Mole lay back and watchedthe river lazily.
After a while he sat up.
'I can see a long
line of bubbles in the water, 'hesaid. 'I wonder what it is.
'
'Bubbles? Oho!
'said the Rat, and he called out across theriver in a friendly kind
of way.
The bubbles stopped
and turned. Soon a wet whiskery nose appearedabove the edge of the
bank, and the Otter pulled him。
注：肯尼斯·格拉姆，1859年生于爱丁堡，死于1932年。他就职于英格兰银行多年，同时也是一名作家。《风语河岸柳》最初只是他讲给他绰号小家鼠的小儿子阿拉斯特听的床边小故事。于1908年出版，从而成为有史以来最著名的儿童读物之一。
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