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“O Moly, how could you?” said the Rat, dismayed.
“哎呀，鼹鼠，你怎么可以这样说？”河鼠惊慌地说。
The Badger laid down his paper.
獾放下手里的报纸。
“I could see them pricking up their ears and looking at each other,” went on the Mole; “and the Sergeant said to them, ‘Never mind her; she doesn’t know what she’s talking about.’”
“我看到他们竖起耳朵，互相对看一眼，”鼹鼠接着说；“警官对他们说：‘甭搭理她，她自己也不知道在胡说些什么。’
“‘O! don’t I?’” said I. “‘Well, let me tell you this. My daughter, she washes for Mr. Badger, and that’ll show you whether I know what I’m talking about;
“‘什么！我不知道？’我说。‘好吧，我告诉你，我女儿是给獾先生洗衣服的，你说我知道不知道。
And you’ll know pretty soon, too! A hundred bloodthirsty badgers, armed with rifles, are going to attack Toad Hall this very night, by way of the paddock.”
而且你们很快也会知道的！就在今天晚上，一百个杀气腾腾的獾，提着来复枪，要从马场那边进攻蟾宫。”
“Six boatloads of Rats, with pistols and cutlasses, will come up the river and effect a landing in the garden; while a picked body of Toads, known at the Die-hards, or the Death-or-Glory Toads, will storm the orchard and carry everything before them, yelling for vengeance.”
“满满六船的河鼠，带着手槍和棍棒，要从河上过来，在花园登陆；还有一队精心 挑选的蟾蜍，号称敢死队，自命‘不成功便成仁’，要袭击果园，扬言要报仇雪恨，见什么拿什么。”
“There won’t be much left of you to wash, by the time they’ve done with you, unless you clear out while you have the chance!’
“等他们把你们扫荡一空，那时你们就没什么可洗的了，除非你们 趁早撤出去！’
Then I ran away, and when I was out of sight I hid; and presently I came creeping back along the ditch and took a peep at them through the hedge.”
说完我就跑开了。等到他们看不见我时，我就躲起来，然后沿着沟渠爬回来，隔着树篱偷瞄了他们一眼。”
“They were all as nervous and flustered as could be, running all ways at once, and falling over each other, and every one giving orders to everybody else and not listening;
“他们全都慌作一团，四散奔逃，互相碰撞摔倒，人人都发号施令，可没一个人听；
And the Sergeant kept sending off parties of stoats to distant parts of the grounds, and then sending other fellows to fetch ’em back again;”
那个警官，不停地把一批批的白鼬派到远处，跟着又另派一批白鼬去把他们叫回来。”
“And I heard them saying to each other, ‘That’s just like the weasels;
“我听见他们乱吵吵说，‘都怪那些黄鼠狼
They’re to stop comfortably in the banqueting-hall, and have feasting and toasts and songs and all sorts of fun, while we must stay on guard in the cold and the dark, and in the end be cut to pieces by bloodthirsty Badgers!”’
他们要在宴会厅里快活，大吃大喝。又唱又跳，寻欢作乐，却派我们在又冷又黑的屋外站岗放哨，临了还得被那些杀人不眨眼的獾剁成肉酱！’”
“Oh, you silly ass, Mole!” cried Toad, “You’ve been and spoilt everything!”
“哎呀，鼹鼠，你这个蠢驴！”蟾蜍嚷道。“你把一切全搞糟了！”
“Mole,” said the Badger, in his dry, quiet way
“鼹鼠，”獾用他那干巴巴的平静的声调说
“I perceive you have more sense in your little finger than some other animals have in the whole of their fat bodies. You have managed excellently, and I begin to have great hopes of you. Good Mole! Clever Mole!”
“我看，你一个小指里的才智，比别的动物整个肥胖身子里的才智还要多。你干得太好了，我对你寄予很大希望。好鼹鼠！聪明的鼹鼠！”
The Toad was simply wild with jealousy, more especially as he couldn’t make out for the life of him what the Mole had done that was so particularly clever; but, fortunately for him, before he could show temper or expose himself to the Badger’s sarcasm, the bell rang for luncheon.
蟾蜍嫉妒得简直要疯了，他尤其弄不通，鼹鼠这样干，怎么反倒聪明；不过幸好，对獾的讥讽，他还来不及发作和暴露自已，午饭的铃声就响了。
It was a simple but sustaining meal--bacon and broad beans, and a macaroni pudding; and when they had quite done, the Badger settled himself into an arm-chair, and said
午饭简单但实惠——咸肉，大扁豆，外加通心粉布丁。吃完饭，獾安坐在一张圈椅上，说：
“Well, we’ve got our work cut out for us to-night, and it will probably be pretty late before we’re quite through with it; so I’m just going to take forty winks, while I can.”
“好啦，咱们今晚的工作步骤已经确定了，恐怕要很晚才能办完；所以，趁现在还有时间，我要打个盹儿。”
And he drew a handkerchief over his face and was soon snoring.
说罢，他用一块手帕盖住脸．不一会就鼾声大作了。
The anxious and laborious Rat at once resumed his preparations, and started running between his four little heaps, muttering
性急而勤快的河鼠，立即又干起他的备战工作，在他那四小堆武器之间来回跑动，一面嘴里咕哝着
“Here’s-a-belt-for-the-Rat, here’s-a-belt-for-the-Mole, here’s-a-belt-for-the-Toad, here’s-a-belt-for-the-Badger!” and so on, with every fresh accoutrement he produced, to which there seemed really no end;
“这根皮带给河鼠，这根给獾！”等等，等等。新的装备不断增加，像是没有个完。
So the Mole drew his arm through Toad’s, led him out into the open air, shoved him into a wicker chair, and made him tell him all his adventures from beginning to end, which Toad was only too willing to do.
鼹鼠呢，他挽着蟾蜍的臂，把他带到屋外，推进一张藤椅，要他原原本本讲自己的历险过程。这正是蟾蜍求之不得的。
The Mole was a good listener, and Toad, with no one to check his statements or to criticise in an unfriendly spirit, rather let himself go.
鼹鼠很善于倾听别人讲话，他不打岔，也不作不友好的评论，于是蟾蜍就海阔天空地神聊起来。
Indeed, much that he related belonged more properly to the category of what-might-have-happened-had-I-only-thought-of-it-in-time-instead-of ten-minutes-afterwards.
其实，他所讲的，大部分属于那种“要是我早想到而不是十分钟以后才想到事情就会那样发生”的性质。
Those are always the best and the raciest adventures; and why should they not be truly ours, as much as the somewhat inadequate things that really come off?
既然那都是最精彩最刺激的历险故事，何不把它们和那些实际发生但不太够味儿的经历一样，也看成是我们的真实经历呢？
