"Where's Papa going with the ax?" said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.
查看中文翻译
"Out to the hog house," replied Mrs. Arable. "Some pigs were born last night."
查看中文翻译
"I don't see why he needs an ax," continued Fern, who was only eight.
查看中文翻译
"Well," said her mother," one of the pigs is a runt. It's very small and weak, and it will never amount to anything. So your father has decided to do away with it."
查看中文翻译
"Do away with it?" shrieked Fern.
查看中文翻译
"You mean kill it? Just because it's smaller than the others?"
查看中文翻译
Mrs. Arable put a pitcher of cream on the table.
查看中文翻译
"Don't yell, Fern!" she said.
查看中文翻译
"Your father is right. The pig would probably die anyway."
查看中文翻译
Fern pushed a chair out of the way and ran outdoors.
查看中文翻译
The grass was wet and the earth smelled of spring time.
查看中文翻译
Fern's sneakers were sopping by the time she caught up with her father.
查看中文翻译
"Please don't kill it!" she sobbed. "It's unfair." Mr. Arable stopped walking.
查看中文翻译
"Fern," he said gently, "you will have to learn to control yourself."
查看中文翻译
"Control myself?" yelled Fern. "This is a matter of life and death, and you talk about controlling myself."
查看中文翻译
Tears ran down her cheeks and she took hold of the ax and tried to pull it out of her father's hand.
查看中文翻译
"Fern," said Mr. Arable, "I know more about raising a litter of pigs than you do. A weakling makes trouble. Now run along!"
查看中文翻译
"But it's unfair," cried Fern.
查看中文翻译
"The pig couldn't help being born small, could it? If I had been very small at birth, would you have killed me?" Mr. Arable smiled.
查看中文翻译
"Certainly not," he said, looking down at his daughter with love.
查看中文翻译
"But this is different. A little girl is one thing, a little runty pig is another."
查看中文翻译
"I see no difference," replied Fern, still hanging on to the ax.
查看中文翻译
"This is the most terrible case of injustice I ever heard of."
查看中文翻译
A queer look came over John Arable's face. He seemed almost ready to cry himself.
查看中文翻译
"All right," he said.
查看中文翻译
"You go back to the house and I will bring the runt when I come in. I'll let you start it on a bottle, like a baby. Then you'll see what trouble a pig can be."
查看中文翻译
When Mr. Arable returned to the house half an hour later, he carried a carton under his arm. Fern was upstairs changing her sneakers.
查看中文翻译
The kitchen table was set for breakfast, and the room smelled of coffee, bacon, damp plaster, and wood smoke from the stove.
查看中文翻译
"Put it on her chair!" said Mrs. Arable.
查看中文翻译
Mr. Arable set the carton down at Fern's place.
查看中文翻译
Then he walked to the sink and washed his hands and dried them on the roller towel.
查看中文翻译
Fern came slowly down the stairs.
查看中文翻译
Her eyes were red from crying.
查看中文翻译
As she approached her chair, the carton wobbled, and there was a scratching noise.
查看中文翻译
Fern looked at her father.
查看中文翻译
Then she lifted the lid of the carton. There, inside, looking up at her, was the newborn pig. It was a white one.
查看中文翻译
The morning light shone through its ears, turning them pink.
查看中文翻译
"He's yours," said Mr. Arable. "Saved from an untimely death. And may the good Lord forgive me for this foolishness."
查看中文翻译
Fern couldn't take her eyes off the tiny pig.
查看中文翻译
"Oh," she whispered. "Oh, look at him! He's absolutely perfect."
查看中文翻译
She closed the carton carefully.
查看中文翻译
First she kissed her father, then she kissed her mother. Then she opened the lid again, lifted the pig out, and held it against her cheek.
查看中文翻译
At this moment her brother Avery came into the room.
查看中文翻译
Avery was ten. He was heavily armed an air rifle in one hand, a wooden dagger in the other.
查看中文翻译
"What's that?" he demanded.
查看中文翻译
"What's Fern got?"
查看中文翻译
"She's got a guest for breakfast," said Mrs. Arable.
查看中文翻译
"Wash your hands and face, Avery!"
查看中文翻译
"Let's see it!" said Avery, setting his gun down.
查看中文翻译
"You call that miserable thing a pig? That's a fine specimen of a pig it's no bigger than a white rat."
查看中文翻译
"Wash up and eat your breakfast, Avery!" said his mother.
查看中文翻译
"The school bus will be along in half an hour."
查看中文翻译
"Can I have a pig, too, Pop?" asked Avery.
查看中文翻译
"No, I only distribute pigs to early risers," said Mr. Arable.
查看中文翻译
Fern was up at daylight, trying to rid world of injustice.
查看中文翻译
As a result, she now has a pig. A small one, to be sure, but nevertheless a pig.
查看中文翻译
It just shows what can happen if a person gets out of bed promptly.
查看中文翻译
"Let's eat!" But Fern couldn't eat until her pig had had a drink of milk.
查看中文翻译
Mrs. Arable found a baby's nursing bottle and a rubber nipple.
查看中文翻译
She poured warm milk into the bottle, fitted the nipple over the top, and handed it to Fern.
查看中文翻译
"Give him his breakfast!" she said.
查看中文翻译
A minute later, Fern was seated on the floor in the corner of the kitchen with her infant between her knees, teaching it to suck from the bottle.
查看中文翻译
The pig, although tiny, had a good appetite and caught on quickly.
查看中文翻译
The school bus honked from the road.
查看中文翻译
"Run!" commanded Mrs. Arable, taking the pig from Fern and slipping a doughnut into her hand. Avery grabbed his gun and another doughnut.
查看中文翻译
The children ran out to the road and climbed into the bus.
查看中文翻译
Fern took no notice of the others in the bus.
查看中文翻译
She just sat and stared out of the window, thinking what a blissful world it was and how lucky she was to have entire charge of a pig.
查看中文翻译
By the time the bus reached school, Fern had named her pet, selecting the most beautiful name she could think of.
查看中文翻译
"Its name is Wilbur," she whispered to herself.
查看中文翻译
She was still thinking about the pig when the teacher said: "Fern, what is the capital of Pennsylvania?"
查看中文翻译
"Wilbur," replied Fern, dreamily.
查看中文翻译
The pupils giggled. Fern blushed.
查看中文翻译