Animal Farm（70）

All this while no more had been seen of Snowball.  He was rumoured to be hiding on one of the neighbouring farms，either Foxwood or Pinchfield.  Napoleon was by this time on slightly better terms with the other farmers than before. It happened that there was in the yard a pile of timber which had been stacked there ten years earlier when a beech spinney was cleared. It was well seasoned，and Whymper had advised Napoleon to sell it；both Mr. Pilkington and Mr. Frederick were anxious to buy it.  Napoleon was hesitating【v. 犹豫；迟疑；停顿；结结巴巴地说】 between the two，unable to make up his mind.  It was noticed that whenever he seemed on the point of coming to an agreement with Frederick，Snowball was declared to be in hiding at Foxwood，while，when he inclined towards Pilkington，Snowball was said to be at Pinchfield.

在这段时间里，斯诺鲍再也没有露面。谣传他藏在附近的一个庄园里，不是在福克斯伍德庄园就是在平彻菲尔德庄园。这时候，拿破仑和其他农民的关系比以前稍微好了一些。碰巧，在农场的院子里，有一堆十年前在清理一片山毛榉林时堆在那儿的木材。温普尔曾建议拿破仑卖掉它，皮尔金顿先生和弗雷德里克先生都急于要买它。拿破仑在这两者之间犹豫不决，拿不定主意。大家注意到，每当他似乎要和弗雷德里克达成协议的时候，就宣称斯诺鲍躲藏在福克斯伍德庄园;而当他倾向于皮尔金顿的时候，又说斯诺鲍在平彻菲尔德。

Suddenly，early in the spring，an alarming thing was discovered.  Snowball was secretly frequenting the farm by night！The animals were so disturbed that they could hardly sleep in their stalls. Every night，it was said，he came creeping【adj. 爬行的；迟缓的；毛骨悚然的；奉承的】 in under cover of darkness and performed all kinds of mischief. He stole the corn，he upset the milk-pails，he broke the eggs，he trampled the seedbeds，he gnawed【v. 咬；侵蚀】 the bark off the fruit trees.  Whenever anything went wrong it became usual to attribute it to Snowball.  If a window was broken or a drain was blocked up，someone was certain to say that Snowball had come in the night and done it， and when the key of the store-shed was lost，the whole farm was convinced that Snowball has thrown it down the well.  Curiously【adv. 好奇地】 enough，the went on believing this even after the mislaid key was found under a sack of meal.  The cows declared unanimously【adv. 全体一致地】 that Snowball crept into their stalls and milked them in their sleep.  The rats，which has been troublesome that winter，were also said to be in league with Snowball.

在早春时节，突然发现了一件令人震惊的事情。斯诺鲍经常在夜间秘密地潜入庄园!动物们很不安，在畜栏里几乎睡不着觉。据说，每天晚上，他都在黑暗的掩护下爬进来，做各种各样的恶作剧。他偷玉米，打翻牛奶桶，打碎鸡蛋，踩烂苗床，咬掉果树的树皮。每当出了什么差错，通常都归咎于斯诺鲍。如果窗户破了，排水管堵了，肯定会有人说斯诺鲍是夜里来干的，而当贮藏棚的钥匙丢了的时候，整个庄园都相信是斯诺鲍把钥匙扔到井里去了。奇怪的是，即使在那把丢失的钥匙在一袋面粉下面被发现之后，他还是相信了。奶牛们异口同声地宣称，斯诺鲍在他们睡觉时溜进牛棚，给他们挤奶。在那个冬天给他们带来麻烦的老鼠，据说也和斯诺鲍勾结在一起。