But Templeton worked away at the job, and managed to cut the sac adrift and carry it to the ground, where he dropped it in front of Wilbur. Wilbur heaved (发出) a great sigh of relief.
"Thank you, Templeton," he said. "I will never forget this as long as I live."
"Neither will I," said the rat, picking his teeth. "I feel as though I'd eaten a spool of thread (一线轴的线). Well, home we go!"
Templeton crept into the crate and buried himself in the straw. He got out of sight just in time.
Lurvy and John Arable and Mr. Zuckerman came along at that moment, followed by Mrs. Arable and Mrs. Zuckerman and Avery and Fern.
Wilbur had already decided how he would carry the egg sac--there was only one way possible.
He carefully took the little bundle (包) into his mouth and held it there on top of his tongue (舌头). He remembered what Charlotte had told him--that the sac was waterproof and strong.
It felt funny on his tongue and made him drool a bit (流口水). And of course he couldn't say anything. But as he was being shoved into the crate, he looked up at Charlotte and gave her a wink.
She knew he was saying good-bye in the only way he could. And she knew her children were safe. "Good-bye!" she whispered. Then she summoned (召集) all her strength and waved one of her front legs at him.
She never moved again. Next day, as the Ferris wheel was being taken apart and the race horses were being loaded into vans and the entertainers (摊主) were packing up their belongings (所有物) and driving away in their trailers, Charlotte died.
The Fair Grounds were soon deserted. The sheds (棚屋) and buildings were empty and forlorn (孤独的). The infield (地面) was littered with bottles and trash.
Nobody, of the hundreds of people that had visited the Fair, knew that a grey spider had played the most important part of all. No one was with her when she died.
And so Wilbur came home to his beloved (亲爱的) manure pile (牛粪堆) in the barn cellar. His was a strange homecoming (回家).
Around his neck he wore a medal of honor; in his mouth he held a sac of spider's eggs. There is no place like home, Wilburn thought, as he placed Charlotte's five hundred and fourteen unborn children carefully in a safe corner.
The barn smelled good. His friends the sheep and the geese were glad to see him back.
The geese gave him a noisy welcome.
"Congratu-congratu-congratulations!" they cried. "Nice work."
Mr. Zuckerman took the medal from Wilburn's neck and hung it on a nail (钉子) over the pigpen, where visitors could examine (审视) it. Wilbur himself could look at it whenever (无论何时) he wanted to.
In the days that followed, he was very happy. He grew to a great size. He no longer worried about being killed, for he knew that Mr. Zuckerman would keep him as long as he lived.
Wilbur often thought of Charlotte. A few strands of her old web still hung in the doorway. Every day Wilburn would stand and look at the torn, empty web, and a lump (哽咽) would come to his throat. No one had ever had such a friend-so affectionate (亲密的), so loyal, and so skillful.
The autumn days grew shorter, Lurvy brought the squashes (丝瓜) and pumpkins (南瓜) in from the garden and piled them on the barn floor, where they wouldn't get nipped (冻坏) on frosty (寒冷的) nights.
The maples (枫树) and birches (桦树) turned bright colors and the wind shook (摇晃) them and they dropped their leaves one by one to the ground.
Under the wild apple trees in the pasture (草地), the red little apples lay thick (密集的) on the ground, and the sheep gnawed (咬) them and foxes (狐狸) came in the night and sniffed (吞食) them.
One evening, just before Christmas, snow began falling. It covered house and barn and fields and woods. Wilbur had never seen snow before.
When morning came he went out and plowed the drifts (拱雪堆) in his yard, for the fun of it.
Fern and Avery arrived, dragging a sled. They coasted down (向下滑行) the lane (小路) and out onto the frozen pond (冰场) in the pasture.
"Coasting (坐雪橇) is the most fun there is," said Avery.
"The most fun there is," retorted (反驳) Fern, "is when the Ferris wheel stops and Henry and I are in the top car and Henry makes the car swing (摇晃) and we can see everything for miles and miles and miles."
"Goodness, are you still thinking about that old Ferris wheel?" said Avery in disgust. "The Fair was weeks and weeks ago."
"I think about it all the time," said Fern, picking snow from her ear.
After Christmas the thermometer (温度计) dropped to ten below zero. Cold settled on the world. The pasture was bleak (阴冷的) and frozen.
The cows stayed in the barn all the time now, except on sunny mornings when they went out and stood in the barnyard (谷仓前的空地) in the lee of the straw pile (稻草堆).
The sheep stayed near the barn, too, for protection. When they were thirsty they ate snow.
The geese hung around the barnyard the way boys hang around a drug store, and Mr. Zuckerman fed them corn (玉米) and turnips (大头菜) to keep them cheerful.
"Many, many, many thanks!" they always said, when they saw food coming.
Templeton moved indoors when winter came. His ratty home (鼠窝) under the pig trough was too chilly (寒冷的), so he fixed himself a cozy (舒适的) nest in the barn behind the grain bins (粮仓).
He lined it with bits of dirty newspapers and rags (破布条), and whenever he found a trinket (饰品) or a keepsake (纪念品) he carried it home and stored it there.
He continued to visit Wilbur three times a day, exactly at mealtime, and Wilbur kept the promise he had made.
Wilbur let the rat eat first. Then, when Templeton couldn't hold another mouthful (再吃一口), Wilbur would eat. As a result of overeating, Templeton grew bigger and fatter than any rat you ever saw. He was gigantic (巨大的). He was as big as a young woodchuck (土拨鼠).
The old sheep spoke to him about his size one day.
"You would live longer," said the old sheep, "if you ate less."
"Who wants to live forever?" Sneered (讥讽) the rat. "I am naturally a heavy eater and I get untold (无以言表的) satisfaction from the pleasures of the feast." He patted his stomach, grinned (冷笑) at the sheep, and crept upstairs to lie down.
All winter Wilbur watched over Charlotte's egg sac as though (仿佛) he were guarding his own children.
He had scooped out (挖出) a special place in the manure for the sac, next to the board fence (栅栏). On very cold nights he lay so that his breath would warm it.
For Wilbur, nothing in life was so important as this small round object--nothing else mattered.
Patiently (耐心地) he awaited (等待) the end of winter and the coming of the little spiders. Life is always a rich and steady time when you are waiting for something to happen or to hatch (孵化). The winter ended at last.
"I heard frogs today," said the old sheep one evening. "Listen! You can hear them now."
Wilbur stood still and cocked (竖起) his ears. From the pond (池塘), in shrill chorus (尖锐的和声), came the voices of hundreds of little frogs.
"Springtime," said the old sheep, thoughtfully (沉思地). "Another spring." As she walked away, Wilbur saw the new lamb (羊羔) following her. It was only a few hours old.
The snows melted (融化) and ran away. The streams (小溪) and ditches (壕沟) bubbled and chattered (哗哗作响) with rushing water.
A sparrow (雀儿) with a streaky breast (胸前长着条纹) arrived and sang. The light strengthened, the mornings came sooner.
Almost every morning there was another new lamb in the sheepfold (羊圈). the goose was sitting on nine eggs.
The sky seemed wider and a warm wind blew. The last remaining strands of Charlotte's old web floated away and vanished (消失).
One fine sunny morning, after breakfast, Wilbur stood watching his precious sac. He wasn't thinking of anything much.
As he stood there, he noticed something move. He stepped closer and stared. A tiny spider crawled from the sac.
It was no bigger than a grain of sand (一粒沙), no bigger than the head of a pin (大头针) .
Its body was grey with a black stripe (斑纹) underneath. Its legs were grey and tan (灰褐色). It looked just like Charlotte.
Wilbur trembled all over when he saw it. The little spider waved at him. Then Wilbur looked more closely.
Two more little spiders crawled out and waved. They climbed round and round on the sac, exploring their new world. Then three more little spiders. Then eight. Then ten. Charlotte's children were here at last.