2 The open road 
　  
　　One bright summer morning the Mole and the Rat were out on the river bank, watching the world go by. The Rat was writing a song and was singing quietly to himself as he tried different words.  
　　'Ratty, 'said the Mole, 'could I ask you something?' 
　　'Mmm, 'the Rat said, not really listening. 'Sky, fly, high, die, why…Oh dear! What did you say, Mole?' 
　　'Will you take me to visit Mr Toad? I've heard so much about him, and I do want to meet him. ' 
　　'Why, of course, 'said the Rat kindly. 'Get the boat out, and we'll row up there now. Toad's always happy to see his friends. ' 
　　'He must be a very nice animal, 'said the Mole, as he got into the boat and took the oars.  
　　'He's the best of animals, 'replied the Rat. 'Kind, friendly-not very clever, perhaps, and sometimes he's just a little bit boastful, but he's a good fellow really. ' 
　　The Mole rowed hard up the river and in a while they came to a large red house, with beautiful gardens reaching down to the water's edge.  
　　'There's Toad Hall, 'said the Rat. 'It's a lovely old house-Toad is very rich, you know, and this is really one of the nicest houses on the river. But we never say that to Toad, of course. ' 
　　They left their boat by the boathouse at the end of the gar den. The boathouse was full of expensive boats, which looked new and mostly unused.  
　　The Rat looked around him. 'I see that all the boats are out of the water, 'he said. 'I suppose Toad has finished with boating now and has some new interest to amuse him. ' 
　　They walked over the grass towards the house and soon found Toad, resting in a garden-chair and carefully studying a large map.  
　　'Wonderful! 'he cried, as he saw them. 'You're just the fellow that I wanted to see, Ratty. 'He jumped up and came towards them, talking all the time, and gave the Rat no time to introduce the Mole. 'I need you very much-both of you. You've got to help me. It's most important! ' 
　　'It's about your rowing, I suppose, 'said the Rat, keeping his face very serious. 'You will learn to do it in the end, you know, if you're patient and work hard and----' 
　　'Oh, bother boats! 'the Toad said crossly. 'I've finished with boats. Silly way to pass the time. No, I've discovered the real thing-the best way, the only way, to spend one's life. Come with me, dear Ratty, and your kind friend too, and I will show you! ' 
　　He took them round to the other side of the house, and there they saw a shiny new gipsy caravan. It had yellow and green sides, and red wheels.  
　　'There you are! 'cried the Toad. 'There's real life for you. The open road, the fields, the hills…villages, towns, cities! Here today, off to a different place tomorrow! Travel, change, interest-the world in front of you! ' 
　　The Mole was very interested and excited, and followed the Toad inside the caravan to look around. But the Rat shook his head and waited outside.  
　　When they came down the steps again, the Toad was still talking excitedly to the Mole. 'So you see, everything is ready for when we start this afternoon. ' 
　　'What was that?' said the Rat slowly. 'Did you say“we”and “start”and“this afternoon”?' 
　　'Now, dear good old Ratty, 'said Toad quickly, 'don't talk in that cross voice. You know you've got to come. You can't stay by your boring old river all your life. I want to show you the world! ' 
　　'I don't care, 'said the Rat calmly. 'I'm not coming, and that's final. I'm going to stay by my old river, and what's more, Mole's going to stay with me, aren't you, Mole?' 
　　'Of course I am, 'said the Mole bravely. But his face looked sad. Poor Mole! He thought that life in a caravan on the open road would be an exciting adventure.  
　　The Rat saw his sad face and felt worried. He liked his friends to be happy and he could see that the Mole really wanted to go.  
　　Toad watched them both carefully. 'Come in and have some lunch, 'he said pleasantly, 'and we'll talk it over. ' 
　　During lunch-which was excellent, of course, because everything at Toad Hall always was-the Toad talked and talked. He was full of wonderful plans. How interesting each day would be! What adventures the three friends would have together! Ah, the happiness of the travelling life!  
　　In the end, of course, the Rat agreed to go, and by the evening they found themselves on a lonely hillside miles from home. It had been a golden afternoon, and even the Rat had enjoyed the journey so far. Only the old grey horse was not very happy. He had to do all the hard work of pulling the caravan, and he was not at all pleased about it.  
　　The next morning the Toad was still sleeping deeply when the other two got up. They shook him very hard but couldn't wake him, so they had to do all the work. The Rat took care of the horse, lit the fire, and did last night's washing-up. The Mole walked to the nearest village, a long way away, to get milk and eggs and bread, which the Toad had, of course, for gotten to bring. And when at last the Toad got up, he said what a pleasant easy life it was on the open road.  
　　The day passed happily as they travelled over green hills and along narrow country roads. But the next morning the Rat and the Mole got Toad out of bed and made sure that he did some of the work. Because of this, Toad said very little about a pleas ant easy life. Later, he even tried to get back into bed, but the Mole and the Rat pulled him out again.  
　　The end of their journey came very suddenly. In the after noon they were travelling along a big road. The Mole was walking beside the horse, and the Toad and the Water Rat were walking behind the caravan, talking together. Actually, the Toad was talking, and the Rat was listening-some of the time.  
　　Then they heard a noise behind them, and looking back, they saw a small cloud of dust. It made a 'Poop-poop! 'sound, and it was coming towards them very fast indeed.  
　　Seconds later, the peace of the afternoon was destroyed in a storm of noise and wind and dust. The' poop-poop' rang with a shout in their ears, and an enormous, long, shining motorcar roared past them and disappeared over the hill.  
　　The old grey horse, wild with fear, tried to get off the road. The caravan's wheels began to go down into the ditch along the edge. Then there was a terrible crash-and the beautiful yellow and green caravan lay helplessly on its side.  
　　The Rat jumped up and down in the road, shouting angrily. 'Stupid, dangerous people! The police should lock you up in prison! ' 
　　He and the Mole managed to calm the horse, and then they went to look at the caravan. Two wheels had come off, the windows were broken, and bits of wood lay everywhere. They tried to pull it out of the ditch, but they couldn't move it.  
　　'Hi! Toad! 'they cried. 'Come and help us, can't you! ' 
　　The Toad never answered a word, so they went to see what was the matter with him. They found him sitting in the middle of the road, with a dreamy smile on his face and happily whispering, 'Poop-poop! ' 
　　The Rat shook him, not very gently. 'Are you coming to help us, Toad?' he asked crossly.  
　　'Oh, what happiness! 'whispered Toad to himself. 'The real way to travel! The only way to travel! Here one minute-miles away in seconds! Wonderful! Poop-poop! ' 
　　'Oh, do stop being so silly, Toad! 'cried the Mole.  
　　'And I never knew! 'the Toad went on dreamily. 'I never dreamt! What clouds of dust will fly up behind me as I drive like the wind! I've finished with silly old caravans for ever. Poop-poop! ' 
　　'What are we going to do with him?' the Mole asked the Water Rat.  
　　'Nothing, 'replied the Rat. 'There's nothing that we can do. I know Toad. When he gets a new idea into his head, he al ways goes crazy at first. He'll be like this for some days now. Come on, we'll have to do everything by ourselves. ' 
　　They had to leave the caravan in the ditch and walk to the nearest town, five or six miles away. There they asked some body to take care of the horse, and found somebody who agreed to fetch the broken caravan. Then they caught a train to a station near Toad Hall, took Toad home, went down to the boat, and then at last they sat down to a late supper in Rat's comfortable little home by the river.  
　　The next day was a lazy one. In the evening the Mole was sitting on the river bank fishing, when the Rat, who had been to visit friends, came to find him.  
　　'Heard the news?' the Rat said. 'Everybody's talking about it, all along the river bank. Toad went up to town by an early train this morning. And he has ordered a large and very expensive motor-car. '  
　 
2 宽敞的公路 
　  
　　一个灿烂的夏日早晨，鼹鼠和水鼠在河岸边散步，欣赏着世界的变幻。水鼠正在写一首歌，他试着用不同的词轻声地自哼自唱。 
　　“阿鼠，”鼹鼠说，“我能问你一些事吗？” 
　　“呣，”水鼠似听非听地说着，“天空、飞翔、高潮、死亡，为什么……噢，亲爱的！你说什么，鼹鼠？” 
　　“你能带我去拜访癞蛤蟆先生吗？我已听了许多有关他的事，我确实想见他。” 
　　“呃，当然，”水鼠和善地说，“把船拉出来，我们现在就划过去，蛤蟆一直都很乐意见他的朋友。” 
　　“他一定是只很不错的动物，”鼹鼠边说边走上船拿起双桨。 
　　“他是动物中最好的，”水鼠回答道。“善良，友好——也许不很聪明，有时他仅仅有点爱吹牛，但是他确实是个好人。” 
　　鼹鼠吃力地向上游划着，不一会儿他们到了一所大大的红房子前面，那儿美丽的花园一直延伸到河的边缘。 
　　“那是蛤蟆宅第，”水鼠说，“一所可爱的老宅——癞蛤蟆很富有，你知道吧，这是河边最好的房子之一。当然我们从来没有对蛤蟆这样说过。” 
　　他们把船停在花园尽头的船室里，船室内停满了昂贵而崭新的船，看上去大多没用过。 
　　水鼠看了看他的周围，说：“我发现所有的船都没停在水里，我猜蛤蟆现在不再玩船了，肯定又有什么新鲜有趣的东西吸引着他。” 
　　他们穿过草坪向房子走去，很快便看见了癞蛤蟆，他正坐在花园椅里仔细地研究着地图。 
　　“太棒了！”癞蛤蟆一看到他们就叫了起来。“我正想见你呢，阿鼠，”他跳了起来，向他们走去，嘴里说个不停，根本不给水鼠时间来介绍鼹鼠。“我非常需要你——你们俩。你们得帮我，这是最最重要的！” 
　　“我想，是关于划船吧，”水鼠一本正经地说。“你总算要学了，你知道吧，如果你耐心点，刻苦点，再——” 
　　“噢，讨厌的船！”癞蛤蟆气恼地说。“我不再划船了，简直是打发日子的傻办法。是的，我已发现了一个真正的活法——最好的，唯一的活法。跟我来，亲爱的阿鼠，还有你好心的朋友，我要带你们去看看！” 
　　他带他们绕到了房子的另一头，那儿他们看见一辆锃亮崭新的吉普赛大篷车，镶滚着黄绿边，轮子是红色的。 
　　“你们看！”癞蛤蟆叫道，“这才是属于你们的真正的生活。宽敞的公路、原野、山峦……村庄、城镇、都市！今天在这儿，明天到另一个不同的地方！旅行、变幻、趣味——世界就在你的面前！” 
　　鼹鼠觉得非常有趣，非常兴奋，他跟着癞蛤蟆走进大篷车参观，但水鼠摇着头，在外面等着。 
　　当他们再次踩踏脚板下来时，蛤蟆仍兴奋地对鼹鼠说：“你看见了，一切已准备就绪，我们今天下午就出发。” 
　　“你说什么？”水鼠慢慢地说，“你是说‘我们’‘今天下午’‘出发’？” 
　　“好了，亲爱的好阿鼠，”蛤蟆急忙说，“不要用那种厉害的口气说话，你知道，你该有所进展了，你不能一辈子呆在你那条乏味的老河边，我想带你看看外面的世界！” 
　　“我不在乎，”水鼠平静地说，“我不想有所改变，这就是我最终的决定，我将呆在我的老河旁，另外，鼹鼠将和我呆在一起，是不是，鼹鼠？” 
　　“当然，是这样，”鼹鼠勇敢地说，但却显得有些垂头丧气，可怜的鼹鼠！他想：坐在大篷车里走在宽敞的公路上的生活一定是很刺激有趣的经历。 
　　水鼠看着他那伤感的样子，很担心。他希望他的朋友开心快乐，他能看出鼹鼠真的想去。 
　　癞蛤蟆审视着他们俩，然后愉快地说：“进来用点午餐，然后再聊这事。” 
　　就餐时——午餐当然是一流的，因为蛤蟆宅第的一切总是如此——癞蛤蟆说个没完。他满脑子美妙的计划，每一天都将多么有趣！他们三位朋友在一起将会有多么刺激兴奋的经历！啊，幸福的旅行生活！ 
　　最后，当然，水鼠同意去了。傍晚他们到了离家数里的一个孤零零的山坡上。那是一个金色的下午，现在甚至水鼠也非常喜欢这次旅行。只有老灰马不很乐意，他得干所有拉大篷车的苦力活，他根本就不爱这份工作。 
　　第二天早上，水鼠和鼹鼠起床了，癞蛤蟆还在呼呼大睡。他们俩用力摇他，但弄不醒他，因此他们不得不干所有的活。水鼠照料马，生起火，还清洗了昨晚的脏物。鼹鼠则步行长长的一段路到最近的村庄去弄些牛奶、鸡蛋和面包，这些，癞蛤蟆当然忘了随车带来。最后癞蛤蟆起床了，他说，在宽敞公路上的旅行生活是多么轻松愉快。 
　　然后，他们翻过青山，沿着一条狭窄的乡村小路旅行着，就这样快快乐乐地过了一天。但是第三天早上，水鼠和鼹鼠把癞蛤蟆从床上拉了起来，要他也干些活。就为这，癞蛤蟆很少再说多么轻松愉快之类的话了。后来他甚至还想回到床上继续睡觉，但鼹鼠和水鼠又把他拉了出来。 
　　他们的旅行结束得很突然。那天下午，他们正行进在一条大马路上，鼹鼠走在马旁，癞蛤蟆和水鼠在大篷车后面边走边聊着天，确切地说——很多时候——癞蛤蟆在说，水鼠在听。 
　　这时他们听见身后有什么声音，便回过头，他们看见一小团尘雾，发着“扑扑-扑扑”的声音，正朝他们疾速地席卷而来。 
　　几秒钟之后，下午的宁静就在一阵嘈杂中、风中、尘雾中被打破了。伴随着震耳欲聋的“扑扑-扑扑”声，一辆巨大的、长长的、锃亮的汽车从他们身边呼啸而过，消失在山那边。 
　　老灰马极度恐惧试图离开公路。大篷车的轮子便开始顺着路沿向沟里滑去，然后只听一阵可怕的稀里哗啦声——美丽的黄绿大篷车无助地歪倒在地。 
　　水鼠在公路上又蹦又跳，愤怒地喊道：“愚蠢、危险的人！警察应该把你们关在监狱里！” 
　　他和鼹鼠设法使老马安静，然后开始检查大篷车。车的两只轮子掉了，窗子也摔烂了，木头片到处都是。他们试着把它从沟里拉出来，但却弄不动它。 
　　“嗨，癞蛤蟆！”他们叫道，”过来帮帮我们，行不行，你！” 
　　癞蛤蟆不答一句话，因此他们走过去看看他是怎么了。只见他坐在公路中间，脸上挂着梦幻似的微笑，嘴里愉快地嘟哝着，“扑扑-扑扑！” 
　　水鼠用力地摇着他，“你能不能过来帮帮我们，癞蛤蟆？”他生气地问。 
　　“噢，多么幸福！”癞蛤蟆自言自语道，“旅行的真正方式！旅行的唯一方式！刚才在这儿，几秒钟后就在数里之外！太棒了！扑扑-扑扑！” 
　　“噢，不要犯傻了，癞蛤蟆！”鼹鼠叫道。 
　　“而我竟不知道！”癞蛤蟆仍然魂牵梦萦似地继续着，“我从未梦想过！当我风驰电掣似地驾车时，多少尘雾将在我身后扬起！那辆可笑的愚蠢的大篷车将永远消失。扑扑-扑扑！” 
　　“我们将拿他怎么办？”鼹鼠问水鼠。 
　　“没办法，”水鼠回答道，“我们什么也帮不了。我了解癞蛤蟆，当他有了新的想法时，刚开始他总是有些疯狂。他像这样还得过一些日子。过来，我们得自己干完这一切。” 
　　他们不得不将大篷车先留在沟里，步行到五、六英里以外最近的城镇。在那儿，他们叫人照看灰马，又找了个愿意取回破车的人。然后他们坐火车到蛤蟆宅第附近的车站，把癞蛤蟆送回家后，他们坐上船，最后终于坐在了水鼠舒服的河边小屋吃迟到的晚餐。 
　　第二天是慵懒的一天。傍晚时分鼹鼠坐在河岸钓鱼，水鼠拜访朋友回来后找到了他。 
　　水鼠对他说：“听到消息了吗？河岸边的每个人都在谈论这件事。癞蛤蟆今早搭头班火车去了城镇，订购了一辆非常昂贵的大汽车。” 
　　　    


 