4 A meeting with Mr Badger 
　  
　　They waited patiently for a very long time, jumping up and down in the snow to keep warm. At last they heard feet coming slowly towards the door. Then the door opened, just enough to show a long nose and pair of sleepy eyes.  
　　'And who, 'said a deep, angry voice, 'is making visits at this time of night?' 
　　'Oh, Badger, 'cried the Rat, 'let us in, please. It's me, Rat, and my friend Mole, and we're lost in the snow. ' 
　　'What?' said the Badger, in a very different voice. 'My dear Ratty! Lost in the snow, and in the Wild Wood! Come in at once, both of you, and get yourselves warm. ' 
　　That was a wonderful moment for the Mole and the Rat, when they heard the door close behind them, shutting out the Wild Wood. They followed the Badger down long dark tunnels until they came into a large kitchen. There was a bright fire, with comfortable armchairs round it, and a great wooden table with long seats.  
　　'This is not the kind of night for small animals to be out, 'the Badger said, in a fatherly way. 'Sit yourselves down by the fire, while I get you some supper. ' 
　　Soon the Mole and the Rat were warm and dry, and the dangers of the Wild Wood seemed a long way away, like a bad dream. Then supper arrived. It was enough for ten small hungry animals, and the Rat and the Mole realized just how hungry they were. When at last they could eat no more, they sat with the Badger round the fire, and told him the story of their adventures.  
　　Then the Badger said, 'Now then! Tell me the news from your part of the world. How's old Toad getting on?' 
　　'He's going from bad to worse, 'said the Rat sadly. 'He had another crash only last week, and a bad one. You see, he thinks he's a wonderful driver, the best in the world. But he isn't. He's terrible! But he won't take lessons, he won't lis ten to anyone. ' 
　　'How many has he had?' the Badger asked.  
　　'Crashes, or motor-cars?' asked the Rat. 'Well, with Toad, it's the same thing. This is the seventh car, and the seventh crash. His garage is full to the roof with bits of broken motor car! ' 
　　'He's been in hospital twice, 'the Mole added. 'The police have arrested him for dangerous driving three or four times. And he's spending so much money! ' 
　　'That's another problem, 'the Rat went on. 'Toad's rich, we all know that; but his money won't last for ever. Sooner or later, one of two things will happen. He'll kill himself in a crash, or he'll have no money left at all. Badger! We're his friends-can't we do something?' 
　　The Badger thought for a while. 'You know, don't you, that I can't do anything now?' he said at last.  
　　'No, no, of course not, 'the Rat and the Mole said together. Everybody knew that in the animal world the winter was a time for rest and sleep. Nobody wanted to do anything important or tiring.  
　　'Very well, 'continued the Badger. 'But when the days are longer and warmer, then we'll do something. We-you and me and our friend the Mole here-we'll try to teach Toad a lesson. We won't listen to any silliness. We'll bring him back to reason, and turn him into a sensible Toad at last. But now, it's time for bed. Don't hurry tomorrow morning-come for breakfast as late as you want! ' 
　　The two tired animals slept long and deeply, and came down to breakfast very late indeed. In the kitchen they found two young hedgehogs, busy with bowls of bread and hot milk.  
　　'Hello! 'said the Rat pleasantly. 'Where did you two come from? Lost your way in the snow, I suppose?' 
　　'Yes, sir, 'said one of the hedgehogs politely. 'We got lost on the way to school, and Mr Badger said we could come in and have some breakfast. ' 
　　The breakfast things were all ready on the table, and the Mole and the Rat quickly got to work. The Rat made the coffee while the Mole fried several pieces of bread and an enormous number of eggs.  
　　When the door bell rang, one of the hedgehogs went to answer the door. He came back followed by the Otter, who gave a shout of happiness when he saw the Rat. He ran across the room and almost knocked the Rat off his chair.  
　　'Get off! ' said the Raf, with his mouth full of fried bread.  
　　'I thought I'd find you here all right, 'said the Otter happily. ' Everybody along the river bank has been so worried about you. Rat never came home last night, and nor did Mole; something terrible has happened, they said. But if anyone's in trouble, Badger usually gets to hear about it, so I came straight here this morning. And oh my, didn't the Wild Wood look grand, with the snow everywhere and the red sun coming up, shining through the black trees! Halfway here I met one of those silly rabbits. He told me that Mole had lost his way last night, and that “They” were out and chasing him all over the wood . I' d like to meet one of “Them” myself this morning, and tell them what I think. ' 
　　' Weren' t you at all—um－afraid? asked the Mole, remembering how frightened he had been.  
　　' Afraid?' The Otter laughed and showed this strong white teeth. ' I don' t think any of them would argue with me. Here, Mole, be a good fellow and fry me some eggs. I' m terribly hungry, and I've got a lot to talk about with Ratty here. Haven't seen him for weeks. ' 
　　Breakfast was almost finished when the Badger entered, looking sleepy. ' It' s nearly time for lunch, ' he said. ' Stay and have some with us, Otter. You must be hungry this cold morning. ' 
　　The hedgehogs were sent home, the breakfast things were cleared away, and soon the four animals sat down to lunch together. The Rat and the Otter were having a long conversation about river-bank matters, so the Mole began to talk to the Badger.  
　　' This is a wonderful, comfortable home you have here, ' he said. ' There' s really nothing better than a place underground like this. You can shut off the world up there when you don't want it. And when you do, you can just go up and there' s the world waiting for you. ' 
　　The Badger smiled warmly at him. ' That' s just what I say, ' he replied. ' Down here, you' re safe and dry and warm. With a house above ground, you' ve got to worry about fire, and wind and rain, holes in the roof and broken windows. No, above ground is fine in its way, but one' s home should be underground. ' 
　　The Mole agreed with everything that the Badger said. His own little home was underground, so it was natural for him to feel comfortable there. He and the Badger became very friendly, and after lunch the Badger took him all round his home, down tunnel after tunnel, through room after room. The Mole was interested in everything and thought it was all wonderful. ' 
　　When they got back to the kitchen, the Rat was walking up and down, very restless. Unlike the Mole, he didn' t really feel comfortable underground. He wanted to be back in his own home, where the windows looked out over the river, and where he could hear the wind whispering through the trees.  
　　' Come along, Mole, ' he said. ' We must get off while it's daylight. We don't want to spend another night lost in the Wild Wood. ' 
　　' It' s all right, ' said the Otter. ' I' m coming with you and I know all the paths. ' 
　　'You mustn' t worry, Ratty, ' added the Badger calmly. ' My tunnels go further than you think, and I' ve several back doors at the edge of the wood-although I keep them secret from most people. ' 
　　So the journey home was really very easy. When they came out of the Badger's secret back door, they found a path across the fields and soon they could see the river in front of them. The Mole looked back at the Wild Wood for a moment, thinking of the terror that he had felt there. Then he hurried on after the others, happy to be back in the open fields, and looking forward to the bright firelight of home. 
　 
4 与獾先生相遇 
　  
　　他们耐心地等了很长时间，在雪地里又蹦又跳以保持身体的暖和。最后他们终于听到了脚步慢腾腾地向门口走来。然后门开了，仅仅够露出一只长鼻子和一对困倦的眼睛。 
　　“是谁，”一个低沉、愠怒的声音问道，“这么晚还来串门？” 
　　“噢，獾，”水鼠叫道，“请让我们进去。是我，水鼠，还有我的朋友鼹鼠，我们在雪地里迷路了。” 
　　“什么？”獾用完全不同的语调说，“亲爱的阿鼠！在雪地里迷路，在野树林！赶快进来，你们俩，先暖和暖和。” 
　　听到门在他们身后关起来，把野树林隔离在外，对鼹鼠和水鼠来说，这真是美妙的时刻。他们跟着獾向下走过长长的黑通道，来到一个大大的厨房。那儿有明亮的炉火，四周摆放着舒服的扶手椅，一张特大的木桌和长椅。 
　　“这种夜晚小动物们是不应该出来的，”獾慈父般地说，“坐在火边，我给你们取点晚餐。” 
　　很快他们就烤干了衣服，也感觉暖和了，野树林的危险像一场恶梦显得已很遥远。晚餐准备好了。它够十只饥饿的小动物吃个饱，水鼠和鼹鼠也才意识到他们已饥肠辘辘了。他们吃饱了以后，便与獾围坐在火炉边，说着他们的危险经历。 
　　最后獾安慰道，“现在好了！告诉我你们那边的消息，老蛤蟆怎么样啦？” 
　　“他的情况越来越糟糕了，”水鼠难过地说，“上星期他又撞车了，很严重。你知道，他自己认为他是驾车能手，是世界上最好的。但是他不是，他很差劲！但他不吸取教训，也听不进别人的劝告。” 
　　“他已有多少了？”獾问。 
　　“撞车，还是汽车？”水鼠问。“不过，对于蛤蟆来说是一样的。这是第七辆车，也是第七次撞车。他的车库里堆满了撞坏的汽车残骸！” 
　　“他还住了两次医院，”鼹鼠补充道。“因为危险驾车，他被警察抓过三四次，他正在花大把的钱呢！” 
　　“那是另一个问题，”水鼠接着说。“癞蛤蟆很富，我们大家都知道；但他不可能永远有钱的。迟早总有一件事要发生。他要么被撞死在车祸中，要么一无所有。獾！我们是他的朋友——难道我们不能为他做些什么？” 
　　獾想了一会儿，最后说，“你知道的，难道你忘了，我现在什么也干不成吗？” 
　　“不，不，当然不是现在，”水鼠和鼹鼠齐声说。每个人都知道，在动物世界里冬季是休息和睡眠的季节，没有谁想干任何重要或吃力的事情。 
　　“很好，”獾继续说。“但是日子变长变暖后，我们还是会干些事的。我们——你和我，还有我们的朋友，鼹鼠——我们设法教训他一下。我们不愿再听到任何蠢事了。我们要让他恢复理智，最后变成聪明的癞蛤蟆。但是现在该睡觉了，明天早上不要赶时间——睡够了再用早餐！” 
　　这两只疲倦的动物沉沉入睡了很长时间，的确很迟才下来吃早餐。在厨房里他们看见两只小豪猪正忙着吃碗里的面包和热牛奶。 
　　“你们好！”水鼠愉快地说，“你们俩从哪儿来？在雪地里迷路了吧，我猜？” 
　　“是的，先生，”其中一只豪猪礼貌地答道，“我们去学校的路上迷了路，獾先生说我们可以进来用些早餐。” 
　　早餐配料已准备好在桌子上，鼹鼠和水鼠很快开始工作。水鼠煮咖啡，鼹鼠煎了几片面包和一大堆鸡蛋。 
　　门铃响了，一只豪猪起身去开门，回来时后面跟着水獭，当他看见水鼠，高兴地叫了起来。他小跑着穿过房间，差点把水鼠从椅子上撞了下来。 
　　“走开！”水鼠说道，嘴里塞满了煎面包。 
　　“我想我会在这儿见到你们安安全全的，”水獭高兴地说，“河岸边的每个人一直都很担心你们。他们说，水鼠昨晚没回家，鼹鼠也没有，一定发生了什么可怕的事。但是，只要有人遇到麻烦，獾常常能听说点什么的，因此我今早就直接过来了。噢，野树林是不是看起来很壮观，到处都是积雪，红红的太阳升起来，透过茂密的树林照射下来！半路上我碰到一只傻野兔，他说昨晚鼹鼠迷了路；‘他们’出来，满树林里追赶他。我今早倒愿意碰见‘他们’中的一个，然后告诉他我是怎么想的。” 
　　“难道你——一点也不害怕？”想起他吓得半死，鼹鼠不禁问道。 
　　“害怕？”水獭笑起来，露出他那坚硬的白齿，“我想他们中还没谁敢和我作对吧。好了，鼹鼠，好伙计，给我煎些蛋。我饿得很，而我现在有许多话要和阿鼠说，几个星期没见他了。” 
　　早餐几乎结束了，獾才睡眼惺松地走了进来。“马上该用午餐了，”他说道，“留下和我们一块吃些吧，水獭。早上这么冷你一定很饿吧。” 
　　豪猪被送回家了，早餐的用品也被清理干净，不久这四只动物又坐在一起吃午饭了。水鼠一直和水獭聊着河岸边的事情，因此鼹鼠开始和獾交谈。 
　　“你这个房子真好，真舒服，”他说。“真的没有比像地下这儿更好的地方了。你不想见它，就可以把世界关在你的上面；你愿意，你只要走上去，就有一个世界等着你。” 
　　獾对他温和地微笑着。“这正是我的看法，”他回答道，“在地下，你是安全、干燥、温暖的。住在地面上的房子里，你得担心火、风和雨，还有房顶上的洞和破窗户。是的，从某种意义上说，地上的房子是不错，但‘家’应该在地下。” 
　　鼹鼠非常同意獾的说法。他自己的小家就在地下，因此他觉得这儿舒服是很自然的。他和獾之间变得非常的默契，午餐后，獾带他去参观他的家，向下穿过了一个又一个通道，走过了一间又一间房子。鼹鼠对什么都感兴趣，认为这里的一切都是那么美妙。 
　　当他们回到厨房，水鼠正在那儿来回踱步，一副很不安的样子。不像鼹鼠，他在地下感到不太舒服，他想回到他自己的家，在那儿，从窗户里能看见潺潺河水，能听到风过河岸树时的轻轻低语。 
　　“快点，鼹鼠，”他说。“趁天亮，我们得马上走。我们不想在野树林里再迷失去路而浪费又一个晚上。” 
　　“没问题，”水獭说，“我和你们作伴，我熟悉所有的路。” 
　　“你不必担心，阿鼠，”獾平静地补充道。“我的地道要比你们想的远得多，在树林的尽头，我开了几个后门——尽管我对大多数人都保守着这个秘密。” 
　　因此回家就真的很容易了。当他们走出獾的秘密后门，他们就看见了穿过田野的小路，很快他们就看到了前面的河。鼹鼠回过头看着野树林，想了一会他在那儿的可怕经历，然后急忙赶上他俩，庆幸自己又回到了广阔的田野，并期待着炉火明亮的家。 
　　　    


 