The Tale of Samuel Whiskers; or, The Roly-Poly Pudding

Once upon a time there was an old cat, called Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit, who was an anxious parent. She used to lose her kittens continually, and whenever they were lost they were always in mischief!

从前有一只老猫，名叫塔比莎·特威切特太太，她是个操心的家长。她总是不停地弄丢自己的小猫，每次小猫不见了，准是又在调皮捣蛋！

On baking day she determined to shut them up in a cupboard.

到了烤面包的日子，她决定把小猫都关进一个碗柜里。

She caught Moppet and Mittens, but she could not find Tom.

她抓住了莫佩特和米滕斯，可怎么也找不到汤姆。

Mrs. Tabitha went up and down all over the house, mewing for Tom Kitten. She looked in the pantry under the staircase, and she searched the best spare bedroom that was all covered up with dust sheets. She went right upstairs and looked into the attics, but she could not find him anywhere.

塔比莎太太在屋子里上上下下地找，一边喵喵地叫着汤姆小猫的名字。她查看了楼梯下面的食品柜，又搜遍了那间盖满防尘布的上好空余卧室。她一路上楼查看了阁楼，可哪儿都找不到他。

It was an old, old house, full of cupboards and passages. Some of the walls were four feet thick, and there used to be queer noises inside them, as if there might be a little secret staircase. Certainly there were odd little jagged doorways in the wainscot, and things disappeared at night—especially cheese and bacon.

这是一座古老古老的房子，到处都是碗柜和过道。有些墙足有四英尺厚，墙里头常常传出奇怪的声响，仿佛藏着一条小小的秘密楼梯似的。护墙板上的确有一些奇形怪状的小缺口，夜里东西也总是不翼而飞——尤其是奶酪和培根。

Mrs. Tabitha became more and more distracted, and mewed dreadfully.

塔比莎太太越来越心慌意乱，喵喵地叫得凄惨极了。

While their mother was searching the house, Moppet and Mittens had got into mischief.

就在母亲满屋子找他们的时候，莫佩特和米滕斯已经在调皮捣蛋了。

The cupboard door was not locked, so they pushed it open and came out.

碗柜的门没有锁上，于是她们把门推开溜了出来。

They went straight to the dough which was set to rise in a pan before the fire.

她们径直跑到炉火前那盆正在发酵的面团跟前。

They patted it with their little soft paws—"Shall we make dear little muffins?" said Mittens to Moppet.

她们用柔软的小爪子拍打着面团——"我们来做点可爱的小松饼好不好？"米滕斯对莫佩特说道。

But just at that moment somebody knocked at the front door, and Moppet jumped into the flour barrel in a fright.

可就在这时，有人敲响了前门，莫佩特吓得一下子跳进了面粉桶里。

Mittens ran away to the dairy, and hid in an empty jar on the stone shelf where the milk pans stand.

米滕斯则跑去了牛奶间，藏进了石架上一个装牛奶盆的空罐子里。

The visitor was a neighbour, Mrs. Ribby; she had called to borrow some yeast.

来客是位邻居，瑞比太太；她是来借些酵母的。

Mrs. Tabitha came downstairs mewing dreadfully—"Come in, Cousin Ribby, come in, and sit ye down! I'm in sad trouble, Cousin Ribby," said Tabitha, shedding tears. "I've lost my dear son Thomas; I'm afraid the rats have got him." She wiped her eyes with her apron.

塔比莎太太喵喵叫着下了楼——"进来吧，瑞比表姐，进来坐坐！我遇到麻烦了，瑞比表姐，"塔比莎说着，掉下了眼泪。"我丢了我亲爱的儿子托马斯；恐怕是被老鼠抓走了。"她用围裙擦了擦眼睛。

"He's a bad kitten, Cousin Tabitha; he made a cat's cradle of my best bonnet last time I came to tea. Where have you looked for him?"

"他可是个调皮的小猫，塔比莎表姐；上次我来喝茶的时候，他把我最好的帽子弄得乱七八糟。你在哪儿找过他了？"

"All over the house! The rats are too many for me. What a thing it is to have an unruly family!" said Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit.

"整座房子都找遍了！那些老鼠我实在对付不了。养一家不听话的孩子可真是够呛！"塔比莎·特威切特太太说道。

"I'm not afraid of rats; I will help you to find him; and whip him too! What is all that soot in the fender?"

"我可不怕老鼠；我来帮你找他；找到了还要打他一顿！挡板上怎么都是煤灰？"

"The chimney wants sweeping—Oh, dear me, Cousin Ribby—now Moppet and Mittens are gone!"

"烟囱该扫一扫了——哎呀，天哪，瑞比表姐——现在莫佩特和米滕斯也不见了！"

"They have both got out of the cupboard!"

"她们俩都从碗柜里跑出来了！"

Ribby and Tabitha set to work to search the house thoroughly again. They poked under the beds with Ribby's umbrella, and they rummaged in cupboards. They even fetched a candle, and looked inside a clothes chest in one of the attics. They could not find anything, but once they heard a door bang and somebody scuttered downstairs.

瑞比和塔比莎便动手把屋子重新彻底搜查了一遍。她们用瑞比的雨伞戳床底下，又在碗柜里翻找。她们甚至拿来一支蜡烛，去查看阁楼里一只衣箱的内部。什么也没找到，可有一次她们听见一扇门砰的一声，还有人急匆匆跑下楼去的声音。

"Yes, it is infested with rats," said Tabitha tearfully. "I caught seven young ones out of one hole in the back kitchen, and we had them for dinner last Saturday. And once I saw the old father rat—an enormous old rat, Cousin Ribby. I was just going to jump upon him, when he showed his yellow teeth at me and whisked down the hole."

"没错，这儿满是老鼠，"塔比莎含泪说道。"我曾在后厨的一个洞里逮住了七只小老鼠，上星期六还拿它们当了晚饭呢。有一次我还见过那只老鼠爸爸——一只硕大无比的老鼠，瑞比表姐。我正要扑上去逮他，他却朝我亮出黄牙，一溜烟钻进洞里去了。"

"The rats get upon my nerves, Cousin Ribby," said Tabitha.

"这些老鼠可真让我心烦意乱，瑞比表姐，"塔比莎说道。

Ribby and Tabitha searched and searched. They both heard a curious roly-poly noise under the attic floor. But there was nothing to be seen.

瑞比和塔比莎找了又找。她们都听见阁楼地板下传来一阵古怪的咕噜咕噜的声音。可什么也看不见。

They returned to the kitchen. "Here's one of your kittens at least," said Ribby, dragging Moppet out of the flour barrel.

她们回到厨房。"这儿至少有一只你的小猫，"瑞比说道，一边把莫佩特从面粉桶里拽了出来。

They shook the flour off her and set her down on the kitchen floor. She seemed to be in a terrible fright.

她们把她身上的面粉抖干净，放到厨房地板上。她似乎吓得不轻。

"Oh! Mother, Mother," said Moppet, "there's been an old woman rat in the kitchen, and she's stolen some of the dough!"

"哦！妈妈，妈妈，"莫佩特说道，"厨房里来了一只老母老鼠，她把面团偷走了一些！"

The two cats ran to look at the dough pan. Sure enough there were marks of little scratching fingers, and a lump of dough was gone!

两只猫跑去看那盆面团。果然，上面留着些小爪子抓挠的痕迹，还少了一大块面团！

"Which way did she go, Moppet?"

"她往哪个方向去了，莫佩特？"

But Moppet had been too much frightened to peep out of the barrel again.

可莫佩特吓得再也不敢从桶里探出头来看了。

Ribby and Tabitha took her with them to keep her safely in sight, while they went on with their search.

瑞比和塔比莎便把她带在身边，好让她一直在自己眼皮底下，一边继续搜查。

They went into the dairy. The first thing they found was Mittens, hiding in an empty jar.

她们走进了牛奶间。第一眼就看见米滕斯藏在一个空罐子里。

They tipped up the jar, and she scrambled out.

她们把罐子掀翻，她连忙爬了出来。

"Oh, Mother, Mother!" said Mittens—

"哦，妈妈，妈妈！"米滕斯说道——

"Oh! Mother, Mother, there has been an old man rat in the dairy—a dreadful 'normous big rat, mother; and he's stolen a pat of butter and the rolling-pin."

"哦！妈妈，妈妈，牛奶间里来了一只老公老鼠——一只可怕的、硕大无比的老鼠，妈妈；他偷走了一块黄油和擀面杖。"

Ribby and Tabitha looked at one another.

瑞比和塔比莎互相对望了一眼。

"A rolling-pin and butter! Oh, my poor son Thomas!" exclaimed Tabitha, wringing her paws.

"擀面杖和黄油！哦，我可怜的儿子托马斯啊！"塔比莎叫道，绞着自己的爪子。

"A rolling-pin?" said Ribby. "Did we not hear a roly-poly noise in the attic when we were looking into that chest?"

"擀面杖？"瑞比说道。"我们方才在阁楼查看那口箱子的时候，不是听见阁楼上有咕噜咕噜的声音吗？"

Ribby and Tabitha rushed upstairs again. Sure enough the roly-poly noise was still going on quite distinctly under the attic floor.

瑞比和塔比莎立刻又冲上楼去。果然，那咕噜咕噜的声音仍在阁楼地板下清清楚楚地响着。

"This is serious, Cousin Tabitha," said Ribby. "We must send for John Joiner at once, with a saw."

"这可是件大事，塔比莎表姐，"瑞比说道。"我们必须立刻去请木匠约翰，带上锯子来。"

Now this is what had been happening to Tom Kitten, and it shows how very unwise it is to go up a chimney in a very old house, where a person does not know his way, and where there are enormous rats.

那么这段时间里汤姆小猫身上究竟发生了什么呢，这也说明了在一座古老的房子里爬烟囱是多么不明智的事，尤其是一个人不熟悉路径，而且那儿还有硕大无比的老鼠。

Tom Kitten did not want to be shut up in a cupboard. When he saw that his mother was going to bake, he determined to hide.

汤姆小猫不想被关进碗柜里。他一见母亲要烤面包了，便决定躲起来。

He looked about for a nice convenient place, and he fixed upon the chimney.

他四下张望，寻找一个合适又方便的藏身之处，最后相中了烟囱。

The fire had only just been lighted, and it was not hot; but there was a white choky smoke from the green sticks. Tom Kitten got upon the fender and looked up. It was a big old-fashioned fire-place.

炉火刚刚点燃，还不算热；只是那些湿绿的柴枝冒出一股呛人的白烟。汤姆小猫爬上挡板，抬头往上看去。这是个老式的大壁炉。

The chimney itself was wide enough inside for a man to stand up and walk about. So there was plenty of room for a little Tom Cat.

烟囱内部相当宽敞，一个成年人都能站直了在里面走动。所以对一只小汤姆猫来说，空间绰绰有余。

He jumped right up into the fire-place, balancing himself upon the iron bar where the kettle hangs.

他一跃跳进壁炉，稳稳地站在挂水壶的铁杆上。

Tom Kitten took another big jump off the bar, and landed on a ledge high up inside the chimney, knocking down some soot into the fender.

汤姆小猫又从铁杆上跳了一大步，落在烟囱内高处的一块凸出的岩架上，震落了一些煤灰掉进挡板里。

Tom Kitten coughed and choked with the smoke; and he could hear the sticks beginning to crackle and burn in the fire-place down below. He made up his mind to climb right to the top, and get out on the slates, and try to catch sparrows.

汤姆小猫被烟呛得直咳嗽；他还能听见下面壁炉里的柴枝开始噼啪作响、燃烧起来。他打定主意要一路爬到最顶上，从石板缝里钻出去，试着抓几只麻雀来玩玩。

"I cannot go back. If I slipped I might fall in the fire and singe my beautiful tail and my little blue jacket."

"我没法回头了。要是一失足摔下去，我可能会掉进火里，把我漂亮的尾巴和小小的蓝外套都烧焦的。"

The chimney was a very big old-fashioned one. It was built in the days when people burnt logs of wood upon the hearth.

这烟囱是个非常古老而巨大的老式烟囱。它是在人们还用炉膛烧木头的年代建造的。

The chimney stack stood up above the roof like a little stone tower, and the daylight shone down from the top, under the slanting slates that kept out the rain.

烟囱的烟囱管像一座小小的石塔一样矗立在屋顶之上，阳光从顶端斜斜的石板缝隙间照射下来，那些石板是用来遮雨的。

Tom Kitten was getting very frightened! He climbed up, and up, and up.

汤姆小猫越来越害怕了！他一路往上爬啊，爬啊，爬啊。

Then he waded sideways through inches of soot. He was like a little sweep himself.

接着他侧身蹚过几英寸厚的煤灰。他自己简直就像个小小的扫烟囱工。

It was most confusing in the dark. One flue seemed to lead into another.

黑暗中一切都令人晕头转向。一条烟道似乎又通向另一条。

There was less smoke, but Tom Kitten felt quite lost.

烟少了一些，可汤姆小猫却觉得自己完全迷失了方向。

He scrambled up and up; but before he reached the chimney top he came to a place where somebody had loosened a stone in the wall. There were some mutton bones lying about—

他一路往上爬啊爬；可还没爬到烟囱顶端，他就来到一处墙上有块石头被人松动了的地方。那儿还散落着一些羊骨头——

"This seems funny," said Tom Kitten. "Who has been gnawing bones up here in the chimney? I wish I had never come! And what a funny smell? It is something like mouse; only dreadfully strong. It makes me sneeze," said Tom Kitten.

"这可真奇怪，"汤姆小猫说道。"是谁在这烟囱上头啃骨头呢？我真希望自己从没来过这儿！还有这股奇怪的气味是什么？闻起来有点像老鼠的味道；只是浓得吓人。熏得我直打喷嚏，"汤姆小猫说道。

He squeezed through the hole in the wall, and dragged himself along a most uncomfortably tight passage where there was scarcely any light.

他从墙上的洞里挤了过去，又拖着身子爬过一条极其狭窄逼仄的通道，那儿几乎没有一点光亮。

He groped his way carefully for several yards; he was at the back of the skirting-board in the attic, where there is a little mark * in the picture.

他小心翼翼地摸索着前进了好几码；他此刻正处在阁楼护墙板的后面，图上标着一个小小的星号＊的地方。

All at once he fell head over heels in the dark, down a hole, and landed on a heap of very dirty rags.

忽然间，他在黑暗中一个跟头栽了下去，跌进一个洞里，落在一堆脏兮兮的破布上。

When Tom Kitten picked himself up and looked about him—he found himself in a place that he had never seen before, although he had lived all his life in the house.

汤姆小猫爬起来四下打量——发现自己身处一个从未见过的地方，尽管他这辈子都住在这座房子里。

It was a very small stuffy fusty room, with boards, and rafters, and cobwebs, and lath and plaster.

那是一间十分狭小、闷热、发霉的屋子，四周是木板、椽子、蜘蛛网，还有板条和灰泥。

Opposite to him—as far away as he could sit—was an enormous rat.

正对着他——他能坐得离得多远就多远——是一只硕大无比的老鼠。

"What do you mean by tumbling into my bed all covered with smuts?" said the rat, chattering his teeth.

"你怎么浑身都是煤灰，一头栽进我的床里，这是什么意思？"那老鼠说道，牙齿咯咯打颤。

"Please sir, the chimney wants sweeping," said poor Tom Kitten.

"对不起，先生，这烟囱该扫一扫了，"可怜的汤姆小猫说道。

"Anna Maria! Anna Maria!" squeaked the rat. There was a pattering noise and an old woman rat poked her head round a rafter.

"安娜·玛丽亚！安娜·玛丽亚！"老鼠尖声叫道。传来一阵窸窸窣窣的声音，一只老母老鼠从一根椽子后面探出头来。

All in a minute she rushed upon Tom Kitten, and before he knew what was happening—

一转眼工夫，她便扑向了汤姆小猫，还没等他反应过来发生了什么——

His coat was pulled off, and he was rolled up in a bundle, and tied with string in very hard knots.

他的外套就被扒了下来，他被卷成了一捆，用绳子紧紧地打了好几个死结。

Anna Maria did the tying. The old rat watched her and took snuff. When she had finished, they both sat staring at him with their mouths open.

打结的是安娜·玛丽亚。老公老鼠在一旁看着，还吸着鼻烟。她打完结之后，两只老鼠便坐在那儿，张着嘴瞪着他看。

"Anna Maria," said the old man rat (whose name was Samuel Whiskers),—"Anna Maria, make me a kitten dumpling roly-poly pudding for my dinner."

"安娜·玛丽亚，"老公老鼠（名叫塞缪尔·惠斯克斯）说道——"安娜·玛丽亚，给我做一份小猫肉丸滚面团布丁当晚饭。"

"It requires dough and a pat of butter, and a rolling-pin," said Anna Maria, considering Tom Kitten with her head on one side.

"这需要面团、一块黄油，还有一根擀面杖，"安娜·玛丽亚说道，一边歪着头打量汤姆小猫。

"No," said Samuel Whiskers, "make it properly, Anna Maria, with breadcrumbs."

"不对，"塞缪尔·惠斯克斯说道，"要做得正宗一点，安娜·玛丽亚，得用面包屑才行。"

"Nonsense! Butter and dough," replied Anna Maria.

"胡说！要用黄油和面团，"安娜·玛丽亚答道。

The two rats consulted together for a few minutes and then went away.

两只老鼠商量了几分钟，便一起离开了。

Samuel Whiskers got through a hole in the wainscot, and went boldly down the front staircase to the dairy to get the butter. He did not meet anybody.

塞缪尔·惠斯克斯从护墙板上的一个洞钻出去，大摇大摆地下了前楼梯，去牛奶间取黄油。他一路上谁也没碰见。

He made a second journey for the rolling-pin. He pushed it in front of him with his paws, like a brewer's man trundling a barrel.

他又跑了第二趟去取擀面杖。他用爪子把它推在自己前面，就像酿酒工人推着一只木桶那样。

He could hear Ribby and Tabitha talking, but they were busy lighting the candle to look into the chest.

他能听见瑞比和塔比莎在说话，可她们正忙着点蜡烛去查看那口箱子。

They did not see him.

她们没有看见他。

Anna Maria went down by way of the skirting-board and a window shutter to the kitchen to steal the dough.

安娜·玛丽亚则沿着护墙板和一扇窗户的百叶窗下到厨房，去偷面团。

She borrowed a small saucer, and scooped up the dough with her paws.

她借来一只小碟子，用爪子把面团舀了进去。

She did not observe Moppet.

她没有留意到莫佩特。

While Tom Kitten was left alone under the floor of the attic, he wriggled about and tried to mew for help.

汤姆小猫独自被留在阁楼地板下面时，扭动着身子，想要喵喵叫着求救。

But his mouth was full of soot and cobwebs, and he was tied up in such very tight knots, he could not make anybody hear him.

可他嘴里塞满了煤灰和蜘蛛网，身上又被绑得死死的，根本没法让任何人听见他的声音。

Except a spider, which came out of a crack in the ceiling and examined the knots critically, from a safe distance.

只有一只蜘蛛，从天花板的裂缝里爬出来，隔着安全的距离，挑剔地打量着那些绳结。

It was a judge of knots because it had a habit of tying up unfortunate blue-bottles. It did not offer to assist him.

它是打结的行家，因为它平时惯于捆绑那些倒霉的青蝇。可它并没有主动出手相助。

Tom Kitten wriggled and squirmed until he was quite exhausted.

汤姆小猫扭来扭去，挣扎不休，直到筋疲力尽。

Presently the rats came back and set to work to make him into a dumpling. First they smeared him with butter, and then they rolled him in the dough.

不久老鼠们回来了，动手要把他做成一份肉丸子。她们先在他身上抹上黄油，再把他滚进面团里。

"Will not the string be very indigestible, Anna Maria?" inquired Samuel Whiskers.

"这绳子会不会很难消化啊，安娜·玛丽亚？"塞缪尔·惠斯克斯问道。

Anna Maria said she thought that it was of no consequence; but she wished that Tom Kitten would hold his head still, as it disarranged the pastry. She laid hold of his ears.

安娜·玛丽亚说她觉得这没什么大不了的；只是她希望汤姆小猫能把脑袋安分一点，因为这样会把面皮弄乱。她一把揪住了他的耳朵。

Tom Kitten bit and spat, and mewed and wriggled; and the rolling-pin went roly-poly, roly; roly, poly, roly. The rats each held an end.

汤姆小猫又咬又吐，又是喵叫又是挣扎；擀面杖便滚啊滚，滚啊滚，滚啊滚地压过去。两只老鼠各拉着一头。

"His tail is sticking out! You did not fetch enough dough, Anna Maria."

"他的尾巴露在外面了！你取的面团不够多，安娜·玛丽亚。"

"I fetched as much as I could carry," replied Anna Maria.

"我已经尽量多拿了，"安娜·玛丽亚答道。

"I do not think"—said Samuel Whiskers, pausing to take a look at Tom Kitten—"I do not think it will be a good pudding. It smells sooty."

"我看，"塞缪尔·惠斯克斯说道，停下来打量了一眼汤姆小猫——"我看这布丁做不好。闻着一股煤烟味儿。"

Anna Maria was about to argue the point, when all at once there began to be other sounds up above—the rasping noise of a saw; and the noise of a little dog, scratching and yelping!

安娜·玛丽亚正要争辩这一点，忽然头顶上传来了别的声响——锯子摩擦的声音；还有一只小狗抓挠、吠叫的声音！

The rats dropped the rolling-pin, and listened attentively.

两只老鼠丢下擀面杖，竖起耳朵仔细听着。

"We are discovered and interrupted, Anna Maria; let us collect our property—and other people's,—and depart at once."

"我们被发现了，事情也被打断了，安娜·玛丽亚；我们快把自己的东西——还有别人的东西——都收拾好，立刻走人吧。"

"I fear that we shall be obliged to leave this pudding."

"恐怕这份布丁我们只能扔下了。"

"But I am persuaded that the knots would have proved indigestible, whatever you may urge to the contrary."

"不过我坚信，不管你怎么说，这些绳结肯定是很难消化的。"

"Come away at once and help me to tie up some mutton bones in a counterpane," said Anna Maria. "I have got half a smoked ham hidden in the chimney."

"快过来帮我把这些羊骨头包进一条被单里，"安娜·玛丽亚说道。"我在烟囱里还藏了半只熏火腿呢。"

So it happened that by the time John Joiner had got the plank up—there was nobody under the floor except the rolling-pin and Tom Kitten in a very dirty dumpling!

于是等木匠约翰把地板撬开的时候——地板下面除了擀面杖和裹在一份脏兮兮布丁里的汤姆小猫，什么也没有了！

But there was a strong smell of rats; and John Joiner spent the rest of the morning sniffing and whining, and wagging his tail, and going round and round with his head in the hole like a gimlet.

不过那儿仍留着一股浓浓的老鼠气味；木匠约翰整个上午都在那儿嗅来嗅去、呜呜叫着、摇着尾巴，脑袋伸进洞里像钻头一样转来转去。

Then he nailed the plank down again and put his tools in his bag, and came downstairs.

然后他重新把木板钉了回去，把工具收进袋子里，下楼来了。

The cat family had quite recovered. They invited him to stay to dinner.

猫咪一家已经完全恢复了平静。他们邀请他留下来吃晚饭。

The dumpling had been peeled off Tom Kitten, and made separately into a bag pudding, with currants in it to hide the smuts.

那团面团布丁已经从汤姆小猫身上剥了下来，另外单独做成了一份布袋布丁，还加了些葡萄干进去，好遮住上面的煤灰痕迹。

They had been obliged to put Tom Kitten into a hot bath to get the butter off.

他们不得不把汤姆小猫放进热水澡里，才把身上的黄油洗掉。

John Joiner smelt the pudding; but he regretted that he had not time to stay to dinner, because he had just finished making a wheel-barrow for Miss Potter, and she had ordered two hen-coops.

木匠约翰闻了闻那布丁的味道；可他很遗憾没时间留下来吃晚饭了，因为他刚给波特小姐做完一辆手推车，她还订了两个鸡笼呢。

And when I was going to the post late in the afternoon—I looked up the lane from the corner, and I saw Mr. Samuel Whiskers and his wife on the run, with big bundles on a little wheel-barrow, which looked very like mine.

那天下午晚些时候，我要去邮局，从街角望向那条小路时——我看见塞缪尔·惠斯克斯先生和他的太太正跑着，用一辆小手推车推着大包大包的东西，那车看起来跟我的一模一样。

They were just turning in at the gate to the barn of Farmer Potatoes.

他们正转进土豆农夫家谷仓的大门。

Samuel Whiskers was puffing and out of breath. Anna Maria was still arguing in shrill tones.

塞缪尔·惠斯克斯累得直喘气。安娜·玛丽亚还在尖着嗓子争论不休。

She seemed to know her way, and she seemed to have a quantity of luggage.

她似乎认得路，似乎还带着一大堆行李。

I am sure I never gave her leave to borrow my wheel-barrow!

我敢肯定我从没答应过她可以借用我的手推车！

They went into the barn, and hauled their parcels with a bit of string to the top of the hay mow.

他们走进谷仓，用一段绳子把包裹拖到了干草堆的顶上。

After that, there were no more rats for a long time at Tabitha Twitchit's.

从那以后，塔比莎·特威切特家有很长一段时间都没再见过老鼠了。

As for Farmer Potatoes, he has been driven nearly distracted. There are rats, and rats, and rats in his barn! They eat up the chicken food, and steal the oats and bran, and make holes in the meal bags.

至于土豆农夫，他可快被逼疯了。他的谷仓里到处是老鼠，老鼠，老鼠！它们吃光了鸡饲料，偷走了燕麦和麦麸，还把面粉袋子啃出了洞。

And they are all descended from Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Whiskers—children and grand-children and great great grand-children.

而这些老鼠全都是塞缪尔·惠斯克斯先生和太太的后代——儿女、孙辈，还有曾曾孙辈。

There is no end to them!

简直没完没了！

Moppet and Mittens have grown up into very good rat-catchers.

莫佩特和米滕斯长大后都成了非常出色的捕鼠能手。

They go out rat-catching in the village, and they find plenty of employment. They charge so much a dozen, and earn their living very comfortably.

她们到村里去捕鼠，总能找到很多活儿干。她们按每打老鼠收费，日子过得相当舒坦。

They hang up the rats' tails in a row on the barn door, to show how many they have caught—dozens and dozens of them.

她们把老鼠尾巴一排排挂在谷仓门上，好显示自己捕了多少——一打又一打的。

But Tom Kitten has always been afraid of a rat; he never durst face anything that is bigger than—

可汤姆小猫却始终怕老鼠；他从不敢面对任何比这更大的东西——

A Mouse.

一只小老鼠。