DOC《The Rat put out a neat little brown paw, gripped Toad firmly by ...》

and rather making out that he had been having a gay and highly-coloured experience. But the more he talked and boasted, the more grave and silent the Rat became. 他下楼时,午饭已经摆在桌上.蟾蜍看见午饭,心里好高兴,因为自吃过吉卜赛人那顿丰盛的早餐之后,他又经历了不少险情,消耗了大量的体力.吃午饭时,蟾蜍向河鼠叙述他的全部历险,着重谈他自己如何聪明机警,他在危急关头如何从容镇定,身处困境时如何机敏狡诘.他把这一切说得仿佛是一段轻松愉快丰富多采的奇遇.但他越是夸夸其谈,河鼠就越是神情严肃,沉默不语. When at last Toad had talked himself to a standstill, there was silence for a while;

and then the Rat said, '

Now, Toady, I don'

t want to give you pain, after all you'

ve been through already;

but, seriously, don'

t you see what an awful ass you'

ve been making of yourself? On your own admission you have been handcuffed, imprisoned, starved, chased, terrified out of your life, insulted, jeered at, and ignominiously flung into the water―by a woman, too! Where'

s the amusement in that? Where does the fun come in? And all because you must needs go and steal a motor-car. You know that you'

ve never had anything but trouble from motor-cars from the moment you first set eyes on one. But if you WILL be mixed up with them―as you generally are, five minutes after you'

ve started―why STEAL them? Be a cripple, if you think it'

s exciting;

be a bankrupt, for a change, if you'

ve set your mind on it: but why choose to be a convict? When are you going to be sensible, and think of your friends, and try and be a credit to them? Do you suppose it'

s any pleasure to me, for instance, to hear animals saying, as I go about, that I'

m the chap that keeps company with gaol-birds?'

蟾蜍讲呀讲呀,终于打住了.接着是片刻的沉默,然后河鼠开腔了. 好了,老蟾,我本不想使你难过,不管怎么说,你吃过不少苦头.不过,说老实话,难道你看不出,你把自己变成了一头蠢驴吗?你自己承认,你被捕入狱,挨饿受冻,受到追捕,吓得死去活来,蒙受屈辱,遭到嘲弄,被扔进河里――而且是被一个女人!这有什么好玩的?哪来的乐趣?归根到底,都因为你硬要去偷一辆汽车.你很清楚,打从你头一眼见到汽车,除了不断地惹祸,什么好处你也没捞到.要是你非玩汽车不可――你向来就是这样,只要玩开了头,就上瘾――那又何必去偷呢?要是你觉得残废了有趣,那就落个残废好啦.要是你想尝尝破产的滋味,那就去破一次产好啦.可为什么偏偏要去犯罪?你什么时候才变得明白些,替你的朋友们想想,为他们争口气?我出门在外.听到别的动物在背后议论,说我的哥们是个罪犯,你想我会好受吗? Now, it was a very comforting point in Toad'

s character that he was a thoroughly good-hearted animal and never minded being jawed by those who were his real friends. And even when most set upon a thing, he was always able to see the other side of the question. So although, while the Rat was talking so seriously, he kept saying to himself mutinously, '

But it WAS fun, though! Awful fun!'

and making strange suppressed noises inside him, k-i-ck-ck-ck, and poop-p-p, and other sounds resembling stifled snorts, or the opening of soda-water bottles, yet when the Rat had quite finished, he heaved a deep sigh and said, very nicely and humbly, '