17 The Great Feast

17 The Great Feast Back in the tunnel they paused so that Mr Fox could brick up the hole in the wall. He was humming to himself as he put the bricks back in place. 'I can still taste that glorious cider,' he said. 'What an impudent fellow Rat is.' 'He has bad manners,' Badger said. 'All rats have bad manners. I've never met a polite rat yet.' 'And he drinks too much,' said Mr Fox, putting the last brick in place. 'There we are. Now, home to the feast!' They grabbed their jars of cider and off they went. Mr Fox was in front, the Smallest Fox came

回到隧道后，他们停了下来，好让狐狸先生用砖头堵住墙上的洞。 他一边把砖头放回原处，一边哼着小曲。 他说，我现在还能品尝到美味的苹果酒。 “河鼠真是个厚颜无耻的家伙。“他没礼貌，”獾说。 “所有的老鼠都没有礼貌。 我还没见过有礼貌的老鼠。“而且他喝得太多了，”狐狸先生说着，把最后一块砖放好。 “我们到了。现在，回去吃饭吧!”他们抓起一罐苹果酒就走了。 狐狸先生在前面，最小的狐狸过来了

next and Badger last. Along the tunnel they flew… past the turning that led to Bunce's Mighty Storehouse… past Boggis's Chicken House Number One and then up the long home stretch towards the place where they knew Mrs Fox would be waiting. 'Keep it up, my darlings!' shouted Mr Fox. 'We'll soon be there! Think what's waiting for us at the other end! And just think what we're bringing home with us in these jars! That ought to cheer up poor Mrs Fox.' Mr Fox sang a little song as he ran: 'Home again swiftly I glide, Back to my beautiful bride. She'll not feel so rotten As soon as she's gotten Some cider inside her inside.'

下一个，獾最后一个。他们沿着隧道飞过去，经过通往邦斯的大仓库的拐弯处，经过博吉斯的一号鸡舍，然后沿着长长的一段路飞向他们知道狐狸太太会在那里等着的地方。 “坚持下去，亲爱的!”狐狸先生喊道。 “我们马上就到!”想想在另一端等着我们的是什么!想想我们在这些罐子里带回家的是什么!这应该使可怜的福克斯太太高兴起来。”狐狸先生边跑边唱着小曲:“我飞快地滑回家，回到我美丽的新娘身边。” 只要她喝点苹果酒，她就不会那么难受了。”

Then Badger joined in: 'Oh poor Mrs Badger, he cried, So hungry she very near died. But she'll not feel so hollow If only she'll swallow Some cider inside her inside.'

然后獾也跟着说:“噢，可怜的獾太太，”他叫道，“她饿得几乎要死了。 但只要她能喝点苹果酒，她就不会觉得那么空虚了。”

They were still singing as they rounded the final corner and burst in upon the most wonderful and amazing sight any of them had ever seen. The feast was just beginning. A large dining-room had been hollowed out of the earth, and in the middle of it, seated around a huge table, were no less than twenty-nine animals. They were: Mrs Fox and three Small Foxes. Mrs Badger and three Small Badgers. Mole and Mrs Mole and four Small Moles. Rabbit and Mrs Rabbit and five Small Rabbits.

他们还在唱着歌，转过最后一个拐角，突然看到了他们从未见过的最奇妙、最令人惊异的景象。 宴会才刚刚开始。 在地下挖出了一间大餐室，在中间的一张大桌子周围坐着不下29只动物。 他们是:狐狸太太和三只小狐狸。 獾太太和三只小獾。 鼹鼠、鼹鼠太太和四只小鼹鼠。 兔子和兔子太太，还有五只小兔子。

Weasel and Mrs Weasel and six Small Weasels. The table was covered with chickens and ducks and geese and hams and bacon, and everyone was tucking into the lovely food. 'My darling!' cried Mrs Fox, jumping up and hugging Mr Fox. 'We couldn't wait! Please forgive us!' Then she hugged the Smallest Fox of all, and Mrs Badger hugged Badger, and everyone hugged everyone else. Amid shouts of joy, the great jars of cider were placed upon the table, and Mr Fox and Badger and the Smallest Fox sat down with the others. You must remember no one had eaten a thing for several days. They were ravenous. So for a

黄鼠狼、黄鼠狼太太和六只小黄鼠狼。 桌子上摆满了鸡、鸭、鹅、火腿和熏肉，每个人都在大啖美味佳肴。 “我亲爱的!狐狸太太叫道，跳起来拥抱狐狸先生。 “我们等不及了!”请原谅我们!”然后她拥抱了最小的狐狸，獾太太拥抱了獾，大家拥抱了其他人。 在一片欢呼声中，一大罐苹果酒被放在桌子上，狐狸先生、獾和最小的狐狸和其他人一起坐了下来。 你一定记得，好几天没人吃东西了。 他们很饿。所以对于a

while there was no conversation at all. There was only the sound of crunching and chewing as the animals attacked the succulent food. At last, Badger stood up. He raised his glass of cider and called out, A toast! I want you all to stand and drink a toast to our dear friend who has saved our lives this day – Mr Fox!' 'To Mr Fox!' they all shouted, standing up and raising their glasses. 'To Mr Fox! Long may he live!' Then Mrs Fox got shyly to her feet and said, 'I don't want to make a speech. I just want to say

而根本就没有对话。 只有动物们攻击多汁食物时发出的嘎吱声和咀嚼声。 最后，獾站了起来。他举起一杯苹果酒，喊道:“干杯!”我希望大家都站起来，为今天救了我们一命的亲爱的朋友——狐狸先生干杯!“敬狐狸先生!”他们都喊道，站了起来，举起了酒杯。 “敬狐狸先生!”愿他万岁!”然后狐狸太太害羞地站了起来，说:“我不想演讲。 我只想说