【英】《柳林风声》第5集：The Wild Wood

Mole had long wanted to meet Badger. By all accounts, he seemed like an important person. One day Mole asked,“Couldn’t you ask him over for dinner?”

“He wouldn’t come,”said Rat.“Badger hates invitations of any sort. He hates society, dinners, and that sort of thing.”

“Why don’t we go and see him?”asked Mole.

“Oh, he wouldn’t like that at all,”said Rat.“He’s so shy, he’d be offended. I’ve never called on him in his own home myself. He simply would not like it. Not one bit. Besides, it’s quite out of because he lives in the middle of the Wild Wood.”

“You told me the Wild Wood was all right.”

“Well it is,”said Rat.“But I don’t think he’d be there this time of year anyway. We’ll just wait for him to drop by. If you wait patiently, he will show up sooner or later.”

Mole waited but Badger never did stop by for a visit. A whole summer passed and winter brought no sign of him either.

Mole and Rat filled the shorter winter days by telling stories around the fire. Mole often listened to Rat’s poetry. Sometimes Rat would nap in his armchair to pass the time. So one day when Rat fell asleep, Mole slipped out and headed toward the Wild Wood. He would find Mr. Badger himself!

When he first entered the Wild Wood, he didn’t feel afraid. Twigs crackled under his feet. Logs tripped him. It was fun and exciting. But soon, light faded as he went farther into the Wild Wood. Everything became still.

Suddenly, he thought he saw faces everywhere he looked. They were looking out from holes and tree stumps. He walked faster telling himself not to imagine things.

Then the whistling began. At first, it seemed far behind him. But now it seemed that it was ahead of him. He hesitated and wanted to turn back. But he was too afraid to go back. Too afraid to walk forward.

Then the pattering began. He thought it was falling leaves at first. But the sound grew louder. Suddenly, a rabbit dashed past, his eyes staring.“Get out now, you fool.”It disappeared into a hole.

In a panic, Mole started to run. He finally found a deep hollow of an old beech tree. Would he be safe there? He had no choice but to hide inside.

He lay there and trembled as he listened to the whistling and patterings in the Wild Wood. It was his darkest moment. The moment Rat had tried to warn him about: the Terror of the Wild Wood!

Meanwhile, Rat woke up and started working on his poems. When he asked Mole for help, he got no reply.

“Mole! Where are you?”shouted Rat as he searched the house. He noticed that Mole’s hat wasn’t on the peg. His boots were gone, too! Rat

left the house and carefully examined the muddy ground. He easily found Mole’s tracks. When he saw that they led straight into the Wild Wood, he knew he must go and rescue Mole!

Rat stood in deep thought for a minute or two before returning to the house. He strapped a belt around his waist, shoved a pistol into it, and quickly set off toward the Wild Wood.

It was getting dark by the time Rat entered the Wild Wood. He hunted through the woods for an hour when he heard a faint cry.“Ratty, is that you?”

Rat crept into the hollow and saw Mole trembling.

“I’ve been so frightened,”said Mole.

“I understand, Mole. But you shouldn’t have come here. We riverbankers never come here by ourselves. One must know signals, signs, and passwords. You must know how to trick and dodge in here.”

“Surely the brave Mr. Toad wouldn’t mind coming here by himself?”sobbed Mole.

Rat laughed.“He’d never come alone, Mole. Never!”

Rat’s laughter made Mole feel a bit better. A bit braver.

As they were about to go home, Rat noticed the snow. It looked like a completely different woods!

“It’s hard to see where we are,”said Rat.“Everything looks so different.”

After two hours of travel, they were exhausted. They sat on an old tree trunk to rest. The snow was almost impossible to walk through. They fell into hole after hole and were soaking wet. Rat felt it was best to look for shelter for the evening.

The two friends struggled on. Suddenly, Mole tripped and fell on his face.“Oh, my leg!”

Knowing Mole couldn’t travel any farther, Rat started scratching at the ground.“Hooray! Look what I’ve found!”

Mole hobbled over to see it.“A door scraper?”

Anyone who visited the Wild Wood knew that along with a door scraper comes a door. A few scratches later uncovered a doormat. Then, Rat attacked the snowbank beside them. He dug faster and faster.

In no time, a green door stood beside them. It was a dark green door. An iron bellpull hung by the side. Below it, on a small brass plate, engraved in capital letters, they read MR. BADGER.

Mole fell backward on the snow from sheer surprise.“Rat! You’re a wonder! If only I had your brains!”

“Are you going to sit in the snow all night and talk?”asked Rat as he attacked the door with his stick.“Get up at once and ring that bell!”

Mole sprang up at the bellpull. He clutched it and swung as both feet glided off the ground. From quite a far way off, they could faintly hear a deep toned bell respond.