Chapter 20 The Hour of Triumph

"Special announcement!" said the loud speaker in a pompous voice. "The management of the Fair takes great pleasure in presenting Mr. Homer L. Zuckerman and his famous pig. The truck bearing this extraordinary animal is now approaching the infield. Kindly stand back and give the truck room to proceed! In a few moments the pig will be unloaded in the special judging ring in front of the grandstand, where a special award will be made. Will the crowd please make way and let the truck pass. Thank you."Wilbur trembled when he heard this speech. He felt happy but dizzy. The truck crept along slowly in low speed. Crowds of people surrounded it, and Mr. Arable had to drive very carefully in order not to run over anybody. At last he managed to reach the judges' stand. Avery jumped out and lowered the tailgate.

　　"I'm scared to death," whispered Mrs. Zuckerman. "Hundreds of people are looking at us.

　　"Cheer up," replied Mrs. Arable,"this is fun.""Unload your pig, please!" said the loud speaker.

　　"All together, now, boys!" said Mr. Zuckerman. Several men stepped forward from the crowd to help lift the crate. Avery was the busiest helper of all.

　　"Tuck your shirt in, Avery!" cried Mrs. Zuckerman. "And tighten your belt. Your pants are coming down.""Can't you see I'm busy?" replied Avery in disgust.

　　"Look!" cried Fern, pointing. "There's Henry!""Don't shout, Fern!" said her mother. "And don't point!""Can't I please have some money?" asked Fern. "Henry invited me to go on the Ferris wheel again, only I don't think he has any money left. he ran out of money."Mrs. Arable opened her handbag. "Here," she said. "Here is forty cents. Now don't get lost! And be back at our regular meeting place by the pigpen very soon!"Fern raced off, ducking and dodging through the crowd, in search of Henry.

　　"The Zuckerman pig is now being taken from his crate," boomed the voice of the loud speaker. "Stand by for an announcement!"Templeton crouched under the straw at the bottom of the crate. "What a lot of nonsense!" muttered the rat. "What a lot of fuss about nothing!"Over in the pigpen, silent and alone, Charlotte rested. Her two front legs embraced the egg sac. Charlotte could hear everything that was said on the loud speaker. The words gave her courage. This was her hour of triumph.

　　As Wilbur came out of the crate, the crowd clapped and cheered. Mr. Zuckerman took off his cap and bowed. Lurvy pulled his big handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the sweat from the back of his neck. Avery knelt in the dirt by Wilbur's side, busily stroking him and showing off. Mrs. Zuckerman and Mrs. Arable stood on the running board of the truck.

　　"Ladeez and gentlemen," said the loud speaker, "we now present Mr. Homer L. Zuckerman's distinguished pig. The fame of this unique animal has spread to the far corners of the earth, attracting many valuable tourists to our great State. Many of you will recall that never-to-be-forgotten day last summer when the writing appeared mysteriously on the spider's web in Mr. Zuckerman's barn, calling the attention of all and sundry to the fact that this pig was completely out of the ordinary. This miracle has never been fully explained, although learned men have visited the Zuckerman pigpen to study and observe the phenomenon. In the last analysis, we simply know that we are dealing with supernatural forces here, and we should all feel proud and grateful. In the words of the spider's web, ladies and gentlemen, this is some pig."Wilbur blushed. He stood perfectly still and tried to look his best.

　　"This magnificent animal," continued the loud speaker, "is truly terrific. Look at him, ladies and gentlemen! Note the smoothness and whiteness of the coat, observe the spotless skin, the healthy pink glow of ears and snout.""It's the buttermilk," whispered Mrs. arable to Mrs. Zuckerman.

　　"Note the general radiance of this animal! Then remember the day when the word 'radiant' appeared clearly on the web. Whence came this mysterious writing? Not from the spider, we can rest assured of that. Spiders are very clever at weaving their webs, but needless to say spiders cannot write.""Oh, they can't, can't they?" murmured Charlotte to herself.

　　"Ladeez and gentlemen," continued the loud speaker, "I must not take any more of your valuable time. On behalf of he governors of the Fair, I have the honor of awarding a special prize of twenty-five dollars to Mr. Zuckerman, together with a handsome bronze medal suitably engraved, in token of our appreciation of the part played by this pig--this radiant, this terrific, this humble pig--in attracting so many visitors to our great County Fair."Wilbur had been feeling dizzier and dizzier through this long, complimentary speech. When he heard the crowd begin to cheer and clap again, he suddenly fainted away. His legs collapsed, his mind went blank, and he fell to the ground, unconscious.

　　"What's wrong?" asked the loud speaker. "What's going on, Zuckerman?" What's the trouble with your pig?"Avery was kneeling by Wilbur's head, stroking him. Mr. Zuckerman was dancing about, fanning him with his cap.

　　"He's all right," cried Mr. Zuckerman. "He gets these spells. He's modest and can't stand praise.""Well, we can't give a prize to a dead pig," said the loud speaker. "It's never been done.""He isn't dead," hollered Zuckerman. "He's fainted. He gets embarrassed easily. Run for some water, Lurvy!"Lurvy sprang from the judges' ring and disappeared.

　　Templeton poked his head from the straw. He noticed that the end of Wilbur's tail was within reach. Templeton grinned. "I'll tend to this," he chuckled. He took Wilbur's tail in his mouth and bit it, just as hard as he could bite. The pain revived Wilbur. In a flash he was back on his feet.

　　"Ouch!" he screamed.

　　"Hoorray!" yelled the crowd. "He's up! The pig's up! Good word, zuckerman! That's some pig!" Everyone was delighted. Mr. Zuckerman was the most pleased of all. He sighed with relief. Nobody had seen Templeton. The rat had done his work well.

　　And now one of the judges climbed into the ring with the prizes. He handed Mr. Zuckerman two ten dollar bills and a five dollar bill. then he tied the medal around Wilbur's neck. Then he shook hands with Mr. Zuckerman while Wilbur blushed. Avery put out his hand and the judge shook hands with him, too. The crowd cheered. A photographer took Wilbur's picture.

　　A great feeling of happiness swept over the Zuckermans and the Arables. This was the greatest moment in Mr. Zuckerman's life. It is deeply satisfying to win a prize in front of a lot of people.

　　As Wilbur was being shoved back into the crate, Lurvy came charging through the crowd carrying a pail of water. His eyes had a wild look. Without hesitating a second, he dashed the water at Wilbur. In his excitement he missed his aim, and the water splashed all over Mr. Zuckerman and Avery. They got soaking wet.

　　"for goodness' sake!" bellowed Mr. Zuckerman, who was really drenched. "What ails you, Lurvy? Can't you see the pig is all right?""You asked for water," said Lurvy meekly.

　　"I didn't ask for a shower bath," said Mr. Zuckerman. The crowd roared with laughter. Finally Mr. Zuckerman had to laugh, too. And of course Avery was tickled to find himself so wet, and he immediately started to act like a clown. He pretended he was taking a shower bath; he made faces and danced around and rubbed imaginary sop under his armpits. Then he dried himself with an imaginary towel.

　　"Avery, stop it!" cried his mother. "Stop showing off!"But the crowd loved it. Avery heard nothing but the applause. He liked being a clown in a ring, with everybody watching, in front of a grandstand. When he discovered there was still a little water left in the bottom of the pail, he raised the pail high in the air and dumped the water on himself and made faces. The children in the grandstand screamed with appreciation.

　　At last things calmed down. Wilbur was loaded into the truck. Avery was led from the ring by his mother and placed on the seat of the truck to dry off. The truck, driven by Mr. Arable, crawled slowly back to the pigpen. Avery's wet trousers made a big wet spot on the seat.

 

　　“特别消息！”广播喇叭里以一种炫耀的声音说，“展览会的主办者正在非常荣幸地为各位介绍霍默·L·祖克曼先生和他的名猪。装着这头非凡的动物的卡车现在正朝我们开过来。请往后退，让卡车开过来！这头猪马上就要被送到大看台前的特别裁判场来，并在那里被授予特别奖。请大家后退，让卡车通过。谢谢你们。”

　　当听到这些报道时，威伯颤抖起来，他幸福得都要晕过去了。卡车慢慢地往前开着，周围挤满了人。阿拉贝尔先生不得不开得很小心，以免压到人。最后他终于设法开到了裁判场前。埃弗里跳下车，打开后车门。

　　“我要吓死了，”祖克曼太太低语，“几百人在看着我们呢。”

　　“振作些，”阿拉贝尔先生回答，“那不是很有趣嘛。”

　　“请把你们的猪抬下来！”扩音器里说。

　　“现在，一起用力，孩子们！”祖克曼先生说，几个男人抬起箱子从人流中穿过去。埃弗里是几个人中最棒的一个。

　　“把你的衬衫掖进去，埃弗里！”祖克曼太太喊，“再紧紧你的裤带。你的裤子要掉下来了。”

　　“你没看见我正忙着吗？”埃弗里不高兴地回答。

　　“看，”芬叫着指去，“那是亨利！”

　　“别喊，芬！”她妈妈说，“不许指指点点！”

　　“能给我点儿钱吗？”芬问，“亨利又请我去坐大转轮了，可我想他没钱了，他把钱都花光了。”

　　阿拉贝尔太太打开她的手袋。“给，”她说，“这是四毛钱。别跑丢了！一会儿到猪圈那里的老地方等我们！”

　　芬跑进了人群，挤来挤去的寻找着亨利。

　　“祖克曼家的猪现在正被从板条箱里带出来，”扩音器里嗡嗡地喊着，“请大家静等通告！”

　　坦普尔曼趴在板条箱底的稻草下面。“都在胡说什么呀！”他嘟囔着，“吵死了！”

　　夏洛正在猪圈上方，一个人静静地休息。她的两条前腿还在紧紧地抱着卵囊。夏洛能听到扩音器里说的每一句话。那些话为她增添了不少勇气。这是她的胜利时刻。

　　当威伯从板条箱里走出来时，人们开始鼓掌喝彩。祖克曼先生脱帽鞠躬致谢。鲁维从口袋里拽出他的大手绢，擦着脖子后面的汗。埃弗里跪在威伯身边，不停地抚摩着他，炫耀着。祖克曼太太和阿拉贝尔太太正站在卡车的脚踏板上。

　　“女士们先生们，”扩音器里说，“我们现在向诸位介绍霍默·L·祖克曼先生的杰出的猪。这头不寻常的动物的名声早已经传到了地球最远的角落，他为我们这个伟大的国家吸引了很多尊贵的游客。你们中的很多人可能仍然记得今年夏天早些时候的那个永-不-会-忘-记-的日子，那天，在祖克曼先生的谷仓里，有一个词被神秘地织在那里的蜘蛛网上面，它令所有人都注意到了这个事实，即那头猪完全是卓越不凡的。这个奇迹从未被完全地解释清楚，尽管学者们已经到祖克曼家的猪圈参观过，并观察、研究过这一现象。最近的分析表明，我们目前只知道我们在这里讨论的是一种超自然的力量，我们都应该为此而自豪和感恩。那张蜘蛛网里的写的词，女士们先生们，就是‘好猪’。”

　　威伯脸红了。他完美地静立着，让自己站得像最好的猪。

　　“这个壮美的动物，”扩音器里继续说，“真的是很棒。看看他，女士们先生们！请注意他那雪白、光滑的毛皮，观赏他那一尘不染的皮肤，还有他那耳朵与鼻子上散发出的健康的，粉红色的光辉。”

　　“那是酸奶的缘故。”阿拉贝尔太太对祖克曼太太耳语道。

　　“请注意这个动物身上无处不在的光辉！这会让人想起‘闪光’这个词清晰地出现在蜘蛛网里的那一天。这个神秘的字迹从何而来呢？它不是来自于蜘蛛，我们完全能保证这一点。蜘蛛虽然有织网的本能，但它却不能写字，这一点是无须多说的。”

　　“噢，他们不能这么说！怎么能这么说？”夏洛自言自语。

　　“女士们先生们，”扩音器里继续说，“我不必再浪费你们的宝贵时间了。作为展览会主办者的代表，我有幸向祖克曼先生颁发一笔二十五美元的特别奖金，同时颁发的还有一块漂亮的花纹精美的青铜奖章，它将用来象征我们对这头猪的赏识——这是一头闪光的，很棒的，谦恭的猪——正是他把这么多的参观者吸引到我们这伟大的展览会上来。”

　　这些无休止的恭维使威伯越来越承受不住了。当他听到人们再次开始欢呼和鼓掌时，他突然幸福得昏了过去。他的腿瘫了，大脑一片空白，毫无知觉地躺到了地上。

　　“出什么毛病了？”扩音器里问，“发生了什么事情，祖克曼？你的猪有麻烦了吗？”

　　埃弗里跪到威伯的头前，抚摸着威伯。祖克曼先生也跃过来，用他的帽子给威伯扇凉。

　　“他没事，”祖克曼先生喊，“他被这些话弄晕了。他是最谦虚的，受不了夸奖。”

　　“很好，可我们不能给一头死猪发奖，”扩音器说，“这是从没有过的事。”

　　“他没死，”祖克曼高喊，“他只是晕了。他很容易被夸倒。拿点水来，鲁维！”

　　鲁维跑下裁判场，不见了。

　　坦普尔曼从稻草里探出了头。他发现威伯的尾巴尖就在他的眼前。坦普尔曼呲呲牙。“我要这样帮他，”他咯咯地笑起来。他把威伯的尾巴塞到嘴里，尽自己最大的力气狠狠咬了一口。威伯一下子就疼醒了。他猛地站了起来。

　　“嗷！”他尖叫。

　　“万岁！”人们狂叫，“他站起来了，这头猪站起来了！干得好，祖克曼！那是头好猪！”每个人都兴奋起来。祖克曼先生是最高兴的。他放心地吁了一口气。没人看到坦普尔曼。老鼠的活儿干得太漂亮了。

　　现在，一个裁判带着奖金进了裁判场。他递给祖克曼先生两张十美元的钞票与一张五美元的钞票，然后又把奖章挂到了威伯的脖子上。当威伯变成大红脸时，他和祖克曼先生握了握手。埃弗里伸出手来，裁判也和他握了握手。人们欢呼起来。一个摄影师给威伯照了一张像。

　　一股无比幸福的暖流席卷了祖克曼一家与阿拉贝尔一家。这是祖克曼先生一生中最美的时刻。在这么多人面前获得奖金，令他深深地感到满足。

　　当威伯被送回板条箱时，鲁维拎着一桶水从人群挤出来。他的眼发疯地搜寻了一会儿，就毫不犹豫地把水向威伯泼去。由于太紧张，他瞄错了地方，于是水都泼到了祖克曼先生和埃弗里身上。他们全都淋湿了。

　　“看在上帝的份上！”完全被淋透的祖克曼先生咆哮起来，“你有病吗，鲁维？你看不见那头猪已经没事了吗？”

　　“你要我淋的水。”鲁维怯怯地嘀咕。

　　“可我没要淋浴。”祖克曼先生说。人们哄笑起来。后来，祖克曼先生也笑起来。发现自己身上湿了的埃弗里可乐坏了，立刻开始扮起小丑来。他假装自己正在洗淋浴；他做着鬼脸，转圈跳着，往他的腋窝下打着并不存在的肥皂。然后他又用了一条根本就没有的毛巾给自己擦身。

　　“埃弗里，停下来！”他的母亲喊，“别丢人现眼了！”

　　可人们却爱看。埃弗里除了人们的喝彩外也什么都没听到。他喜欢在大看台前的裁判场里做一个人人注目的小丑。当他发现桶里还剩了些水，便把桶高高举起，把剩下的水也泼到自己身上，同时又做了许多鬼脸。大看台旁的孩子们都赞赏地尖叫起来。

　　最后，一切都平静下来。威伯被装上了卡车，埃弗里被他的母亲领下了裁判场，带到卡车里的座位上。阿拉贝尔先生开着卡车慢慢往猪圈的方向去。埃弗里的湿裤子在座位里留下了一大滩水迹。