地铁鼠

薛涛 曹萌

小仓鼠专门给小田鼠送巧克力，小田鼠总共预订了三十块巧克力。这一年里，他已经送出了十六块。

小田鼠的妈妈大惊小怪：“不要了！不要了！你不想要好身材了！”

小仓鼠家住在巧克力店，小田鼠的家在郊外的烟囱下面。给小田鼠送巧克力，小仓鼠要穿过半个城区，走上半天时间。

Little Hamster has received orders for 30 bars of chocolate from Little Mole this year. He has delivered 16 of them.

Little Moles mom wants to put a stop to this. “You dont want to remain slim， do you， my child？”

Little Hamster lives at the chocolate shop downtown. He has to travel through half of the town to deliver to the door of Little Mole， whose home is in a suburb， at the foot of a chimney. It usually takes him a good half day to make a delivery！

有一次他足足走了一整天。他被一只陰险的黑猫盯上了，他必须摆脱这个警长的追踪。不然，小田鼠也不安全。

做一件事，哪怕是一件很小的事，也是充满艰辛。

One day， it took Little Hamster much longer. A hideous black cat cast his eyes on him， and followed him. He must get rid of him before they reached Little Moles home！ He didnt want to lose his own life， and he did not want to bring the risk to his best customer.

So， as you can see， it is hard， sometimes， to accomplish an every-day duty.

小仓鼠决定改进一下路径。

“帮我挖一条隧道，直通郊外的烟囱下面！”

小仓鼠对七十三个鼠友发号施令。

“干这个活儿，我们需要一个鼓舞。有了鼓舞，我们才有力气干活儿。”一只伶牙俐齿的老鼠代表其他老鼠提出要求。

“有一顿巧克力大餐等着你们。”小仓鼠是下了血本的。

一阵欢呼之后，七十三只老鼠开始疯狂地挖掘。

三个月后，他们完成了。他们也个个成为肌肉发达的老鼠。他们庆祝隧道完工，却忘记了巧克力大餐的事情。一次有成效的劳动也能让人忘记报酬。

Little Hamster decided to make an improvement to the route.

He spoke to seventy-three of this best friends.

“Please help me dig a tunnel， which leads from my shop to the suburb...all the way to the chimney！”

A clever-tongued mouse spoke for the group. “To do this for you， we need a reward. This will help us finish the work fast and fine.”

“There will be a feast of chocolate waiting for you！” Little Hamster declared.

“HURRAY！！” all the mice yelled in happiness. Then they began to work like mad.

The tunnel was completed three months later. Every one of the mice had become much stronger. They had a big celebration together， but forgot all about the chocolate that Little Hamster promised. Sometimes， a well-accomplished job is in itself a big reward.

小仓鼠抱着大巧克力穿过隧道，顺利来到小田鼠家。

小田鼠的妈妈告诉小仓鼠：“小田鼠开始减肥了，不能再吃巧克力。”

小仓鼠很执着，“这是她预订的。”

小田鼠的妈妈说：“退货。”

小仓鼠坚持着，“科学家说了，巧克力不一定让人肥胖。除非我看见她胖了很多。”

小田鼠的妈妈说：“你看不到她了，她去山里减肥了。花喜鹊说长白山有一大片板栗树，秋天一来满地都是板栗，味道比巧克力好。”

Little Hamster tried his new route. Carrying a big bar of chocolate， he arrived at the Moles fast and safe.

But he received a cold welcome from Moles mother.She said， “My child is on a diet.She needs no more of your chocolate！”

“But...she has pre-ordered this bar of chocolate，”little Hamster insisted.

“Then I need a refund.”

“Scientists say chocolate doesnt make you fat. Unless I see her grow fat myself...”

“No， you will not see her. She has been sent to the mountains. There are plenty of chestnut trees in Changbai Mountain. Chestnuts taste much better than any chocolate. Did you not hear what the magpie said about the chestnut trees？”

“去吧！去吧！如果板栗更好吃，你就去吧。最好把巧克力忘得一干二凈！”

小仓鼠大哭了一场，悄悄把属于小田鼠的巧克力留起来。

他最多等她三天。三天后，小田鼠没回来。于是他又等三天……他不知不觉等了一年。

第二年秋天，鼠友们都说小田鼠回到烟囱下面了。

其实，这是个假消息。

小仓鼠抱上那块巧克力，在隧道里面飞奔。

可是小仓鼠的运气不好，刚刚挖好的隧道被水泥封死了。

小仓鼠又需要帮手了。

这次只来六十一个鼠友，其他的都失踪了。

“我们愿意干这个活儿！说干就干吧！”所有的鼠友都这样表态。

他们终于挖开了水泥墙壁，外面是一个地铁站。

这一年里发生了很多事，一条地铁线把小仓鼠的隧道切成两段。在地铁开过去的瞬间，小仓鼠隐约看见了对面的洞口。

小仓鼠扛着巧克力，等候这列大铁车开过去。

小仓鼠想得太简单了。他还需要穿过无数只鞋子呢。

“鞋子，让我过去好吗？我有一个重要的任务……”

鞋子们不吭声，自顾低着头朝里面走，或者朝外面走。

小仓鼠想，顶多等上半天，就等吧。

小仓鼠想得太简单了。大铁车一列又一列，小仓鼠没有机会通过。

“Ok， go after the chestnut then， if you think it tastes better. You better never want to eat my chocolate！”

Little Hamster cried a hearty cry. But he decided to keep the chocolate for Little Mole， and he didnt tell anyone about it.

He decided to wait three days for her but he waited in vain. He then waited another three days， then another three days...It has been a year now.

Every mouse he knew told him that Little Mole had returned home.

But， alas， this was not true.

Little Hamster was on his delivery route again. He put the big bar of chocolate on his back and went into the tunnel. He ran very fast.

But what was that ahead？ He saw that his tunnel was blocked by a cement wall.

He really needed his friends now.

Only sixty-one of his mice friends arrived. Nobody knew why the rest didnt come.

“We love this work. Lets get started right now！” All his friends said in an eager voice.

They set to work and dug a hole in the thick wall. They found that the blockage was for a new subway tunnel， and it had cut their tunnel in half.

Amid the passing train cars， Little Hamster could catch a glimpse of his tunnel on the other side.

So he waited， with the chocolate on his back. He waited for the trains to go speeding by.

He under-estimated his task. There were many shoes on his left and right， his front and back， moving around him.

“Shoes， please let me pass； I have an important errand.”

The shoes were silent， moving ceaselessly on their own way.

“Then I will wait for half a day. I think that will be enough time for me to find a chance，” thought Little Hamster.

But once again， he was wrong. The trains came and went， then another and still another…There wasnt time to go between them.

小倉鼠不吃不喝，眼睛亮亮地盯着眼前的车厢。一等，就等到了夏天。后来，小仓鼠靠吃车站里的垃圾度日。

没有人注意到扛着巧克力的小仓鼠。

黑猫跟主人去图书馆。黑猫一眼就看见了小仓鼠。

黑猫不怀好意地问小仓鼠：“敢不敢跟我坐到下一站，下一站是图书馆站，旁边有一家超市，有很多薯条。”

小仓鼠当然认识这只黑猫，这个警长曾经追了他整整一天。

小仓鼠默念着：没有薯条……

小仓鼠默念着：没有巧克力……

巧克力的香味常常让小仓鼠产生幻觉，这个幻觉很幸福。

能吃的东西越来越少，小仓鼠的肚子干瘪下去，眼神也渐渐黯淡。

一只蝙蝠找吃的，误入地铁站，他盯上小仓鼠的巧克力。小仓鼠声音微弱，“是小田鼠预订的……”

蝙蝠好像突然明白了什么。蝙蝠早就听说了，地铁站里有一只仓鼠，抱着一块巧克力，却饿得要死。这个故事在鸟兽中间流传。

小仓鼠最后一句话是说给蝙蝠听的，“把我带走，去山里找到那棵板栗……”

蝙蝠没有听见小仓鼠的请求，自顾飞走了。

“我们又有活儿干了！”

Little food. Little water. All of little Hamsters attention was on the trains coming and going. He stared at them and seemed to forget about the time. It was now summer. He now survived on rubbish in the subway.

Nobody passing by noticed this hamster with a bar of chocolate on his back.

Nobody except the black cat， who one day was traveling with his owner to the library and spotted Little Hamster in one short glance.

“Well， hey there hamster！ Do you want to go with me to the library？ I know of a very good restaurant nearby， and French fries are served there. Its just one station away！” Anyone listening could tell it was not meant as a friendly invitation.

Little Hamster recalled when he had been followed by this black cat for a whole day.

He murmured to himself， “There are no fries. This is a lie.”

“There is no chocolate either.” he told himself.

But the flavor of chocolate lent him a thought， a very happy thought.

Good food was scarce in the subway. Little Hamster looked thin and his eyes were not as bright as before.

A hungry bat got lost in the subway. He noticed the chocolate and the hamster. Little Hamster said in a weak voice， “Dont ever try touching this chocolate； it was pre-ordered by Little Mole.”

The bat suddenly recalled a rumor which had been around for a while. There was a silly hamster in this subway， who had a chocolate bar on his back and who was willing to starve to death. Everyone had heard this unusual story.

Little Hamster continued speaking， but his last words were not heard， for the bat had taken flight. He said， “Please take me with you. I want to find the chestnut trees on the mountain.”

五十三只老鼠蜂拥而至，一起挖墙。

他们从郊外的烟囱那边过来的。三天后他们只是挖开一道缝儿，外面是工业展览馆地铁站。

鼠友们看到小仓鼠时，小仓鼠闪了一下，湮没在无数鞋子里面，一列接一列的车开过去。

小田鼠说：“傻瓜，妈妈逼我进城找你，取消巧克力店的所有预订。可是我被黑猫绑架了……”

鼠友们累得东倒西歪。

挖开一个小小的“窗口”。

他们想念小仓鼠了就排着队来 “窗口”看看。小田鼠总是比他们来得早。

其实什么也看不到。

“Now we have work to do again！” Fifty-three mice gathered outside the subway. There they began to make a hole in the subway wall.

These were mice from the suburbs， from the neighborhood of the chimney， actually. Three days later， they made a thin crack in the wall of the Industrial Expo Station.

The caught a glimpse of Little Hamster， just a quick one， among the many shoes stepping to and fro， and between the trains coming and going.

Little Mole was among them. She said， “Silly friend， my mom asked me to find you and cancel my order but I have been kidnapped by the black cat...”

The mice were really exhausted.

This thin “window” seemed to be all they could do to the strong solid wall.

They lined up at the window when they wanted to see Little Hamster. Little Mole was always the first one in line.

They never saw anything.

小倉鼠大概真的去山里找板栗树了。

Perhaps Little Hamster did go to the mountain in search of the chestnut trees.