杨柳风 05（在线收听）

Chapter Five Home Sweet Home

It was almost Christmas time. The sheep that lived in the fields were outside eating hay. It was very cold so they stood close together for warmth.

Mole and Rat were walking across the field laughing and talking.

It was a cold but sunny day. Mole and Rat were returning home from an exploring trip with Otter. All day they had explored parts of the river. Now, they were returning home to have dinner and they still had a long distance to travel.

“It looks as if we’re near a village.” said Mole.

Generally animals try to stay away from humans. So Mole was a little worried about seeing people.

“Oh, don’t worry about the people.” said the Rat. “At this time of the year all the men, women and children are inside their houses. No one will see us as we pass by.”

They continued to make the long walk home. Each animal was thinking his own thoughts and they weren’t talking much.

Mole was thinking about dinner and how nice it would be to sit by a fire. Rat was walking ahead of Mole, staring at the road ahead of him.

Suddenly Mole stopped walking. He looked very surprised, but Rat didn’t notice.

Mole had suddenly realized that his old house was nearby. It was very close. All Mole had to do was find it. All of a sudden, he deeply wanted to see his old home again. Mole’s house was small and not as nice as his friends’ houses, but it was his and he wanted to see it.

“Rat!” Mole called excitedly. “Come back, Rat. Wait a minute.”

“Oh, come on, Mole.” called the Rat cheerfully. He didn’t stop walking. “We’ve got a long way to go before we get home.”

“Rat, you don’t understand. It’s my home, my old home. It’s nearby and I really want to see it again. Please come back.”

But Rat was too far ahead. He could not hear what his friend was saying. Rat looked at the sky and decided that it was going to snow.

“Mole, we’ll come back and look for it tomorrow whatever it is. We shouldn’t stop now. It’s late and I think it’s going to snow. We really have to get home. Now, hurry up and come here. I need your help.”

Mole stood there and suddenly felt terribly sad. He missed his old home, but even now he was very loyal to Rat. So very sadly, he ran to catch up with his friend.

The Rat didn’t notice how unhappy Mole was. He talked cheerfully about the big fire they would build at home and the large dinner they would eat. Mole didn’t say anything.

Finally the Rat said kindly, “Why, Mole, you seem very tired. You’re not talking and you’re walking so slowly. We’ll sit down here for a moment and rest. We’re almost home and it hasn’t snowed yet.”

They sat down for a minute. Mole felt himself wanting to cry. He missed his old home so much. Finally he couldn’t help it. The tears ran down his face and he cried and cried.

Rat didn’t say anything for a little while. Finally he said very gently.

“What is it, Mole? What is the matter? Tell me your trouble and I’ll see what I can do to help.”

“Oh, Rat,” cried Mole. “I know it’s a small poor little house, not like yours or Toad’s. But when I realized we were near my house, all the memories came back to me and I wanted to see it. But when you wouldn’t come back, Rat, I had to leave it and it broke my heart. We might have gone and had just one look at it. But you wouldn’t turn back, Rat.”

And he began to cry again.

The Rat stood there and looked serious and sad.

“I understand now. Oh, dear, how selfish I have been! How terrible of me!”

After a moment Rat said, “Well, come on then, Mole. It’s getting late. We’ve got to hurry.”

But he did not walk towards the river. He began to walk back the way they had come.

“Rat, where are you going?” cried the Mole.

“We’re going to find your house, of course.” said Rat. “So you’d better come along. It would take some time to find and only you know the way.”

“Oh, come back, Rat.” cried Mole.

He got up and hurried after his friend.

“It’s late and dark. My house is too far from here. And I never meant to tell how I was feeling. It’s all right, really.” He said. “Besides, what about your house by the river and your dinner?”

“Forget about my house and dinner, too.” said the Rat cheerfully. “I’m going to find your nice old house if I have to stay out all night. Now, no more talking. If we want to find it, we have to concentrate.”

So Mole and Rat went back the way they had come. It wasn’t long before Mole remembered the way to his house. He searched around on the ground and used all his senses to find the way.

The Rat followed him. He was very interested and excited to see Mole’s house.

Suddenly Mole saw a small hole in the ground. It was almost hidden by grass. It was the underground path that led to his house.

He and Rat crawled into the passage. It seemed like a long time before they reached the end of the passage. Finally they saw a door with a sign on it that said “Mole End”.

This was Mole’s house.

Next to the door, there was a little bench and some garden statues. Mole had made himself an underground garden with a little fish pond. It was a very nice-looking place.

Mole smiled happily at the sight of all these familiar things. When he opened the door, however, he began to feel sad again. His house was so dirty, dark and dusty. He had not been there for a long time. He sat down in a chair and put his face in his paws.

“Oh, Rat, why did I do it? Why did I bring you to this poor cold little place on the night like this? You could be sitting by your nice warm fire by now.”

The Rat wasn’t listening. He was walking around the house.

“What a wonderful house this is!” he said, “You did an excellent job of building it, Mole. We’ll have a wonderful night here. The first thing to do is build a nice fire in the fireplace. I’ll go and get the wood. Why don’t you clean things up a little.”

Mole suddenly felt much better. While Rat made a fire, Mole swept the floors and cleaned the house. When the fire was ready, Rat told Mole to come and get warm. Suddenly Mole had another upsetting thought.

“Rat,” he cried. “you poor hungry animal, I don’t have anything to give you for dinner, not even a crumb!”

“Oh, don’t be silly!” said the Rat. “There is lots of food. I saw a can of fish in the kitchen. I’m sure there are other things, too. Now, come with me and look.”

Besides the can of fish, they found a sausage and some biscuits.

“This would be an excellent meal.” said the Rat as they sat down. “I know lots of animals who would love to be eating this.”

“But we don’t have any bread.” said the Mole sadly. “No butter, either.”

“I’m sure there is lots more food in the cellar.” interrupted the Rat. “I’ll go and see.”

He came back a few minutes later with two bottles of beer.

“Really, Mole, you’re ridiculous. There is lots of beer in the cellar. And this house is the nicest little house I was ever in. Where did you get those nice pictures on the wall? And the tables and chairs? Tell me all about it.”

Rat found forks, knives and plates for their meal. Mole told Rat all about his house. His story went on for so long that the Rat became extremely hungry.

They were finally ready to sit down to dinner when Mole’s doorbell rang. They heard voices outside and the sound of small feet.

“Who do you think that is?” asked Rat.

“It’s the field mice.” said Mole. “At this time of the year they go to everybody’s houses and sing songs. I used to give the mice hot drinks and dinner too when I could afford it.”

“Let’s go and see!” said the Rat, running to the door.

Mole opened the door. They saw eight or nine young mice just in little red coats. For a moment the little mice stood there and looked shy. Then an adult mouse said “one two three” and the mice began to sing a Christmas song.

After it was over everyone clapped.

The Rat said, “Now then boys, come in and have something hot to eat and drink.”

“Yes, come in, field mice.” said the Mole. “This is just like old times. Shut the door after you and sit down by the fire.”

“Oh, no, Rat!” he said suddenly, “We don’t have anything to give them. What are we doing?”

“Don’t worry about that.” said the Rat. He called to one of the field mice. “Hello, there. Are your stores open at this time?”

“Yes, sir.” said the mouse.

“Well then, take this basket and go and buy some things.”

Rat gave the mouse a rather long list of foods he wanted. Then he gave the mouse some money and a large basket. Mole wondered what the mouse would bring back.

Meanwhile, the rest of the mice were sitting by the warm fire. Mole could not think of interesting things to talk to them about, so he asked the mice the names of all their parents and brothers and sisters. The Rat was examining the bottles of beer in Mole’s cellar.

“Intelligent Mole, wonderful Mole, you’ve got the best kind of beer right here. Now get the glasses ready while I open the bottles.”

Everyone sat around the fire for a while and sipped beer and hot apple juice.

Soon the field mouse came back with all the food. Following Rat’s directions, everyone was busy setting the table.

Finally Mole went to sit at the table with his friends. He felt that he was in a happy dream. As they ate, they talked about old times. The field mice told Mole all the news of the neighborhood. Mole had many questions for them.

Rat didn’t say much. He was busy making sure that each animal had what he wanted. Mole did not worry about anything

Finally the field mice left. They were very grateful warm and happy. Mole and Rat had one last drink by the fire.

And then Rat said, “Mole, old friend, I’m ready for a sleep. I can’t tell you how tired I am. I’ll just climb into this little bed here.”

In a minute, the Rat was asleep.

As Mole lay in his own bed by the fire, he looked around his house happily. Mole felt very happy and at home. This was what his good friend, Rat, wanted. It was true that Mole didn’t want to leave his new life with Rat. The fresh air, the river and the sunshine were very exciting. He wanted to have more adventures. But it was very nice to know that his little home would be waiting for him whenever he

wanted it.