Letter frnom E.B怀特给小朋友的信

林芬

各位小朋友们，来听听那个写了《精灵鼠小弟》和《夏洛的网》的叫E.B.怀特的老头儿有些什么话要对你们说。

Dear Reader，

I receive many letters from children and cant answer them all——there wouldnt be time enough in a day. That is why I am sending you this printed reply to your letter. Ill try to answer some of the questions that are commonly asked.

Where did I get the idea for Stuart Little and for Charlottes Web？ Well， many years ago I went to bed one night in a railway sleeping car， and during the night I dreamed about a tiny boy who acted rather like a mouse. Thats how the story of Stuart Little got started.

As for Charlottes Web， I like animals and my barn1 is a very pleasant place to be， at all hours. One day when I was on my way to feed the pig， I began feeling sorry for the pig because， like most pigs， he was doomed2 to die. This made me sad. So I started thinking of ways to save a pigs life. I had been watching a big gray spider at her work and was impressed3 by how clever she was at weaving4. Gradually5 I worked the spider into the story that you know， a story of friendship and salvation6 on a farm. Three years after I started writing it， it was published. （I am not a fast worker， as you can see.）

Sometimes Im asked how old I was when I started to write， and what made me want to write. I started early—as soon as I could spell. In fact， I cant remember any time in my life when I wasnt busy writing. I dont know what caused me to do it， or why I enjoyed it， but I think children often find pleasure and satisfaction in trying to set their thoughts down on paper， either in words or in pictures. I was not good at drawing， so I used words instead. As I grew older， I found that writing can be a way of earning a living.

Some of my readers want me to visit their school. Some want me to send a picture， or an autograph7， or a book. And some ask questions about my family and my animals and my pets. Much as Id like to， I cant go visiting. I cant send books， either—you can find them in a bookstore or a library. Many children assume8 that a writer owns or even makes his own books. This is not true—books are made by the publisher. If a writer wants a copy， he must buy it. Thats why I cant send books. And I do not send autographs—I leave that to the movie stars. I live most of the year in the country， in New England. From our windows we can look out at the sea and the mountains. I live near my married son and three grandchildren.

Are my stories true， you ask？ No， they are imaginary9 tales， containing fantastic characters and events. In real life， a family doesnt have a child who looks like a mouse； in real life， a spider doesnt spin10 words in her web. In real life， a swan11 doesnt blow a trumpet12. But real life is only one kind of life—there is also the life of the imagination. And although my stories are imaginary， I like to think that there is some truth in them， too—truth about the way people and animals feel and think and act.

Yours sincerely，

E.B. White

亲爱的读者朋友：

我收到很多小朋友的来信，却不能一一答复大家，一天没有那么多时间啊。这也是我为何将印刷出来的回信寄给诸位。我会尽力去回答一些大家常问到的问题。

写《精灵鼠小弟》和《夏洛的网》的灵感来自于哪里呢？嗯，很多年前，我在一列铁路卧铺车上睡觉，那天夜里我做了一个梦，梦到一个小男孩，他的行为举止像极了一只小老鼠，这就是我写《精灵鼠小弟》的灵感来源。

至于写《夏洛的网》，是因为我喜欢动物，而我的畜棚是一个令人愉快的地方，任何时候都是如此的。一天，当我正要去喂小猪时，我开始对这只小猪心生歉意，因为它会像大多数猪一样，注定要死的。想到这点我就很难过。于是我就开始设想各种办法来救这只小猪。我曾观察到一只灰色的大蜘蛛在结网，那是何等聪明灵巧呀！这让我印象深刻。渐渐地，我把这只蜘蛛也写进了你们都知道的这个故事——一个发生在农场关于友谊和拯救的故事。三年之后我开始动笔写这个故事，终于出版了。（如你们所见，我写作算不上一个快手。）

有时候有人会问我是几岁开始写作的，是什么促使我创作。我开始写作时还很早，会拼写的时候我就开始写作了。老实说，我都记不得我人生当中有什么时候不是在忙着写作的。我并不知道是什么东西促使我拿起笔，也不明白自己为什么这么喜欢写作，不过在我看来，小孩子经常会尝试把自己的想法变成纸上的文字亦或是绘画，从中获得乐趣，得到满足。我不擅长画画，所以就选择了文字。等我再长大点，就发现原来文字还可以作为一种谋生的手段。

有些读者想让我去参观他们的学校。有些想让我送他们一张照片、一个签名或者一本书。有些读者问了我好多问题，都是关于我的家庭，我养的动物，还有宠物。我虽然很想，但是却没办法去一一参观他们的学校。我也没法送书——不过你可以在书店里或图书馆里找到我的书。很多小朋友以为作家手上有很多自己的书，甚至以为作家会自己印书，但其实不是这么回事——书是出版社印的。就算作家自己想要一本自己的书，他也得自己花钱买。这就是为什么我没法送书给你们。我也从不送自己的签名——我觉得这种事情还是留给电影明星去做吧。一年中大部分时间，我都住在新英格兰的乡下。从我住的房子窗户望出去，能看到大海和群山。我的儿子已经结婚，还有三个孩子，我住的离他们很近。

你会问，我写的这些故事是不是真实的？不是，这些都是虚构的故事，那些奇妙的人物和经历都是虚构的。在真实世界里，没有哪家的孩子会长得像老鼠的；在真实世界里，蜘蛛也不会在蛛网上织字；在真实世界里，天鹅更不会吹小号。但是，真实世界只是其中一种——还有想象的世界。虽然我的故事是虚构的，但我宁愿相信这些故事包含着某些真实的成分。至少故事里那些人和动物，他们的所思、所感以及所为都是真真实实的。

此致，

E.B.怀特

1. barn [] n. 谷仓；畜棚 2. doom [] v. 注定

3. impress [] v. 给……深刻印象 4. weave [] v. 编织

5. gradually [] adv. 逐步地；渐渐地 6. salvation [] n. 拯救；救助

7. autograph [] n. 亲笔签名 8. assume [] v. 设想；想当然

9. imaginary [] adj. 虚构的，假想的

10. spin [] v. 纺纱；吐丝 11. swan [] n. 天鹅

12. trumpet [] n. 喇叭