介绍:
CHAPTER20
The Hour of Triumph
"Special announcement!" said the loud speaker in a pompous voice."The management of the
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 givethe truck room to
proceed! In a few moments the pig will be unloaded in the special judging ringin front of the
grandstand, where a special award will be made. Will the crowd please make wayand let the truck
pass. Thank you."
Wilburtrembled when he heard this speech. He felt happy but dizzy. The truck creptalong slowly
in low speed. Crowds of people surrounded it, and Mr. Arable had to drive verycarefully in order
not to run over anybody. At last he managed to reach the judges’ stand. Averyjumped out and
lowered the tailgate.
"I’mscared to death," whispered Mrs. Zuckerman. "Hundreds of people arelooking 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 steppedforward from the crowd to
help lift the crate. Avery was the busiest helper of all.
"Tuckyour shirt in, Avery! " cried Mrs. Zuckerman. "And tighten your belt.Your pants are
coming, down."
"Can’tyou 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 meto 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 fortycents. Now don’t get lost! And
be back at our regular meeting place by the pigpen very soon!"
Fernraced off, ducking and dodging through the crowd, in search of Henry.
"The Zuckerman pig is now being taken from his crate," boomed thevoice of the loud speaker.
"Stand by for an announcement!"
Templetoncrouched under the straw at the bottom of the crate. "What a lot ofnonsense!" muttered
the rat. "What a lot of fuss about nothing!"
Overin the pigpen, silent and alone, Charlotte rested. Her two front legs embracedthe egg sac.
Charlotte could hear everything that was said on the loud speaker. The wordsgave her courage. This
was her hour of triumph.
AsWilbur came out of the crate, the crowd clapped and cheered. Mr. Zuckerman tookoff his cap
and bowed. Lurvy pulled his big handkerchief from his pocket and wiped thesweat from the back of
his neck. Avery knelt in the dirt by Wilbur’s side, busily stroking him andshowing off. Mrs.
Zuckerman and Mrs. Arable stood on the running board of the truck.
"Ladeezand 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 cornersof the earth, attracting
manyvaluable tourists to our great State. Many of you will recall thatnever-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 wascompletely out of the ordinary. This
miracle has never been fully explained, although learned men have visited theZuckerman pigpen to
study and observe the phenomenon.
In thelast analysis, we simply know that we are dealing with supernatural forceshere, and we
should all feel proud and grateful. In the words of the spider’s web, ladiesand gentlemen, this is
some pig."
Wilburblushed. He stood perfectly still and tried to look his best.
"This magnificent animal," continued the loud speaker, " istruly terrific. Look at him, ladies and
gentlemen! Note the smoothness and whiteness of the coat, observe the spotlessskin, the healthy pink
glow of ears and snout."
"It’sthe buttermilk," whispered Mrs. Arable to Mrs. Zuckerman.
"Note the general radiance of this animal! Then remember the day when theword ’radiant’
appeared clearly on the web. Whence came this mysterious writing? Not from thespider, we can rest
assured of that. Spiders are very clever at weaving their webs, but needless tosay spiders cannot
write."
"Oh,they can’t, can’t they?" murmured Charlotte to herself.
"Ladeez and gentlemen," continued the loud speaker, "I must nottake any more of your valuable
time. On behalf of the governors of the Fair, I have the honor of awarding aspecial prize of twenty-
five dollars to Mr. Zuckerman, together with a handsome bronze medal suitablyengraved, 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."
Wilburhad 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. Hislegs collapsed, his
mind went blank, and he fell to the ground, unconscious.
"What’swrong?" asked the loud speaker. "What’s going on, Zuckerman? What’sthe trouble with
your pig?"
Avery waskneeling by Wilbur’s head, stroking him. Mr. Zuckerman was dancing about,fanning
him with his cap.
"He’sall right," cried Mr. Zuckerman. "He gets these spells. He’s modestand 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 getsembarrassed easily. Run for some
water, Lurvy!"
Lurvysprang from the judges’ ring and disappeared.
Templeton poked his head from the straw. He noticed that the end of Wilbur’stail was within
reach.
Templetongrinned. "I’ll tend to this," he chuckled. He took Wilbur’s tail inhis mouth and bit it,
just as hard as he could bite. The pain revived Wilbur. In a flash he was backon his feet.
"Ouch!"he screamed.
"Hoorray!"yelled the crowd. "He’s up! The pig’s up! Good work, Zuckerman! That’ssome pig!"
Everyone was delighted. Mr. Zuckerman was the most pleased of all. He sighedwith relief. Nobody
had seen Templeton. The rat had done his work well.
Andnow 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’sneck. Then he shook
hands with Mr. Zuckerman while Wilbur blushed. Avery put out his hand and thejudge shook hands
with him, too. The crowd cheered. A photographer took Wilbur’s picture.
Agreat feeling of happiness swept over the Zuckermans and the Arables. This wasthe greatest
moment in Mr. Zuckerman’s life. It is deeply satisfying to win a prize in frontof a lot of people.
AsWilbur was being shoved back into the crate, Lurvy came charging through thecrowd carrying
a pail of water. His eyes had a wild look. Without hesitating a second, hedashed 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.
"Forgoodness’ sake!" bellowed Mr. Zuckerman, who was really drenched."What ails you,
Lurvy? Can’t you see the pig is all right?"
"Youasked for water," said Lurvy meekly.
"I didn’t ask for a shower bath," said Mr. Zuckerman. The crowdroared with laughter. Finally
Mr. Zuckerman had to laugh, too. And of course Avery was tickled to findhimself so wet, and he
immediately started to act like a clown. He pretended he was taking a showerbath; he made faces
and danced around and rubbed imaginary soap under his armpits. Then he driedhimself 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 aclown in a ring,
with everybody watching, in front of a grandstand. When he discovered there wasstill a little water
left in the bottom of the pail, he raised the pail high in the air and dumpedthe water on himself and
made faces. The children in the grandstand screamed with appreciation.
Atlast things calmed down. Wilbur was loaded into the truck. Avery was led fromthe 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 theseat.
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