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As winter drew on, Mollie became more and more troublesome.
冬天快要到了，莫麗變得越來越討厭。
She was late for work every morning and excused herself by saying that she had overslept.
她每天早上干活總要遲到，而且總為自己開脫說她睡過頭了。
And she complained of mysterious pains, although her appetite was excellent.
她還訴說一些不可思議的病痛，不過，她的食欲卻很旺盛。
On every kind of pretext she would run away from work and go to the drinking pool,
她會找出種種借口逃避干活而跑到飲水池邊，
where she would stand foolishly gazing at her own reflection in the water.
呆呆地站在那兒，凝視著她在水中的倒影。
But there were also rumors of something more serious.
但還有一些傳聞，說起來比這更嚴重一些。
One day, as Mollie strolled blithely into the yard, flirting her long tail and chewing at a stalk of hay, Clover took her aside.
有一天，當莫麗邊晃悠著她的長尾巴邊嚼著一根草根，樂悠悠的閑逛到院子里時，克拉弗把她拉到一旁。
"Mollie," she said, "I have something very serious to say to you.
“莫麗”，她說，“我有件非常要緊的事要對你說。
This morning I saw you looking over the hedge that divides Animal Farm from Foxwood.
今天早晨，我看見你在查看那段隔開動物莊園和福克斯伍德莊園的樹籬。
One of Mr. Pilkington's men was standing on the other side of the hedge.
有一個皮爾金頓先生的伙計正站在樹籬的另一邊。
And--I was a long way away, but I am almost certain I saw this--he was talking to you and you were allowing him to stroke your nose.
嗯……盡管我離得很遠，但我敢肯定我看見他在對你說話，你還讓他摸你的鼻子。
What does that mean, Mollie?"
這是怎么回事，莫麗？”
"He didn't! I wasn't! It isn't true!" cried Mollie, beginning to prance about and paw the ground.
“他沒摸！我沒讓！這不是真的！”莫麗大聲嚷著，抬起前蹄子搔著地。
"Mollie! Look me in the face.
“莫麗！看著我。
Do you give me your word of honor that that man was not stroking your nose?"
你能向我發誓，那人不是在摸你的鼻子。”
"It isn't true!" repeated Mollie, but she could not look Clover in the face, and the next moment she took to her heels and galloped away into the field.
“這不是真的！”莫麗重復道，但卻不敢正視克拉弗。然后，她朝著田野飛奔而去，逃之夭夭。
A thought struck Clover.
克拉弗心中閃過一個念頭。
Without saying anything to the others, she went to Mollie's stall and turned over the straw with her hoof.
誰也沒有打招呼，她就跑到莫麗的廄棚里，用蹄子翻開一堆草。
Hidden under the straw was a little pile of lump sugar and several bunches of ribbon of different colors.
草下竟藏著一堆方糖和幾條不同顏色的飾帶。
Three days later Mollie disappeared.
三天后，莫麗不見了。
For some weeks nothing was known of her whereabouts, then the pigeons reported that they had seen her on the other side of Willingdon.
好幾個星期下落不明，后來鴿子報告說他們曾在威靈頓那邊見到過她。
