nine

hungry and trembling, james stood alone out in the open, wondering what to do. the night was allaround him now, and high overhead a wild white moon was riding in the sky. there was not a sound,not a movement anywhere.

most people – and especially small children – are often quite scared of being out of doors alone inthe moonlight. everything is so deadly quiet, and the shadows are so long and black, and they keepturning into strange shapes that seem to move as you look at them, and the slightest little snap of a twigmakes you jump.

james felt exactly like that now. he stared straight ahead with large frightened eyes, hardly daring tobreathe. not far away, in the middle of the garden, he could see the giant peach towering overeverything else. surely it was even bigger tonight than ever before? and what a dazzling sight it was!

the moonlight was shining and glinting on its great curving sides, turning them to crystal and silver. itlooked like a tremendous silver ball lying there in the grass, silent, mysterious, and wonderful.

and then all at once, little shivers of excitement started running over the skin on james’s back.

something else, he told himself, something stranger than ever this time, is about to happen to meagain soon. he was sure of it. he could feel it coming.

he looked around him, wondering what on earth it was going to be. the garden lay soft and silver inthe moonlight. the grass was wet with dew and a million dewdrops were sparkling and twinkling likediamonds around his feet. and now suddenly, the whole place, the whole garden seemed to be alivewith magic.

almost without knowing what he was doing, as though drawn by some powerful magnet, jameshenry trotter started walking slowly towards the giant peach. he climbed over the fence thatsurrounded it, and stood directly beneath it, staring up at its great bulging sides. he put out a hand andtouched it gently with the tip of one finger. it felt soft and warm and slightly furry, like the skin of ababy mouse. he moved a step closer and rubbed his cheek lightly against the soft skin. and thensuddenly, while he was doing this, he happened to notice that right beside him and below him, close tothe ground, there was a hole in the side of the peach.

九

饿得发抖的小詹姆斯，一个人站在露天地里，不知道该怎么办才好。这会儿，夜色四合，头顶上方凄凉苍白的月亮，正在天空游弋。到处没有一丝声响，没有一点动静。

大多数人，特别是小孩子，一个人站在门外月光下的时候，常常会感到十分恐惧。一切都死一般寂静，黑色的影子拖得很长，不断变幻着形状，眼睛望过去，又仿佛动了起来。就连折断个树枝儿，也会吓得人跳起来。

现在，小詹姆斯的心情正是这样，一双惊恐的眼睛睁得老大，凝视着正前方，几乎不敢出气儿。可以看见，园子中央不远的地方，那只巨大的仙桃巍然挺立在一切东西的上方。今天夜里，仙桃肯定比以前更大，而且光彩夺目！月光照耀下，那巨大溜圆的外皮，银光闪闪，水晶似的，仿佛草地里的硕大银球，神秘奇妙，没有声息。

转眼之间，一阵激动的战栗掠过了詹姆斯的脊背。

还有一件事儿，他心里想，一件比以前任何时候都更加奇异的事儿，立刻就要降临到自己身上。准是这样，小詹姆斯觉得事情正在朝他逼近。

詹姆斯举目四望，不知道究竟会发生什么事情。柔和的月光下，园子里一片银白。草地上沾满了露珠儿，千百万颗露珠儿在他脚下闪烁明灭。然而，突然之间，整个地方，整个园子，仿佛中了魔法一般，活了起来。

詹姆斯·亨利·特洛特仿佛受到了巨大磁石的吸引，几乎是不知不觉中，抬腿朝仙桃慢慢走了过去。他爬过环绕着仙桃的篱笆，径直站在下面，抬头望着它那鼓溜溜的巨大外皮。他伸出一只手，用指头尖儿轻轻抚摸了一下，觉得软乎乎、热烘烘，还有点毛茸茸的，就像是小老鼠的皮肤。他朝前迈了一步，脸蛋儿轻轻蹭了蹭柔软的桃皮。突然，正在这样蹭的当儿，他不经意地在自己身子下方靠近地面的地方，发现了仙桃上有一个洞。