“其实不明白自己这么执迷是为了什么，但是我总觉得我该留住些什么，留住我内心的什么东西，不要变的像芬一样，忘了韦伯的存在。”
——染子，天涯BBS闲闲书话版，跟在读后感后的评论
V. Charlotte
The night seemed long. Wilbur's stomach was empty and his mind was full. And when your stomach is empty and your mind is full, it's always hard to sleep.
A dozen times during the night Wilbur woke and stared into the blackness, listening to the sounds and trying to figure out what time it was. A barn is never perfectly quiet. Even at midnight there is usually something stirring.
The first time he woke, he heard Templeton gnawing a hole in the grain bin. Templeton's teeth scraped loudly against the wood and made quite a racket. "That crazy rat!" thought Wilbur. "Why does he have to stay up all night, grinding his clashers and destroying people's property? Why can't he go to sleep, like any decent animal?"
The second time Wilbur woke, he heard the goose turning on her nest and chuckling to herself.
"What time is it?" Whispered Wilbure to the goose.
"Probably-obably-obably about half-past eleven," said the goose. "Why aren't you asleep, Wilbur?"
"Too many things on my mind," said Wilbur.
"Well," said the goose, "that's not my trouble. I have nothing at all on my mind, but I've too many things under my behind. Have you ever tried to sleep while sitting on eight eggs?"
"No," replied Wilbur. "I suppose it is uncomfortable. How long does it take a goose egg to hatch?"
"Approximately-oximately thirty days, all told," answered the goose. "But I cheat a little. On warm afternoons, I just pull a little straw over the eggs and go out for a walk."
Wilbur yawned and went back to sleep. In his dreams he heard again the voice saying, "I'll be a friend to you. Go to sleep--you'll see me in the morning."
About half an hour before dawn, Wilbur woke and listened. The barn was still dark. The sheep lay motionless. Even the goose was quiet. Overhead, on the main floor, nothing stirred: the cows were resting, the horses dozed. Templeton had quit work and gone off somewhere on an errand. The only sound was a slight scraping noise from the rooftop, where the weather-vane swung back and forth. Wilbur loved the barn when it was like this--calm and quiet, waiting for light.
"Day is almost here," he thought.
Through a small window, a faint gleam appeared. One by one the stars went out. Wilbur could see the goose a few feet sway. she sat with head tucked under a wing. Then he could see the sheep and the lambs. The