Chapter 6 — Part 1

The Race

Now there began
a desperate race
（一場拼命的競賽；一場孤注一擲的追逐）,

the machines
against the foxes.

In the beginning,
the hill looked like this:

After about an hour,
as the machines
bit away
more and more soil
（一點一點挖掉越來越多的泥土）
from the hilltop（山頂）,
it looked like this:

Sometimes the foxes
would gain
a little ground（逐漸追近一點）
and the clanking noises
（金屬鏗鏘作響的聲音）
would grow fainter
（變得更微弱）

and Mr Fox would say,
‘We’re going to make it!
I’m sure we are!’

But then,
a few moments later,
the machines
would come back
at them
and the crunch
of the mighty shovels
（巨大鏟斗發出的轟隆擠壓聲）
would get louder
and louder.

Once the foxes
actually saw
the sharp metal edge
（鋒利的金屬邊緣）
of one of the shovels
as it scraped up
the earth（刮起泥土）
just behind them.

‘Keep going,
my darlings
（親愛的孩子們）!’
panted（氣喘吁吁地說） Mr Fox.
‘Don’t give up（放棄）!’

‘Keep going!’
the fat Boggis shouted
to Bunce and Bean.
‘We’ll get him
any moment now
（隨時；馬上就要抓到他）!’

‘Have you caught
sight of（看見；瞥見）
him yet?’
Bean called back.

‘Not yet,’ shouted Boggis.

‘But I think you’re close（很接近了）!’

‘I’ll pick him up
with my bucket（挖土機的鏟斗）!’
shouted Bunce.

‘I’ll chop him
to pieces（把他剁成碎片）!’

But by lunchtime（到了午餐時間）
the machines
were still at it.

And so were
the poor foxes.

The hill now looked like this:

The farmers
didn’t stop for lunch;
they were too keen
to finish the job（急著完成這件事）.

‘Hey there,
Mr Fox!’ yelled Bunce,
leaning out of
his tractor（把身體探出拖拉機外）.

‘We’re coming
to get you now!’
‘You’ve had
your last chicken!’
yelled Boggis.

‘You’ll never
come prowling
around my farm（在我的農場四處偷偷遊蕩） again!’ farm.

The  End