◎ Dan Clark
A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell. He painted a sign advertising the pups and set about nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard. As he was driving the last nail into the post, he felt a tug on his overalls. He looked down into the eyes of a little boy.
一位農(nóng)夫有幾只小狗要出售。他畫(huà)了一個(gè)小狗的廣告牌,立刻就去把廣告牌釘在院子邊的一根柱子上。正當(dāng)他敲擊最后一顆釘子時(shí),他感覺(jué)有人在扯他的褲子。他往下一看,是一個(gè)小男孩。
“Mister,” he said, “I want to buy one of your puppies.”
“先生,”他說(shuō),“我想買(mǎi)一只你的小狗。”
“Well,” said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his neck, “these puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money.”
“呃,”農(nóng)夫一邊擦拭著脖子后面的汗水,一邊說(shuō),“這些小狗都是優(yōu)良品種,要花很多錢(qián)的。”
The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer. “I’ve got thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take a look?”
小男孩低下了頭,過(guò)了一會(huì),他伸手摸進(jìn)口袋,掏出一把零錢(qián)遞給了農(nóng)夫,“我有39美分,這點(diǎn)錢(qián)能讓我看一眼小狗嗎?”
“Sure,” said the farmer.
“當(dāng)然可以。”農(nóng)夫說(shuō)。
And with that he let out a whistle, “Here, Dolly!” he called.
話音剛落,他吹了一聲口哨,喊道:“多莉,過(guò)來(lái)這里!”
Out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran Dolly followed by four little balls of fur. The little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence. His eyes danced with delight.
只見(jiàn)多莉從狗屋里跑了出來(lái),奔下了斜坡,身后還跟著四個(gè)小家伙。小男孩把臉緊緊貼在了鐵鏈柵欄上,眼睛里跳動(dòng)著喜悅的光芒。
As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else stirring inside the doghouse. Slowly another little ball appeared; this One noticeably smaller. Down the ramp it slid. Then in a somewhat awkward manner the little pup began hobbling toward the others, doing its best to catch up...
當(dāng)狗狗們走向柵欄的時(shí)候,小男孩發(fā)現(xiàn)狗屋里還有些動(dòng)靜。慢慢地,又一只小狗出來(lái)了。這只小狗尤其瘦小。下斜道的時(shí)候,它滑倒了。接著它用一種近乎笨拙的方式,一瘸一拐地,盡最大努力追趕同伴們……
“I want that one,” the little boy said, pointing to the runt.
“我想要那一只。”小男孩指著那只瘦小的小狗說(shuō)。
The farmer knelt down at the boy’s side and said, “Son, you don’t want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would.”
農(nóng)夫在小男孩的身旁蹲了下來(lái),說(shuō):“孩子,你不會(huì)想要那只小狗的。它永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)像其他狗狗一樣跑動(dòng)、陪你玩。”
With that the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began rolling up one leg of his trousers. In doing so he revealed a steel brace running down both sides of his leg attaching itself to a specially made shoe. Looking back up at the farmer, he said, “You see sir, I don’t run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands.”
小男孩往后退了一步,彎下腰,卷起一只褲腳。只見(jiàn)一只鋼制的支架護(hù)著他小腿的兩側(cè),底部連接著一只特制的鞋子。小男孩再一次抬頭看著農(nóng)夫,說(shuō):“先生,看見(jiàn)了嗎,我自己也不太能跑,它也需要有個(gè)人能懂它。”
The world is full of people who need someone who understands.
在這個(gè)世界上,每個(gè)人都需要有個(gè)能讀懂自己的人。