A Friend in Need 患难见真情
A Friend in Need 患难见真情
◎ Vicki
Brownie and Spotty were neighbor dogs who met every day to play together. Like pairs of dogs you can find in most any neighborhood, these two loved each other and played together so often that they had worn a path through the grass of the field between their respective houses.
布朗尼和斯波奇是邻居家的小狗，它们每天都在一起玩耍。就像你在很多邻里之间看到的成对的小狗一样，它们俩互相爱慕，常在一起玩耍嬉闹，以至于已经在两栋房子之间的草坪上踩出了一条小路来。
One evening, Brownie’s family noticed that Brownie hadn’t returned home. They went looking for him with no success. Brownie didn’t show up the next day, and, despite their efforts to find him, by the next week he was still missing.
一天傍晚，布朗尼的主人发现它没有回家，搜寻一遍也没有找到。布朗尼第二天依然没有回来，虽然主人努力在寻找，但一直到下个礼拜，还是没有它的踪影。
Curiously, Spotty showed up at Brownie’s house alone. Barking, whining and generally pestering Brownie’s human family. Busy with their own lives, they just ignored the nervous little neighbor dog.
奇怪的是，斯波奇独自出现在布朗尼家门前。它不停地狂吠、哀叫，一直纠缠布朗尼的主人。因为忙于自己的事情，这家人都忽略了这只焦急的邻家小狗。
Finally, one morning Spotty refused to take “no” for an answer. Ted, Brownie’s owner, was steadily harassed by the furious, adamant little dog. Spotty followed Ted about; barking insistently, then darting toward a nearby empty lot and back, as if to say, “Follow me! It’s urgent!”
最终，一天早上，斯波奇不能再忍受布朗尼主人一家的拒绝态度了。布朗尼的主人特德一直被这只狂怒的、不依不饶的小狗骚扰。斯波奇一直围着特德转，汪汪地叫个不停，然后窜到附近的一块空地上，又窜回来，像是在说：“跟我走！事情紧急！”
Eventually, Ted followed the frantic Spotty across the empty lot as Spotty paused to race back and bark encouragingly. The little dog led the man under a tree, past clumps of trees, to a desolate spot a half mile from the house. There Ted found his beloved Brownie alive, one of his hind legs crushed in a steel leg hold trap. Horrified, Ted now wished he’d taken Spotty’s earlier appeals seriously. Then Ted noticed something quite remarkable.
特德最后跟着几近发狂的斯波奇穿过空地，斯波奇不时地停下并跑回来，用叫声催促着他。小狗带着特德从树下走过，穿过小树丛，直到一块距离房子半英里的废弃地停下。在那儿，特德发现了自己心爱的布朗尼，它还活着，只是一条后腿被夹在一个钢制捕捉器里了。特德大为震惊，到现在他都希望，自己当初能认真对待斯波奇的求助。之后，特德注意到一件非同寻常的事情。
Spotty had done more than simply led Brownie’s human owner to his trapped friend. In a circle around the injured dog, Ted found an array of dog food and table scraps which were later identified as the remains of every meal Spotty had been fed that week!
斯波奇不仅仅只是把布朗尼的主人带到了被困朋友的身边。在这只受伤的狗的周围，特德发现了一堆狗粮和餐桌剩饭——后来被证实是斯波奇在那一周每一顿饭省下来的食物。
Spotty had been visiting Brownie regularly, in a single minded quest to keep his friend alive by sacrificing his own comfort. Spotty had evidently stayed with Brownie to protect him from predators, snuggling with him at night to keep him warm and nuzzling him to keep his spirits up.
斯波奇一直定期去看望布朗尼，一心想让自己的朋友活下去，哪怕牺牲自己也不在乎。很明显，斯波奇留在布朗尼的身边，让它免受其他掠食者的攻击，夜里和它依偎在一起，帮它赶走寒冷，用鼻子蹭它，让它振作起来。
Brownie’s leg was treated by a veterinarian and he recovered. For many years thereafter, the two families watched the faithful friends frolicking and chasing each other down that well worn path between their houses.
布朗尼的腿在兽医的治疗下得以痊愈。此后的很多年，在两家之间那条几乎被踩实的小路上，两家邻居看着这一对忠实的朋友一起嬉戏，彼此追逐。
