The Boy and the Puppy

男孩和小狗

A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell.

一位农夫要卖掉一些小狗。

He painted a sign advertising the pups and set about（着手） nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard.

于是他画了一个招牌，给小狗做广告。他把广告牌钉在院子角落的柱子上。

As he was driving the last nail into the post, he felt a tug（拉） on his overalls（工作服）. He looked down into the eyes of a little boy.

就在他把最后一颗钉子钉进柱子时，他感到有人在拽他的工作裤。他往下看，是一个小男孩。

“Mister,” he said, “I want to buy one of your puppies.”

“先生，” 小男孩说，“我想买只狗。”

“Well,” said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat of the back of his neck, “these puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money.”

“好啊，” 农夫一边擦脖子后面的汗水一边说，“这些狗都是名种狗，很贵的。”

The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of change（零钱） and held it up to the farmer.

小男孩低头沉默了一会儿。随后，他把手伸进自己的口袋，掏出一把零钱，递给那位农夫。

“I’ve got 89 cents. Is that enough at least to take a look?”

“我有89美分，够不够看一眼那些狗？”

“Sure,” said the farmer.

“没问题，” 农夫说道。

And with that he let out a whistle. “Here, Dolly!” he called.

话音刚落，农夫吹了声口哨，喊道：“多利，到这儿来！”

Out from the doghouse and down the ramp（斜坡） ran Dolly followed by four little balls of fur.

多利立即从狗棚里沿着斜坡跑了出来，后面跟着四个小毛球。

The little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence. His eyes danced with delight.

小男孩把脸贴在用铁链做成的栅栏上，眼中闪现着快乐。

As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else stirring inside the doghouse.

当狗群朝栅栏跑来的时候，小男孩注意到狗棚里还有什么东西在挪动着。

Slowly another little fur ball appeared, this one noticeably smaller. Down the ramp it slid.

慢慢地，又有一个小毛球出现了，这只明显要小得多。它滑下斜坡。

Then the little pup began awkwardly wobbling toward the others, doing its best to catch up.

然后这只小狗一瘸一拐地朝狗群赶去，样子有点笨拙。它努力地追赶着。

“I want that one,” the little boy said, quickly pointing to the runt.

“我想要那只狗！” 小男孩指着那只发育不健全的狗说。

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.”

农夫跪在小男孩身边，说道，“孩子，你不会想要那只狗的，它永远不能像其他狗一样陪你一起奔跑玩耍。”

With that the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began rolling up one leg of his trousers.

听到这些，小男孩从栅栏边退了回来，弯下腰，开始卷起他的一条裤腿。

In doing so he revealed a steel brace（支架） running down both sides of his leg attaching itself to a specially made shoe.

从卷起的裤腿下，可以看到他穿着特制的鞋，两边都用金属架固定着。

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.”

他再次抬头望着农夫说：“你看，先生，我自己也并不怎么能跑，而且它也需要能理解的人。”

With tears in his eyes, the farmer reached down and picked up the little pup. Holding it carefully he handed it to the little boy.

农夫眼里含着泪水，伸手捉起那只小狗。他小心翼翼地抱着那只狗，把它递给小男孩。

“How much?” asked the little boy.

“多少钱？” 小男孩问道。

“No charge,” answered the farmer, “There’s no charge for love and understanding.”

“不要钱，” 农夫回答说，“爱和理解，无需任何费用。”