曾經有主人疼愛和貓咪陪伴的小獵犬哈克貝利，因主人的家庭變故而一度形單影只，孤獨寂寞；但讓人欣慰的是，他憑著聰慧的頭腦和對友誼孜孜以求的精神，很快就又找到了自己的第二個幸福家園……

By Kym Campbell

王丁玎　選注

When we first moved into the quiet neighborhood, our neighbors to the east were a happy family with three preteen children, two cats, and a beagle named Huckleberry.[1]

The children would throw balls and chase Huckleberry around the front yard and into the backyard where we could hear the laughter and giggling continue on the other side of the fence.[2]

Our two families became friends—often conversing[3] over that back fence, discussing school events and comparing plants and pets.

Then, after a few years, there was an affair[4] and the laughter in their house stopped. The mother moved out and the children, then teenagers, didn’t seem to know where to be. Finally the children also left, leaving the father alone in the house with the two cats and Huckleberry. The nature of his work caused him to be gone for long periods; and even when he was home his heart was no longer in the care of his home—or of the three animals. They were fed, but they were lonely.

The cats found new homes and disappeared, leaving Huckleberry. He was a sad little dog. To give him some company[5] I began talking to him through the fence when I was working in the yard. Soon he had dug a hole under the fence so we could spend more time up close.[6] The father apologized and tried to close the hole until I told him I was happy to have Huckleberry in our yard. He began to inhabit[7] both yards, spending his days in ours and eating and sleeping in his.

Then came a very cold winter. Looking over the fence, I could see that Huckleberry’s doghouse was bare wood and, with his short beagle hair, he was cold at night. Our laundry room had an exterior door, so I made a bed of old blankets and invited Huckleberry to spend the nights there.[8] Since I had to leave the outside door open for him to come and go, the room was cold—so I began the practice[9] of covering him with one of the blankets each night before we went to bed.

Soon, however, I noticed that he would already be covered when I went into the laundry room. I assumed[10] that one of our daughters had covered him until, one night, I happened to look through the window in the door. There was Huckleberry deftly wrapping himself up in a blanket and settling down for the night.[11]

Huckleberry had other holes under the fence as well—unbeknown[12] to us or his owner. He soon began appearing at other houses in the neighborhood, one in particular[13] where a little boy lived.

One day as I drove home from work I saw Huckleberry and the boy playing in the boy’s front yard. I stopped and opened the car door, asking, “Huckleberry, what are you doing here?” As he leaped[14] into the car, the boy’s mother ran over. “His name is Huckleberry?” she asked. “My son loves this dog so much. Do you know who the owner is? Might he be willing to give this dog up?” I agreed to talk to our neighbor, who was delighted[15] that Huckleberry had found someone to love him.

I often saw the little boy walking Huckleberry around the neighborhood. Both of them looked happy, and Huckleberry had put on considerable weight.[16] The next winter I ran into the boy’s mother and inquired how Huckleberry was getting along.[17] “Our whole family adores[18] that dog!” she said. “And do you know he does the most amazing thing? We have his doghouse full of blankets. And every night he takes one blanket and completely wraps himself up in it to sleep. He is an absolutely brilliant[19] dog!”

Vocabulary

1. preteen: 青春期前的孩子（13歲以下）；beagle:（一種獵兔用的）長耳短腿小獵犬。

2. chase: 追趕；giggling: 咯咯笑。

3. converse: 交談。

4. affair: 風流韻事，據上下文應指鄰居家的一方有了外遇。

5. company: 陪伴，陪同。

6. dig: 挖；up close: 近距離地，靠近地。

7. inhabit: 居住。

8. laundry room: 洗衣間；exterior: 外部的。

9. practice: 習慣，慣例。

10. assume: 以為，設想。

11. 那兒哈克貝利正熟練地把自己裹進一條毯子里，舒舒服服地準備過夜。

12. unbeknown: 未知的，不為人知的。

13. in particular: 特別是，尤其是。

14. leap: 跳。

15. delighted: 愉快的，快樂的。

16. 哈克貝利的體重增加了不少。considerable: 相當大或多的，可觀的。

17. 次年冬天我碰巧遇到男孩的媽媽，就問她哈克貝利過得怎么樣。

18. adore: 喜愛。

19. brilliant: 聰穎的，才華橫溢的。

（來源：英語學習雜志）