文字难度：★★☆
It had been a very long night for me. Precious, our only black 1)cocker, was having a very difficult time with the delivery of her puppies. I laid on the floor beside her large four-foot square cage, watching her every movement. Watching and waiting just in case we had to rush her to the 2)veterinarian.
这一夜对于我来说显得格外漫长。“宝贝”——我们唯一的黑色可卡犬，正在经受着生宝宝的艰难过程。我躺在地板上，守在她那4英尺（约1.22米）宽的方形笼子旁，观察着她的一举一动。看着她，守着她，以防万一要紧急送她到兽医那里。
After six hours the puppies started to appear. The first-born was a black and white dog. The second and third puppies were 3)tan and brown in color. The fourth and fifth were also spotted black and white. I walked down the hallway to wake up Judy and tell her that everything was fine. As we walked back down the hallway and into the spare bedroom, I noticed a sixth puppy had been born and was now laying all by itself over to the side of the cage. I picked up the small puppy and laid it on top of the large pile of puppies, who were 4)whining and trying to 5)nurse on the mother. Instantly Precious pushed the small puppy away from the rest of the group and refused to recognize it as a member of her family.
六个小时以后，小狗狗们开始“冒出来”了。头只出来的是一条黑白色的小狗。第二只和第三只小狗是棕褐色的。第四只和第五只也是黑白色的花斑小狗。我走下过道去叫醒朱迪，告诉她一切顺利。当我们走回过道，走进客房时，我发现第六只小狗也出世了，正独自躺在笼子的边缘。我把这个小家伙拾起来，放在那堆嗷嗷叫着围着妈妈要吃奶的小狗上面。 但“宝贝”马上把这个小家伙从其他小狗中蹬开，拒绝承认它是家庭的一员。
“Something’s wrong,” said Judy.
“有点儿不对劲，”朱迪说。
I reached over and picked up the puppy. My heart sank inside my chest when I saw the little puppy had a 6)cleft lip and 7)palate and could not close its little mouth. We had gone through this once before last year with another one of our cockers. That experience really hurt me when the puppy died and I had to bury it.
我伸出手，拾起那只小狗。我的心猛地沉了下去，因为我看见小狗有唇颚裂，无法合起嘴巴。前年我们也曾有过一次这样的经历，发生在我们的另一只可卡犬上。眼睁睁看着小狗最终死去，不得不将它掩埋，那经历确实令人伤心不已。
The next day I took the puppy to the vet. He told us that the puppy would die mainly because it could not suckle. Then I purchased a 8)syringe and started to feed the puppy by hand, which I did every day and night, every two hours, for more than ten days. After that the little guy had learned to eat on his own as long as it was soft canned food.
第二天，我把这只小狗带到了兽医那里。他告诉我们，这只小狗多半会死去，因为它无法吸奶。于是我买了一只注射器，开始亲手喂养那只小狗，每隔两小时一次，夜以继日从不间断，一直喂了它十几天。之后，这个小家伙便开始学着自己吃东西，只要喂的是软软的罐头狗粮就行。
The fifth week I placed an ad in the newspaper, and within a week we had taken deposits on all of the pups, except the one with the 9)deformity.
第五个星期，我在报纸上刊登了一则广告，接着在一周内，所有的小狗便都被预定了，除了那只有缺陷的。
Late that afternoon I had gone to the store to pick up a few groceries. Upon returning I happened to see the old retired schoolteacher, who lived across the street from us, waving at me. She had read in the paper that we had puppies for sale and was wondering if she might buy one from us for her grandson. I told her all the puppies had been sold, but I also mentioned we never kept a deposit should someone change their mind, and if so I would let her know. Within days all but one of the puppies had been picked up by their new owners. This left me with one brown and tan cocker, as well as the smaller puppy with the cleft lip and palate.
那天下午晚些的时候，我去商店买了些日用品。在回家的路上，我碰巧遇见一位已经退休的老教师，她就住在我们家的街对面，正对着我招手。她也从报纸上得知我们家有小狗出售，想知道她是否能从我们这里买一只给她的孙子。我告诉她所有的小狗都已经被售出了，但我也提到若是买主改变主意的话，我们一向会退还定金的，所以如果真有这样的情况，我会告诉她的。几天之内，除了一只以外，所有的小狗都被他们的新主人领走了。这样，我的手边就只剩下了一只棕褐色的小可卡犬，以及那只有唇腭裂的小狗。
Two days passed without me hearing anything from the gentleman who had placed a deposit on the tan and brown pup. So I telephoned the schoolteacher and told her I had one puppy left and that she was welcome to come and look at it. She advised me that she was going to pick up her grandson and would come over at about eight o’clock that evening. Judy and I were eating supper when we heard a knock on the front door. When I opened the door, the man who had placed a $100 deposit on the dog was standing there. We walked inside where I filled out the paperwork, he paid me the 10)balance of the money, and I handed him the puppy.
两天过去了，预交了定金想要那只棕褐色小狗的买主还是没有音讯。于是我打电话给那位教师，告诉她我这里还剩了一只小狗，欢迎她来看看。她告诉我说，她要先去接孙子，晚上八点会上门来。朱迪和我在吃晚餐时听到前门传来敲门声。我打开门，看到那位已为狗狗预交了一百美元定金的先生正站在门口。我们走进屋里，我填写了文件，他则支付了余下的金额，接着我把小狗交给了他。
Judy and I did not know what to do or say if the schoolteacher showed up with her grandson. Sure enough at exactly eight o’clock the doorbell rang. I opened the door, and there was the schoolteacher with her grandson standing behind her. I explained to her the man had come for the puppy just an hour before, and there were no puppies left.
朱迪和我都不知道如果那位教师和她的孙子一起过来了，我们该怎么做或是怎么说才好。果然到了八点整时，门铃响了。我打开门，发现是那位老师，她的孙子躲在她身后。我向她解释说，那位先生刚好在一个小时前过来领走了小狗，所以没有剩余的小狗了。
“I’m sorry, Jeffery. They sold all the puppies,” she told her grandson. Just at that moment the small puppy left in the bedroom began to 11)yelp. “My puppy! My puppy!” yelled the little boy as he ran out from behind his grandmother.
“很抱歉，杰弗瑞。小狗都卖光了，”她对孙子说。就在那一刻，那只被留在卧室里的小狗开始吠叫起来。“我的小狗！我的小狗！”小男孩边叫着边从她祖母的身后跑了出来。
I just about fell over when I saw the small child also had a cleft lip and palate. The boy ran past me as fast as he could, down the hallway to where the puppy was still yelping.
当我看到那个小孩也有唇腭裂时，我差点儿要摔倒在地。小男孩以他最快的速度从我身边跑了过去，穿过过道，冲进了吠叫着的小狗所在的房间。
When the three of us made it to the bedroom, the small boy was holding the puppy in his arm. He looked up at his grandmother and said, “Look, Grandma. They sold all the puppies except the pretty one, and he looks just like me.”
当我们三人来到卧室时，小男孩正把那只小狗搂在怀里。他抬头望着他的奶奶，说道：“看啊，奶奶。他们卖掉了所有的小狗，除了这只漂亮的，它看起来就像我一样。”
Well, old Grandma wasn’t the only one with tears in her eyes that day. Judy and I stood there, not knowing what to do.
噢，老奶奶并不是那天唯一一个眼中溢满了泪水的人。朱迪和我站在那里，不知如何是好。
“Is this puppy for sale?” asked the schoolteacher.
“My grandma told me these kind of puppies are real expensive and that I have to take real good care of it,” said the little boy, who was now hugging the puppy.
“Yes, ma’am. This puppy is for sale.”
The lady opened her purse, and I could see several one-hundred dollar bills sticking out of her wallet. I reached over and pushed her hand back down into her purse so that she would not pull her wallet out.
“这只小狗也卖吗？”那位教师问道。
“我奶奶跟我说，这种小狗都非常贵，所以我真的得好好照顾它，”小男孩搂着那只小狗说道。
“是的，夫人。这只小狗也卖的。”
这位女士便打开了她的手袋，我看到里面有个夹着好几张百元面值钞票的钱包。我伸出手，把她的手推了回去，阻止了她掏出钱包。
“How much do you think this puppy is worth?” I asked the boy.
“About a dollar?” He replied.
“No. This puppy is very, very expensive. More than a dollar,” I told him.
“I’m afraid so,” said his grandmother.
The boy stood there pressing the small puppy against his cheek.
“你认为这只小狗值多少钱呢？”我问那个小男孩道。
“大概一美元？”他回答说。
“不对。这只小狗是非常非常珍贵的。不止一美元，”我告诉他说。
“我想也是的，”他的祖母说。
小男孩站在那里，紧搂着小狗贴向自己的脸颊。
“We could not possibly take less than two dollars for this puppy,” Judy said, squeezing my hand. “Like you said, it’s the pretty one.” she continued.
“我们是不会以低于两美元的价格卖出这只小狗的，”朱迪边说边捏了捏我的手。“就像你说的，这只很漂亮。”她继续说道。
The schoolteacher took out two dollars and handed it to the young boy. “It’s your dog now, Jeffery. You pay the man.”
那位教师掏出了两美元交给那个小男孩。“现在它是你的狗狗了，杰弗瑞。你来付钱吧。”
I think it must be a wonderful feeling for any young person to look at their selves in the mirror and see nothing except “the pretty one.”
我想，对于任何一个年轻人来说，能在照镜子时看到当中“漂亮的那一个”自己，一定会是一种很棒的感觉。
