洛里·S.莫尔/Lori S.Mohr

The hastily scrawled sign on the crumpled cardboard read:BROKE-NEED DOG FOOD.The desperate young man held the sign in one hand and a leash in the other as he paced back and forth on the busy corner in downtown Las Vegas.

Attached to the leash was a husky pup no more than a year old. Not far from them was an older dog of the same breed, chained to a lamppost. He was howling into the brisk chill of the approaching winter evening, with a wail that could be heard for blocks. It was as though he knew his own fate, for the sign that was propped next to him read:FOR SALE.

Forgetting about my own destination, I quickly turned the car around and made a beeline back toward the homeless trio. For years, I’ve kept dog and cat food in the trunk of my car for stray or hungry animals I often find. It’s been a way of helping those I couldn’t take in. It’s also what I’ve used to coax many a scared dog off the road to safety. Helping needy animals has always been an automatic decision for me.

I pulled into the nearest parking lot and grabbed a five pound bag of dog food, a container of water and a twenty-dollar bill from my purse. I approached the ragged-looking man and his unhappy dogs warily. If this man had somehow hurt these creatures or was using them as come-ons, I knew my anger would quickly take over. The older dog was staring up at the sky, whining pitifully. Just before I reached them, a truck pulled up alongside of them and asked how much the man wanted for the older dog.

“Fifty bucks,”the man on the corner replied, then added quickly, “but I really don't want to sell him.”

“Is he papered?”

“No.”

“Is he fixed?”

“No.”

“How old is he?”

“Five. But I really don't want to sell him.i just need some money to feed him.”

“If I had fifty bucks, I'd buy him.”the light turned green, and the truck sped off.

The man shook his head and continued dejectedly pacing the sidewalk. When he noticed me coming in his direction, he stopped walking and watched me approach. The pup began wagging his tail.“Hi.”I offered, as I drew nearer. The young man’s face was gentle and friendly, and I could sense just by looking in his eyes that he was someone in real crisis.

“I have some food here for your dogs.”I said. Dumbfounded, he took the bag as I set down the water in front of them.

“You brought water, too?”he asked incredulously. We both knelt down next to the older dog, and the puppy greeted me enthusiastically “That one there is T.C.，and this one’s Dog. I’m Wayne.”The sad, older dog stopped crying long enough to see what was in the container.

“What happened, Wayne?”I asked. I felt a bit intrusive, but he answered me directly and simply.“Well, I just moved out here from Arizona and haven’t been able to find work. I’m at the point where I can’t even feed the dogs.”

“Where are you living?”

“In that truck right there.”He pointed to a dilapidated old vehicle that was parked close by. It had an extra long bed with a shell, so at least they had shelter from the elements.

The pup had climbed onto my lap and settled in. I asked Wayne what type of work he did.“I’m a mechanic and a welder,”he said,“But there’s nothing out here for either. I’ve looked and looked. These dogs are my family;I hate to have to sell them, but I just can’t afford to feed them.”

He kept saying it over and over. He didn’t want to sell them, but he couldn’t feed them. An awful look came over his face every time he repeated it. It was as if he might have to give up a child.

The time seemed right to casually pass over the twenty-dollar bill, hoping I wouldn’t further damage his already shaky pride.“Here. Use this to buy yourself something to eat.”

“Well, thanks.”he slowly replied, unable to look me in the face.

“This could get us a room for the night, too.”

“How long have you been out here?”

“All day.”

“Hasn’t anyone else stopped?”

“No, you’re the first.”It was late afternoon and quickly getting dark. Here in the desert, when the sun dropped, the temperature would dip into the thirties.

My mind went into fast-forward as I pictured the three of them going without even a single meal today, perhaps for several days, and spending many long, cold hours cooped up in their inadequate, makeshift shelter.

Seeing people beg for food isn’t anything new in this city. But this man stood out because he wasn’t asking for food for himself. He was more concerned with keeping his dogs fed than with his own welfare. As a pet-parent of nine well-fed and passionately loved dogs of my own, it hit a deep chord in me.

I don’t think I’ll ever really know what came over me at that moment, inspiring me to do what I did next, but I just knew it was something I had to do. I asked him if he’d wait there for a few minutes until I returned. He nodded his head and smiled.

My car flew to the nearest grocery store. Bursting with urgency, I raced in and took hold of a cart. I started on the first aisle and didn’t quit until I reached the other side of the store. The items couldn’t be pulled off the shelves fast enough. Just the essentials, I thought. Just food that will last a couple of weeks and sustain their meager existence. Peanut butter and jelly. Bread. Canned food. Juice. Fruit. Vegetables. Dog food. More dog food（forty pounds, to be exact）.And chew toys. They should have some treats, too. A few other necessities and the job was done.

“The total comes to$102.91.”said the checker. I didn’t bat an eye. The pen ran over that blank check faster than I could legibly write. It didn’t matter that the mortgage was due soon or that I really didn’t have the extra hundred dollars to spend. Nothing mattered besides seeing that this family had some food. I was amazed at my own intensity and the overwhelming motivation that compelled me to spend a hundred dollars on a total stranger. Yet, at the same time, I felt like the luckiest person in the world. To be able to give this man and his beloved companions a tiny bit of something of which I had so much opened the floodgates of gratitude in my own heart. The icing on the cake was the look on Wayne’s face when I returned with all the groceries.“Here are just a few things……”I said as the dogs looked on with great anticipation. I wanted to avoid any awkwardness, so I hastily petted the dogs.

“Good luck to you.”I said and held out my hand.

“Thank you and God bless you. Now I won’t have to sell my dogs.”His smile shone brightly in the deepening darkness.

It’s true that people are more complicated than animals, but sometimes they can be as easy to read. Wayne was a good person, someone who looked at a dog and saw family. In my book, a man like that deserves to be happy.

Later, on my way home, I purposely drove past that same corner. Wayne and the dogs were gone. But they have stayed for a long time in my heart and mind. Perhaps I will run into them again someday. I like to think that it all turned out well for them.

一个年轻人绕着拉斯维加斯市中心繁忙的街角踱来踱去，他表情绝望，一只手举着皱巴巴的纸板，上面潦草地写着：身无分文——需要狗食，另一只手牵着一条狗链子。

狗链上拴着一只不满一岁的哈士奇小狗，离他们不远的灯柱上，系着一只大一些的相同品种的狗。严冬将至，他在凛冽的寒风中号叫着，那悲惨的叫声数里外都能听见，他似乎知道自己的命运。他的身旁立着一块牌子，写着“待售”的字样。

我暂时忘了自己的目的地，迅速掉转车头，径自驶向这三个无家可归者。我的车子的后备箱里一直都存有猫狗的粮食，多年来我一直有这种习惯。我以这种方式来帮助那些我不能收养的动物，这些猫狗粮也能帮助我引诱那些受惊吓的狗逃离马路上的危险，帮助那些在困境中的动物一直是我的自发行为。

我把车子停在最近的地方，拿出一包5磅重的狗食和一罐水，又从钱包里掏出20美元。我小心翼翼地走近那个衣衫褴褛的年轻人和他的可怜的狗狗们。如果这个人伤害了这些动物，或者把他们当成博得怜悯的工具，我就会很气愤。大狗正可怜地仰天呜号着。就在我走近他们之前，一辆卡车在他们旁边停下来，问大狗卖多少钱。

“50美元，”角落里的年轻人答道，然后很快补充了一句，“但我确实不想卖。”

“他有执照吗？”

“没有。”

“他阉割过吗？”

“没有。”

“他多大了？”

“5岁。我真不愿把他卖掉，我只是需要一些钱给他买点儿吃的。”

“如果我有50美元，就会把他买下。”绿灯亮了，卡车加速开走了。

年轻人摇了摇头，继续无精打采地在人行道上踱来踱去。注意到我向他走来，他便停下来看着我，小狗也开始摇晃尾巴。

“嗨。”我走近后，和他打了个招呼。年轻人文雅而友好，从他的眼神可以看出，他确实遇到了麻烦。

“我这里有一些食物可以给你的狗吃。”我说。他愣了愣，拿起袋子，我又把水放在他们面前。

“你还带来了水？”他惊讶地问。我们在大狗旁边蹲下，小狗欢喜地跟我打招呼。

“那个叫TC，他叫狗狗，我叫韦恩。”那条悲伤的大狗早就停止吠叫，来看罐子里的东西了。

“发生了什么事，韦恩？”我随口问道，而后又感到有些冒失。但他答得简单而干脆：“哦，我刚从亚利桑那搬到这里，还没找到工作。这个节骨眼儿上，我连狗都养不起。”

“那你现在住在哪里？”

“就住在那边的卡车里。”他指着停在附近的一辆破旧不堪的车子说。车身很长，还有个外壳，至少他们暂时有了避风港。

小狗爬到我的膝盖上，伏着不动了。我问韦恩做什么工作。“我做技工和焊工，”他说，“但这里找不到相关的工作，我找了好久。这两只狗是我唯一的亲人，我真的不想卖掉他们，可又实在没有办法养活他们。”

他一遍又一遍地说着：他不想卖掉他们，但又养不起他们。每当他重复这些话时，脸上露出痛苦的表情，就像他不得已要卖掉自己的孩子一样。

这个时候，不经意地递给他一张20元似乎最合适不过了，希望我不会进一步刺伤他已经颤抖的自尊。“哦，拿这个给自己买些吃的。”

“噢，谢谢，”他缓缓答道，目光不敢直视我，“这都够我们找个房间过夜了。”

“你在这里已经多久了？”

“整整一天了。”

“没人停下来帮你们吗？”

“没有，你是第一个。”当时已是傍晚，夜幕很快降临了。太阳落山时，这边沙漠地区的温度会降到华氏30多度。

我的脑子飞快地转着，心想今天他们可能没吃上一顿饭，或许很多天没吃了，只是长久地待在他们暂时勉强做栖息之所的破车内，冻得缩成一团。

在这个城市里看到乞丐是司空见惯的事，但这个人与众不同，因为他不是为自己乞讨，他更关心的是他的狗，而把自己的温饱问题置之度外。作为一个养着九只狗并且非常喜爱宠物狗的我，被他深深感动了。

我始终不明白当时是什么样的感情激励着我去采取下一步行动的，我只是觉得，这是我必须做的事。我问他能否在那里等我回来，他点点头，露出一丝笑容。

我开车飞驰到最近的食品杂货店，像是被谁催促着一样，我疾步走进去，推了一辆手推车。我从第一个货架开始，一直走到另一头才停下来。我恨不得以更快的速度把那些东西拿下货架。我想，就只买些必需品，够他们吃几个星期，能维持他们生存的食物。花生油和果冻、面包、罐头、果汁、水果、蔬菜、狗粮、更多的狗粮（准确地说，是40磅），还有磨牙玩具，他们的生活需要乐趣。我还买了一些其他的必需品，终于大功告成了。

“一共是102.91美元。”收银员说。我眼睛眨都不眨一下，几乎看都没看支票就签了字。不久就要缴分期房款了，我并不在意这计划之外的100多美元的花销。没有什么能比解决这个家庭的温饱问题更重要的事情了。我惊异于自己这种不可遏制的动机，驱使自己在一个素不相识的人身上花掉100多美元。然而，与此同时，我又觉得自己是世界上最幸运的人。感谢上苍，能让我有机会给这个人和他所爱的伴侣一点点东西，而我有许多这样的东西。

当我拿着这些东西回来时，韦恩喜出望外。“这点儿东西……”我说。这时，那两只狗眼巴巴地望着我，我急忙去抚摩他们，以避免尴尬。

“祝你好运。”我把手伸向他说道。“谢谢你，愿上帝保佑你，现在我不用卖狗了。”他的笑容在渐浓的夜色中更加灿烂了。

有时，人确实比动物复杂得多，但有时他们又很容易读懂。韦恩是个好孩子，他把狗看成是家庭成员。在我的信仰字典里，这样的人理应获得快乐。

之后，在回家的路上，我又特意从那个街角驶过。韦恩和那两只狗已经走了，但是他们会长久地驻留在我的心间。也许有朝一日我会再次邂逅他们，那时他们会一切如意的。

心灵小语

养动物如同养孩子一样，好好对待，不要随便丢弃。

词汇笔记

destination[,d?st?ne??]n.目的地；终点

例 I eventually arrived at my destination.

我终于到达了目的地。

automatic[,?t?m?ik]adj.自动的；不假思索的；无意识的

例 You won’t get an automatic increase in pay this month.你这个月没有加薪。

compel[k?'p?l]v.强迫；使不得不；引起反应

例 His courage compel our admiration.

他的勇气使我们很钦佩。

complicate['kɑmpli, ket]v.使复杂化

例 His words will greatly complicate the situation.

他的话将使局势变得极其复杂。

小试身手

狗链上拴着一只不满一岁的哈士奇小狗。

译________________________________________

在这个城市里看到乞丐是司空见惯的事。

译________________________________________

也许有朝一日我会再次邂逅他们，那时他们会一切如意的。

译________________________________________

短语家族

own welfare.

be concerned with：参与；干预

造________________________________________

amazed at my own intensity and the overwhelming motivation that compelled me to spend a hundred dollars on a total stranger.

be amazed at：对……感到惊讶

造________________________________________