LESSON 67

SUSIE AND ROVER

苏茜与罗孚

1．"Mamma," said Susie Dean, one summer's morning, "may I go to the woods, and pick berries?"

2．"Yes," replied Mrs. Dean, "but you must take Rover with you."

3．Susie brought her little basket, and her mother put up a nice lunch for her. She tied down the cover, and fastened a tin cup to it.

4．The little girl called Rover—a great Newfoundland dog—and gave him a tin pail to carry. "If I bring it home full, mamma," she said, "won't you make some berry cakes for tea?"

5．Away she tripped, singing as she went down the lane and across the pasture. When she got to the woods, she put her dinner basket down beside a tree, and began to pick berries.

6．Rover ran about, chasing a squirrel or a rabbit now and then, but never straying far from Susie.

7．The tin pail was not a very small one. By the time it was two thirds full, Susie began to feel hungry, and thought she would eat her lunch.

8．Rover came and took his place at her side as soon as she began to eat. Did she not give him some of the lunch? No, she was in a selfish^〔1〕 mood^〔2〕, and did no such thing.

9．"There, Rover, run away! there's a good dog," she said; but Rover staid near her, watching her steadily^〔3〕 with his clear brown eyes.

10．The meat he wanted so much, was soon eaten up; and all he got of the nice dinner, was a small crust of gingerbread that Susie threw away.

11．After dinner, Susie played a while by the brook. She threw sticks into the water, and Rover swam in and brought them back. Then she began to pick berries again.

12．She did not enjoy the afternoon as she did the morning. The sunshine was as bright, the berries were as sweet and plentiful^〔4〕, and she was neither^〔5〕 tired nor hungry.

13．But good, faithful Rover was hungry, and she had not given him even one piece of meat. She tried to forget how selfish she had been; but she could not do so, and quite early she started for home.

14．When she was nearly out of the woods, a rustling in the underbrush^〔6〕 attracted^〔7〕 her attention^〔8〕. "I wonder if that is a bird or a squirrel," said she to herself. "If I can catch it, how glad I shall be!"

15．She tried to make her way quietly through the underbrush; but what was her terror^〔9〕 when she saw a large snake coiled up before her, prepared for a spring!

16．She was so much frightened that she could not move; but brave Rover saw the snake, and, springing forward, seized it by the neck and killed it.

17．When the faithful dog came and rubbed his head against her hand, Susie put her arms around his neck, and burst into tears. "O Rover,"she cried, "you dear, good dog! How sorry I am that I was so selfish!"

18．Rover understood the tone of her voice, if he did not understand her words, and capered^〔10〕 about in great glee, barking all the time. You may be sure that he had a plentiful supper that evening.

19．Susie never forgot the lesson of that day. She soon learned to be on her guard against a selfish spirit, and became a happier and more lovable little girl.

(Mrs. M. O. Johnson)

【中文阅读】

1．“妈妈，”一个夏日的早晨，苏茜·迪恩说，“我可不可以到树林里去采浆果？”

2．“可以，”迪恩太太回答，“但是你必须带着罗孚一起去。”

3．苏茜带上她的小篮子，妈妈为她准备了美味的午餐。她把盖子绑紧，再在上面系上一个杯子。

4．小女孩呼唤罗孚——一条很棒的纽芬兰犬——再给它一个锡桶叼着。“要是我装满这个桶带回家来，妈妈，”她说，“你会不会做一些浆果蛋糕在喝茶的时候吃呢？”

5．她轻快地走了出去，唱着歌儿，顺着小路，穿过了牧场。到了树林里，她把装着午餐的篮子放在一棵树下，开始采起浆果来。

6．罗孚跑来跑去，不时追赶松鼠或野兔，但绝对不会离开苏茜太远。

7．锡桶并不小。到浆果装满了桶的三分之二的时候，苏丝开始觉得饿了，想起来该吃午饭了。

8．苏茜开始吃饭时，罗孚马上跑过来，在她身边找个位置蹲好。不给它分一点儿吗？不，苏丝有些自私的情绪，没有给罗孚食物。

9．“罗孚，那边，快走开！乖。”她说。可是罗孚在她身边一动也不动，清澈的褐色眼睛默默地注视着她。

10．它多想要那块肉啊，可是很快就被吃掉了；这顿美味的午餐它唯一得到的，就是苏茜扔掉的一小块姜饼皮。

11．吃完以后，苏茜在小河边玩了一会儿。她把棍子扔到水里，罗孚游出去把它叼回来。之后她又开始采浆果了。

12．下午她并没有像早上那么开心。阳光一样明亮，浆果也一样多而甜美，她并不累，也不饿。

13．然而又乖又忠诚的罗孚却饿着肚子，她连一小片肉也没有给它。她试图忘掉自己是多么自私，可是却做不到。时间还早，可是她决定提前回家。

14．当她快要走出树林的时候，灌木丛里传来沙沙作响的声音，引起了她的注意。“我想知道那是只小鸟还是松鼠，”她心里想，“如果我能抓住它，我该多高兴啊！”

15．她努力让自己不发出任何声音，悄悄爬过灌木丛。当她看见一条大蛇盘踞在她面前的时候，简直吓呆了。那条蛇卷成一圈，随时准备一跃而起！

16．她害怕得无法动弹。然而勇敢的罗孚一看见这条蛇，就跳上前去，咬住蛇的脖子，把它咬死了。

17．忠心的小狗跑回来，头在苏茜的手上蹭来蹭去。苏茜双手抱住它的脖子，禁不住大哭起来。“噢，罗孚，”她呼喊着，“亲爱的乖小狗！我好后悔，我那么自私！”

18．罗孚即便听不懂苏茜说的话，也能理解她的声调和语气。它快乐地跳来跳去，不停地吠叫。你也许猜到了，它那天的晚餐非常丰盛。

19．苏茜从不忘怀那天的教训。她很快学会了随时警惕自私心理的出现，变成了一个更快乐、更可爱的小女孩。

（M·O·约翰逊夫人）

注释

〔1〕Selfish, thinking and caring only for one's self.

〔2〕Mood, state of mind.

〔3〕Steadily, constantly.

〔4〕Plentiful, abundant.

〔5〕Neither, not the one or the other.

〔6〕Underbrush, shrubs or small bushes in a forest.

〔7〕Attracted, drew.

〔8〕Attention, earnest thought.

〔9〕Terror, fright, fear.

〔10〕Capered, frisked.