约翰坐进汽车,野鹅跟着上去,在他旁边坐下。鸭子跟着野鹅上去,在她旁边坐下。约翰向警官挥手告别,驾车离去。
海斯警官摇摇头,望着他们离开。“我原以为我什么事都听说过,”他心里想,“但这件事比所有的事都离奇!”
Smart Spider
“The wind is blowing this morning.” my wife said. “It‘s blowing very hard, Les.”
“Yes.” I answered. “But I can’t stay home. I must go up the mountain. The boys want me to mark some old trees to cut down for firewood.”
As I walked up the mountain, the wind blew harder. I held my head down most of the time. But at times I looked up to see where I was going.Once I looked up and saw a surprising sight. It was a giant spider web, hanging between two pine trees. The trees were seven feet apart!
I stopped to look at the web. The spider was still working on it. She ran to and fro, making the web strong. Her big black and yellow body moved quickly and easily.Suddenly the wind blew two dry leaves into the web. “What will she do now?” I wondered. “Will she leave them there? She can‘t get them out!”
But Mrs. Spider did not want those leaves in her web. She knew how to get rid of them.I was amazed to see what she did next. She took hold of the thread of the web that held one leaf. Then she drew back the thread with one long leg. With a snap, she let the thread go.With the first snap, the leaf did not move. But she tried again. With the second snap, the leaf was till there. She tried a third time, and the leaf fell to the ground!
In the same way, she got rid of the second leaf. I watched it fall to the ground. Then I went on my way, wondering at what I had seen.That night I told my wife about the smart spider. “She drew back that thread just as a man draws back the string of a bow.” I said. “How did she know what to do to get rid of those leaves?”
“How does a spider know how to build a web at all?” asked my wife. “It is one of nature’s wonders.”
“You are fight.” I answered. “A spider can do things no man can do.”
精明的蜘蛛
“今天早晨在刮风。”我的妻子说。“刮得很厉害,莱斯。”
“是的。”我答。“可我不能待在家里,我得上山去。孩子们要我去标出一些老树,砍来做烧柴。”
我往山上走时,风刮得更凶了。大部分时间我都低着头。不过,有时我也抬头望望,看看我要向什么地方去。
一次,我抬头看时,看到一种奇异的情景。那是一张巨大的蜘蛛网,挂在两棵松树之间。松树相距七英尺!
我停下来望着那张蜘蛛网。蜘蛛仍在结网,她来回跑动,把网搞结实。她那黑黄色的大躯体迅速而又毫不费力地移动着。
突然,狂风将两片干树叶吹进蜘蛛网里。“现在,她该怎么办呢?”我很纳闷。“她会让树叶留在那儿吗?她是无法把树叶弄出去的!”
但是,蜘蛛夫人不想让树叶留在她的网里,她知道怎样去掉他们。
我惊奇地看到她下一步干的事。她抓住蛛网上缠着树叶的一根细丝,然后用一条长腿拉起蛛丝,啪的一下,她放开了蛛丝。
第一次弹开时,树叶一动未动。她又作尝试。第二次弹开时,树叶仍在那儿。她又弹了第三次,那片树叶掉到了地上!
用同样的方法,她去掉了第二片树叶。我看着它落到地上。后来,我继续赶路,心里想着,刚才看到的情景多么奇异啊。
那天晚上,我把精明的蜘蛛的事告诉了妻子。“她拉起那条细丝如同人拉开弓弦一样。”我说。“她怎么知道如何去掉那树叶呢?”
“蜘蛛打头如何知道该怎样造蛛网的呢?”妻子问。这是自然的奇迹之一。
“你说得对。”我回答。“一只蜘蛛能做到的一些事,是人都做不到的。”
Every Dog Should Own a Man
Some people say, “Every man should own a dog.” But I say, “Every dog should own a man.”
I know what I am talking about. I am a dog.A dog should pick out a good man to own. The man must be kind, and of course he must love dogs. And the man must like to go for walks.My man is kind and loving. He is not too old to walk well, and he can even run. Best of all, he learns things fast, that is, for a man he learns things pretty fast.I showed him how to roll my ball, in one easy lesson. He sat on the floor. Then I rolled the ball to him. He learned to say “Bring” each time I caught it.We play this ball game over and over. But he gets tired before I do. I guess a man is not as strong as a dog.On the street, we need to stay close to each other. That is why I have him snap a leash to my collar. He loops the other end around his wrist. Then he can‘t get away.We start down the street slowly. Sometimes my man tugs and pulls on the leash.If I run between his legs, the leash winds around his feet. So he has to stop tugging!
One day my man ran ahead of me. I didn’t want to run, so I stopped suddenly. He nearly fell on his back! After that, he walked quietly behind me.But it is good for my man to run sometimes. So I race off, leash and all. In the country I often want to chase a rabbit. He doesn‘t always seem to want to. But off we go together! It is funny that he never catches one. I try and try to teach him how.Sometimes he runs so fast he falls down. Then I am very kind to him. I lick his face. If he is hurt, I take him right home. Then we have something to eat and he feels better.One dog I know likes to live alone in a small house called a kennel. He makes his man live in another house. But I think it is nice to have someone with you. I let my man live in my house. It is big enough for both of us.He has his own soft chair. But it is not good for him to sit in it too much. Often I jump up on it. If I play I am asleep, he has to sit in a hard chair. Then he may think of going for a walk.It’s a lot of trouble to teach a man. I have to tell things to my man over and over. But I am not cross with him. I never hit him with my paw. A soft bark is often all he needs to let him know what to do.Sometimes he does not let me out or bring my food right away. Then I may have to bark two or three times.One thing I do not let my man do. He must not run away from home.When he packs his bag, I know just what to do. I lie down at his feet and look up at him sadly. I look without saying anything. He knows what I am thinking.Once, he took his things out of the bag. He stayed home. So I let him sit in the soft chair after dinner. I licked his hand to let him know I was pleased.A man belongs in his home. His dog should keep him there.每条狗应当拥有一个人
有人说,“每个人应当拥有一条狗。”不过,依我说,“每条狗应当拥有一个人。”
我知道我在讲说什么。我是一条狗。
一条狗应当选出一个好人,并去拥有他。这人必须是善良的,当然,他必须爱狗。这个人还必须喜欢散步。