The little dog had been a part of our family for about two years when a hobo knocked at the back door and asked if we could give him something to eat. The request wasn' t at all unusual. In those days, many hobos stopped at our corner. Mother brought a plate of food to the porch where he waited. As he sat down to eat, we boys gathered around him. He began telling us all the places he' d been and the many things he' d seen. We were spellbound by his tales.
All of a sudden he stopped. We looked in the direction he was staring, and there stood Jacky. For several moments they looked at one another. Then a huge smile came across the old hobo' s face.
"You little rascal," he said, calling him by some strange-sounding name. "What are you doing here?"
The little dog became hysterical with joy. He was all over the hobo, barking and jumping as if he would never stop. There was no doubt he knew the hobo and knew him well. After caressing and talking to Jacky, the old hobo uttered a brief command. Immediately, Jacky controlled his enthusiasm and lay down obediently at he old man' s feet.
"Boys, where did you get this dog?" asked the hobo.
"We found him lodged between the door and the screen during the big tornado of ' 25." said my brother.
"Yes, sir. It adds up." said the hobo."I was with a circus in Missouri in March of ' 25. That was sure some blow. The big tent was ripped to shreds. Everything was demolished."
"This poodle was the number-one top show dog. He' s so valuable he was insured for hundreds of dollars. Lucky dog, he is blown all that distance and not getting hurt."
Suddenly the hobo asked, "Do you have a barrel hoop, boy?"
"Sure, I' ll get you one." said my brother. Running quickly to an old barrel, he lifted off one of the steel bands. He dashed back and handed it to the hobo.
From beneath his old battered hat the hobo' s blue eyes sparkled. A smile broke through his heavy gray beard.
"Watch this, " he said."Less you boys been to a circus you ain' t never seen anything like this."
He walked out into the yard and held the loop a couple of feet above the ground.
"Get ready！" he said to Jacky, again using that strange-sounding name. Jacky trembled with excitement. On command he sprang forward and leaped through the loop—forward, then backward. As commands continued, he hurled through the hoop, turning end over end. He danced on his hind legs, then on his front legs. My brothers and I stared in awe as the knowledgeable old hobo put Jacky through his circus tricks. "He' s a little rusty on some of ' em, but he sure ain' t forgettin' any of it." said the hobo."Sure is great bein' together again. Brings back memories, don' t it little friend?" he said fondly as he patted Jack' s head.
Then with a forlorn look about him, he straightened up. "I guess I best be goin' . " he mumbled and headed slowly towards the gate. Without hesitation, Jacky followed at his heels.
"Jacky, come back!"all three of us called. But it did no good. Tears trickled' down our cheeks. We knew we had lost him.
Then the hobo paused. Looking down at Jacky, he said,"Our circus days is over, friend. Over and done. And the tramping life' s no life for you. You best stay here."Jacky stood, watching the hobo walk away, still poised to follow.
Reaching the gate the man stood motionless for several seconds, then slowly turned around. "Boys, a circus dog never forgets the big top, " he said. "You' d better lock him in the house till morning. I' d hate to see you lose him. "
So we did. Jacky lived with us for many years, and although he was the smartest dog we ever had, we could never persuade him to perform circus tricks again. We figured he' d taken the hobo' s words to heart and put his circus days behind him once and for all.
1925年3月18日，尽管当时的我只有5岁，但我仍然清楚地记得那一天席卷伊利诺伊州南部地区、被称做“小埃及”的龙卷风，而我们所居住的小煤城正巧就在龙卷风的必经之路上。狂风大作，那声音听起来像是十几辆机车呼啸而过。我们在厨房里挤成一团，声响震耳欲聋，好像要摇散我们的骨头似的。
突然，一切都结束了。那种寂静令人感到很不自然，心里充满了恐惧和不安。打开房门，母亲凝视着眼前那令人惊恐的景象，束手无措。瓦砾残骸遍地都是，道路被堵塞。受到惊吓的人们就像牛似的漫无目的地在街道上走着，不知道还能做什么。突然，一声低沉的、痛苦的呜呜声从母亲的脚下传来，打破了这陌生的寂静。
一只浑身湿漉漉的、惊恐万分的、剧烈颤抖的卷毛狗躺在门与屏风中间。
“哎呀，”母亲说着便弯下身去，“你从哪里来啊？”
那只湿漉漉的小狗胆怯地摇着他的尾巴，伸着舌头舔着母亲的手。
杰基，是我们给他起的名字。他毫无保留地接受了我们这个大家庭，而我们也慷慨地将爱施予给这只无家可归但又很幸运的小狮子狗。
几乎是立刻，我们意识到杰基是一只很独特的狗—— 一只非常聪明的狗。他那被浓密卷毛包围的、充满好奇的黑眼睛闪烁着生命的活力。
在小狗成为我们家中一员的两年后，一个流浪汉敲我们家的后门，乞讨一些食物，这种请求并没有什么特别的。因为在那些日子里，有好多流浪汉停在我们家的门前。他在门廊处等着，母亲给他拿出一碟子食物。当他坐下来吃饭的时候，我们几个男孩子就围着他。于是，他开始给我们讲他所到过的地方以及见过的东西。我们都被他的故事深深地迷住了。
突然，他停了下来。我们朝他凝视的地方看过去，杰基站在那里。他们互相看了很长时间。接着，那个流浪汉的脸上露出了笑意。“你这个小淘气鬼，”他说着，并用一个听上去怪怪的名字叫着杰基。“你在这里做什么呢？”
这只小狗也异常兴奋，围着那个流浪汉又叫又跳，似乎没有停下来的意思。毫无疑问，他一定认识那个流浪汉，而且很熟悉。经过一番爱抚和交谈，那个老流浪汉发出一声简短的命令。马上，杰基就控制住了自己的情绪，然后温驯地躺在那个老人的脚边。
“孩子们，你们是从哪里捡到这只狗的？”那个流浪汉问道。
“1925年的那场大飓风过后，我们发现他就夹在门与屏风之间。”我的哥哥说道。
“是啊，这样就说得通了，”那个流浪汉说，“1925年，我和一个马戏团正在密苏里州。那场飓风的威力很大，整个大帐篷都被扯成了碎条，一切东西都被毁了。”
“当时，这只小狮子狗是一只一流的表演狗。他非常值钱，保险金就高达几百美元。他真是一只幸运的小狗啊，被刮了这么远，还没有受伤。”
突然，那个流浪汉问道：“孩子们，你们有没有一个铁环？”
“当然有了，我给你拿一个。”我的哥哥说着，便很快跑回家拿了一个铁桶，将其中的一个铁圈摘下来，又迅速跑了回来，递给那个流浪汉。
流浪汉的那双被破旧帽子遮掩的蓝色眼睛闪烁着光芒，他那长满浓密灰色胡须的脸上露出了微笑。
“看好了，”他说着，“除非你们这些孩子去过马戏团，否则，你们肯定没有看过这些。”
他走到院子里，举着那个铁环，离地面大概有2英尺高。
“准备好！”他冲着杰基说道，仍然用着那个听起来很怪的名字。杰基兴奋地颤抖着。随着命令，他一跃而起，穿过了那个铁环——向前，然后向后。流浪汉继续发出命令，他猛地穿过那个铁环，来回跑着。他先是用后面的两条腿跳着舞，然后是前腿。那个见多识广的老流浪汉让杰基表演马戏团中的绝技，我和哥哥们看得都发愣了。
“他的反应在一些表演上有些迟钝了，但是他肯定还没有忘记。”那个流浪汉说着。“又能够在一起了，这真是太棒了。又回想起了以前，是不是啊，小朋友？”他一边深情地说着，一边拍着杰基的头。
于是流浪汉站了以来，脸上露出一种被遗弃的表情。“我想我最好还是离开吧。”他喃喃自语道，头慢慢地转向大门。杰基毫不犹豫地跟在他的脚后。
“杰基，回来！”我们三个齐声喊道，然而我们的话没起一点儿作用。眼泪滑下我们的脸颊。我们知道，我们已经失去了他。
那个流浪汉停下来，低着头看着杰基说道：“我们在马戏团的日子结束了，朋友，再也不会回来了。而且这种居无定所的生活不适合你，你最好还是留在这里。”杰基站在那里，看着那个流浪汉离开，但仍准备随他而去。