You are the sunshine in my life
它那闪闪发光的金色毛发
就像灿烂绚丽的阳光，
于是他有了阳光这个名字。
而他也像它自己的名字一样，
给我的生活带来了阳光。
生命中的阳光
Sunshine
佚名 / Anonymous
His gleaming, golden fur as sunny as sunlight gave Sunshine his name. It also sets him apart from other dogs. His hair has a silky soft feel like lush plush velvet.
His fleecy milk white feet are fluffy like down. He looks at the other dogs, cocks his head sideways, and then follows me. Follows until he becomes the boss.
Sunshine purrs then peers at me through golden green eyes. He leads me towards his dog pan, stops before he gets there, turns his head and scrutinizes me. I follow.
He turns up his nose at yesterday’s food. I put fresh food in his pan. He eyes me, and then turns as I open him a tin of chicken and liver to fill his dish. He eats. I fill his water bowl with fresh water and add a couple of ice cubes. He has me well trained.
Sunshine tells me to whichever door he chooses to pass through when he wants to go outside. He scratches on the French Doors when he decides to come in. I spring from my chair and open the door. He walks in, head held high, tail straight up. He has me under his paw.
When Glenn, my husband, would come home from work, Sunshine would then transfer his affections to him. He never failed to accompany him into the walk-in closet. He smelled, then walked to Glenn’s house shoes, and pulled them forward with his paw.
When Glenn would settle down in his chair to read, Sunshine would curl up on the back of his chair, and nap. During the day, when I worked at my computer, he always quietly curled in my lap.
Many times I have heard Glenn laugh as he looked out the south window. I asked, “Why are you laughing?”
Glenn would say,“There goes Sunshine up the hill to check the menu at Doctor Gene and Mary’s house.” Or he would say, “Sunshine’s coming down the hill. He’s checked out Doctor’s place.” These travels of Sunshine brought about a nickname, The Partnership Dog.
When Sunshine feels left out, he reaches a white paw out and grabs my skirt. I take him in my arms and stroke his velvety fur. That satisfies him.
Sunshine has hobbies. He likes to ride in the car, sleep on the car’s roof in the garage, and watch television, especially the dog food commercials where the dogs swish across the screen.
One day, Sunshine and I strolled across our backyard, which joins the Mark Twain National Forest. I carried my salad bucket planning to pick greens.
Sunshine stopped and made a blood curdling noise deep in his throat. I stopped and looked at him. Oh!The velvet fur stood straight outward from his body. His eyes slanted. What was he looking at?
I stood still and looked toward the woods. A second later, I saw two coyotes just outside the fence. I yelled and threw my salad bucket at the fence. They disappeared.
“Oh, Sunshine,” I picked him up and hugged him, “You sure paid for your keeps today.”
He purred then laid his head on my shoulders.
Glenn suddenly passed away with a heart attack. A stunned shock gripped me. I couldn’t sleep: I couldn’t eat. Exhausted, but I had to carry on. I lay on the bed at night hoping to rest.
I would become aware of breathing, purring by my pillow. Sunshine would be lying on the bed near my head. He had never slept on our bed before. He stroked my hair with his paw. Glenn always stroked my hair before he went to sleep. How did Sunshine know to do this?
Sunshine seems to have changes since Glenn’s passing. He doesn’t take all. He knows how to give by walking away from his dog food in favor of another dog. He shows how to comfort by letting a pup snuggle up to him to sleep. He grants patience with me by not prancing when I’m slow to feed him.
I don’t understand how Sunshine knows so much about me, a human life, but he has helped make my lonely days more bearable.
Through Sunshine, I’ve learned to have more respect, respect for him, respect for all dogs, both the unfortunate discarded ones, and the loved ones. There’s a bond between Sunshine and me. We love each other. We give our love to others.
它那闪闪发光的金色毛发就像灿烂绚丽的阳光，于是它有了阳光这个名字。而这也使它更加区别于其他的狗狗。它的毛发很柔滑，就像光滑的上等天鹅绒。
它的腿上覆盖着雪白的茸毛，蓬松地垂下来。它看着其他的狗狗们，昂着头大摇大摆地跟在我的身后，而最后它却成了“领导人”。
阳光咕噜咕噜地叫着，用它那金绿色的眼睛凝视着我。它领着我向它的狗食盘子走去，还没有走到，它就停了下来，转过脑袋认真地看着我，我跟了过去。
它用鼻子嗅着昨天的食物，我将新鲜的食物放到它的盘子里。它看着我，当我打开一罐鸡肝放到它的食物中时，它转了过去，吃了起来。我将它的水碗倒满了清水，又加了一些冰块。它已经将我训练得很好了。
当它想出去玩的时候，会告诉我它会选择哪扇门通过。当它决定回来的时候，就会用爪子在那扇门上抓个不停，于是我就从椅子上跳起来为它开门。它走了进来，昂着头，尾巴还一直翘着，它已经将我牢牢地控制在它那利爪之下了。
当我的丈夫格伦下班回家的时候，阳光总是毫不吝啬地将它的爱意转移到格伦的身上。它不失时机地跟着格伦一直走到衣柜旁。它闻来闻去，直冲着格伦在家穿的鞋子走过去，然后用爪子将它们拖到格伦的面前。
当格伦坐在椅子上读报纸的时候，阳光就会蜷缩在椅背旁打起盹来。白天，当我对着电脑工作的时候，它就会静静地蜷缩在我的大腿上。
当格伦从南边的窗户向外望去的时候，我有好多次都能听到它的笑声。于是我就问它：“你笑什么呢？”
格伦会说：“阳光正在小山上检查格伦医生和玛丽家的菜单呢。”或者它会这样说：“阳光正在从山上下来呢，它已经检查完医生的家了。”而阳光的这些游历又给自己增添了一个新的昵称——伴侣狗。
当阳光感到冷落的时候，它就会伸出雪白的爪子抓住我的裙摆。我就将它抱起来，抚摸着它那天鹅绒般的毛发，这会使它非常满意。
阳光有自己的爱好。它喜欢坐车，喜欢睡在车库里的汽车顶上，还喜欢看电视，尤其爱看那些狗狗们在电视里跳来跳去的有关狗食的广告节目。
一天，阳光和我在后院漫步，这个后院与马克?吐温国家森林公园相连。我提着色拉桶，打算去摘一些青菜。
阳光停了下来，从喉咙里发出一声沉沉的令人害怕的叫声。我停了下来，看着它。噢！它那天鹅绒般的毛发都竖了起来，它的眼睛斜视着，它在看什么呢？
我静静地站着，向树林深处望去。我立刻看到两只草原狼站在篱笆的外面。我大声喊着，将手中的色拉桶扔到篱笆上。它们不见了。
“噢，阳光，”我把它抱了起来，“你今天真是好样的！没有白养你。”
它咕噜咕噜地叫着，将脑袋靠在我的肩上。
格伦因突发心脏病离开了我们。这场噩耗将我打垮了，我吃不下也睡不着。虽然我已经精疲力竭，但是日子还要继续。晚上我躺在床上希望能够入睡。
我很清楚地听到了呼吸声和咕噜咕噜的声音。阳光躺在床上，靠着我的头。它从未在我们的床上睡过觉。它用爪子抚摸着我的头发。格伦在睡前总会抚摸我的头发，阳光是怎么知道这个的呢？
自从格伦去世之后，阳光看起来也发生了一些变化。它知道怎样帮助他人，它会走到一边，将狗食留给另一只狗；它知道怎么抚慰其他的动物，它让一只小狗依偎在它的身边睡觉。它对我也表现出了很大的耐心，不会因为我给它喂食太慢而感到不耐烦。
我不理解，阳光怎么会如此了解我，了解人类的生活，但是它帮助了我，使我可以在那些孤单的日子里支撑下来。
从阳光的身上，我也学到了更多的尊重，尊重它，尊重所有的狗狗们，不管它们是不幸被遗弃的，还是深受宠爱的。我和阳光之间有一条看不见的纽带。我们爱着彼此，也将爱给予他人。
心灵小语
它那闪闪发光的金色毛发就像灿烂绚丽的阳光，于是它有了阳光这个名字。而它也像它自己的名字一样，给我的生活带来了阳光。
记忆填空
1. Sunshine purrs then peers at me through golden green eyes. He me towards his dog pan, before he gets there, turns his head and scrutinizes me. I follow.