12-3 小狗蒂皮

Tippy

I was late for the school bus and rushing to get ready. My dog, Tippy, ran past me. What’s your big hurry? I wondered, annoyed. It wasn’t like he was late for the school bus like I was. When he got to the front door, he lay down in front of it -- his way of asking to be petted. I ignored his shameless begging for affection, hurdled 1 over him and sprinted1 for the waiting yellow bus.

That afternoon, I jumped out of the bus and dashed up the driveway. That’s odd, I thought. Tippy was usually outside, barking an entire paragraph of “hellos” as soon as he saw me come home. When I burst through the door, the house was quiet and still. I dumped my coat and backpack on the floor. Mom silently appeared. She asked me to sit down at the kitchen table.

“Honey, I have some sad news that I need to tell you. This morning, while you were at school, Tippy was hit by a car and killed. He died instantly, so he didn’t suffer. I know how much he meant to you. I’ m so sorry,” said Mom.

“NO! It’s not true!” I was in shock. I couldn’t believe her. “Tippy, come here! Come on, boy!” I called and called for him. I waited. He didn’t come. Feeling lost, I wandered into the living room. He wasn’t on the couch, so I had no pillow for my head while I watched cartoons. Mom called me for dinner and I rambled2 to my place. He wasn’t hiding under the table, so I had to eat all of my dinner. I went to sleep that night, but I didn’t cry. I still couldn’t believe that he was gone.

When I got off the bus the next day, the silence grew deafening 4. Finally, my sobs 5 bubbled up and erupted like lava 63 from a volcano. I felt like I was going to die from having my inside shaken apart, and I couldn’t stop crying or end the thought that kept going through my head. I should have trained him better. If I had been home, I could have called him away from the road. I didn’t even pet him when I left. How could I have known that was my last chance? I cried until I felt hollow inside.

My parents brought a new dog named Tinker Belle 7. I didn’t care. I was busy giving hate looks to people speeding in their cars. They shouldn’t drive so fast that they couldn’t stop when they see a dog in the road. My parents still got the silent treatment from me. Why hadn’t they made sure that Tippy was tied up? I was mad at Tippy for getting killed, and I was mad at the entire “dog kingdom” for not knowing enough to stay out of the road.

I didn’t share my dinner with our new dog. She was too small to be my pillow for television, and her bark was squeaky4. When she begged for attention, I pushed her away. I spent a lot of time alone, feeling sorry for myself and wondering: Why did this have to happen to me? What am I going to do now? Why did Tippy have to die?

Time passed, and against my will, I started to understand some things. It felt like waking up a little at a time. I realized what little control any of us have over what happens to a dog. Sure, we can train them and tie them up and do everything right, but bad things can still happen. And, in spite of us, good things can happen too. That’s life. The best way to deal with the hard times is to figure out5 what I need to do for myself to get through them when they come, and to remember that hard times would pass.

I also discovered that my capacity to love didn’t die with Tippy. I became awfully 8 lonely when I was trying to harden my heart. I began to realize that there were good things about Tinker Belle that were different from the good things about Tippy. I couldn’t rest my head on her little body, or pretend to ride Tinker Belle the way I had done with Tippy, but I could fit Tinker Belle into my backpack and carry her around.

I learned that I need to pet my dog whenever I can -- and to really enjoy my time with her! Now I pet my dog slowly when I have the chance and quickly when I’ m in a hurry, but I never leave the house without petting her.

I now deeply understand the “Circle of Life.” Everyone is born, everyone dies, and that’ s the way it is. If dogs never died, there would be no room for others like Tinker Belle... and her five cute puppies!

Best of all, I realized that Tippy left behind all of my good memories of him. And they come to me every time I call!

注释：

1. sprint 2 [sprint] vi.（尤指短距离）冲刺，用全速奔跑

2. ramble 3 [5rAmbl] vi.  漫步

3. lava [5lB:vE] n.  [地] 熔岩

4. squeaky [5skwi:ki] a.（发）短促尖声的，吱吱嘎嘎作响的

5. figure out [美口] 想出，理解，明白

小狗蒂皮

我晚了，急急忙忙地准备着赶校车。我的狗蒂皮跑到了我的前面。我恼火地心想，你着什么急？它又不像我那样怕赶不上校车。当它到了前门后就躺在门前——这是它要我跟它亲热一番的方式。我没理睬它不知害羞地央求我抚爱它，跳过它的身子，全速朝黄色的校车奔去。

　　那天下午，我跳下校车后，快步沿车道跑着。我想，今天有点怪。蒂皮平常都等在外面，一看见我回家就吠出一整段的“哈罗”。我匆忙进门，屋子里静悄悄的。我把外套和背包扔在地上。妈妈悄悄地来了，她要我在厨房桌子旁坐下。

　　妈妈说：“宝贝，我得告诉你一个坏消息。今天早上你上学的时候，蒂皮被车撞死了。它立刻就断气了，所以没有受罪。我知道它对你多么重要。我很难过。”

　　“不！这不是真的！” 我感到震惊。我没法相信她说的话。“蒂皮，来这儿！来啊，小家伙！” 我一遍又一遍地叫它。我等待着。它没有来。我感到失落，心神恍惚地走进起居室。它没在沙发上，因此我看卡通片时没有枕头可枕了。妈妈叫我吃晚饭，我慢腾腾地走到我的座位上。它没藏在餐桌底下，因而我只能一个人把饭菜全都吃光。那天晚上我上床睡了，可我没哭。我仍然不信它不在了。

　　第二天我下了校车后，家里寂静得令人难以忍受。最后，止不住的一阵阵哭泣终于像火山岩浆一样爆发了。我的五脏六腑快碎裂了，我觉得我快死了。我无法抑制住哭泣，也无法终止我脑中反复出现的想法。我本应该更好地训练它。如果我在家的话，我本可以叫它离开马路。我离家时甚至没跟它亲热一下。我怎么知道那是我最后一次机会呢？我哭个不停，直到我觉得身体内都空了。

　　我父母为我新买了条叫廷克·贝尔的狗。我不喜欢它。我不断地以怨恨的目光看那些开着车疾驶而过的人们。他们不该开这么快，以至于看见街上有狗时停不下车来。我依然冷淡地对待我的父母。为什么他们没有确保把蒂皮拴住？我为蒂皮被撞死感到恼火，我还对整个“狗王国”不知道该远离马路而感到恼火。

　　我不和我们的新狗分享我的晚餐。它的身子太小，看电视时不能把它当枕头用，它的叫声又短又尖。它乞求我的注意时，我把它推开。我常常一人独处，感到自怜并纳闷，为什么我碰到这事？我该怎么办？为什么蒂皮非得死？

　　随着时光流逝，我逐渐不情愿地懂得了一些事理。我突然感觉好像清醒了一些。我明白了我们任何人都几乎无法控制狗会发生什么事。当然，我们能训练它们，拴好它们，做好所有的事，可是坏事仍然会发生。同样，不以我们的意志为转移，好事也会发生。这就是生活。应对艰难时刻最好的办法是琢磨出为度过它们我需要做什么，并记住艰难的时刻会过去的。

　　我还发现我的爱的能力没有随蒂皮的死而消失。我试图做到冷酷无情的时候，我感到十分孤独。我逐渐认识到廷克·贝尔有着与蒂皮不同的优点。我不能把头枕在它身上，或像我假装骑蒂皮那样骑贝尔，可是我能把它装进我的背包，带着它四处转悠。

　　我明白只要有可能我就要抚爱我的狗，真正享受和它在一起的乐趣。现在我有机会就慢慢地抚摸它，在匆忙时就快快地抚摸它，但我从不忘和它亲热一下才离家。

　　我现在深深懂得了“生命的循环”。人人有生，亦有死，生活就是如此。如果狗不死的话，那么就没有别的狗像廷克·贝尔……还有它那5只可爱的小仔的生存空间。

　　最欣慰的是，我理解到蒂皮给我留下了所有美好回忆。这些美好回忆随时都会应我之邀欣然而至!