The Right Decision正确的决定

It was a pleasant Sunday as John roamed1 the garden of his uncle’s house.John stayed with Uncle Tim and Aunt Melanie. They had a Golden Retrievercalled Oliver.

这是一个愉快的星期天，约翰在他叔叔家的花园里漫步。约翰同蒂姆叔叔和梅兰妮婶婶住在一起。他们有一只叫奥利弗的金毛猎犬。

From the first day John realized that Oliver was unhappy in the house. He wasnot given his meals on time， nor was he taken for a walk. Oliver was shouted at andabused2 all day.

从第一天起，约翰就意识到奥利弗在家里很不开心。没有人按时给它吃饭，也没有人带它去散步。奥利弗整天被人吼骂和虐待。

“Your uncle bought Oliver so that the dog could protect his house from thievesbut actually neither he nor his wife love him，”the gardener told John one day.

“你叔叔买下奥利弗是为了让这只狗能保护他的房子不被盗，但实际上他和他的妻子都不爱它。”园丁有一天告诉约翰。

John felt sad. At night he could hear Oliver whimpering3 in the cold.“Whydon’t you make a coat for your pet？”John paused and said. “He must feels cold.”His aunt snorted4，“I have much better things to do.”

约翰感到很难过。晚上，他能听到奥利弗在寒冷中呜咽的声音。“你们为什么不给你们的宠物做一件外套呢？”约翰迟疑了一下，说，“它一定很冷。”他的婶婶哼了一声说：“我有更重要的事情要去做。”

One day John went out for a walk with Oliver， when the sky suddenly becameovercast5 and a fierce6 storm started raging7. People ran here and there forprotection， as rain started falling. John ran to take shelter in a sweet shop.

有一天，约翰和奥利弗出去散步，这时天空突然变得阴云密布，一场猛烈的风暴开始肆虐。人们四下乱跑找地方躲雨，因为开始下雨了。约翰跑到一家糖果店里躲雨。

It was only after a few minutes that he realized that Oliver was not with him.

几分钟后，他才意识到奥利弗没有和他在一起了。

“The storm separated us，”John lamented8 on returning home. “I searchedthe entire place with the help of the sweet shop owner after the storm and rainhad subsided9 but I couldn’t find him.”John’s uncle put an advertisement in thepaper. After all he had spent a lot of money buying Oliver and did not want tolose him.

“暴风雨把我们分开了。”约翰在回家后失落地说，“暴风雨平息后，我在糖果店老板的帮助下找遍了整个地方，但我没能找到它。”约翰的叔叔在报纸上登了一个广告。毕竟他花了很多钱买来了奥利弗，并不想失去它。

It was a half an hour ride by bus. The house was a beautiful brick coloredstructure， with creepers10 adorning11 the walls. The middle aged lady who greetedJohn was a motherly sort of a woman. She and her husband had answered John’suncle’s advertisement in the paper. Since John’s uncle was out on a business trip，John had been sent to check on the dog.

约翰乘坐公交车花了半个小时的时间。这所房子是一个漂亮的砖色结构，墙上爬满了爬山虎。迎接约翰的中年女士是一位慈母般的女性。她和她的丈夫回应了约翰的叔叔刊登在报纸上的广告。由于约翰的叔叔出差了，约翰被派去查看狗的情况。

“He is asleep，”the lady said.“Come and have a look.”A checked coat drapedover the sleeping Oliver. There was a warm quilt on the small bed where Oliverslept. A pot of milk stood in a corner of the room possibly for Oliver’s next feed.

“它在睡觉。”这位女士说，“来看看吧。”一件格子大衣盖在睡着的奥利弗的身上。奥利弗睡着的小床上有一床温暖的被子。房间的一个角落里放着一碗牛奶，可能是为奥利弗的下一餐准备的。

“I found him on the back seat of our car. He must have crept12 in during thestorm. I had opened the back door of the car to load the groceries that I was going tobuy， but due to the storm and rain I changed my mind and decided to do theshopping the next day. The poor dear was shivering with cold， when I first noticedhim after arriving home，”the lady said.

“我在我们车的后座上发现了它。它一定是趁着暴风雨悄悄溜进来的。当时我打开车的后门，准备装我要买的杂货，但由于暴风雨，我改变了主意，决定第二天再去购物。当我到家后第一次注意到它时，这个可怜的家伙正冷得发抖。”这位女士说。

John looked at the dog. Yes it was Oliver， his uncle’s dog all right. He bentdown and gently parted the fur on the neck. The identifying13 white spot was there.The lady was speaking when her husband came in. “In a few days he has become apart of the family. Ever since Sheela， our spaniel14 died， we decided not to keep anypets and then suddenly...”her voice quivered15.

约翰看了看那条狗。是的，它是奥利弗，是他叔叔的狗没错。他弯下腰，轻轻地拨开狗脖子上的毛，那个标志性的白色斑点就在那儿。在这位女士说话的时候，她的丈夫走进来了。“几天来，它已经成为这个家庭的一员。自从我们的小猎犬希拉死后，我们决定不再养任何宠物，然后突然……”她的声音颤抖起来。

“When your uncle put in the advertisement， for a moment we thought of notreplying”， the gentleman said. “My wife has become attached16 to the dog in thesefew days.”

“当你的叔叔刊登广告时，有那么一瞬间我们想过不回应。”这位绅士说，“在这几天里，我的妻子已经对这只狗产生了感情。”

John smiled as he shook his head. “I am sorry to have bothered you. Sir，Madam， but this is not our Oliver.”

约翰微笑着摇了摇头。“我很抱歉打扰了你们。先生，夫人，但这不是我们的奥利弗。”

There was a cry of delight from the lady. John would have to lie to his unclethat the dog was not Oliver but in return Oliver would get a life of love， care andcompanionship17. He would be safe from a life of misery18 in his uncle’s house.

那位女士发出了开心的呼声。约翰不得不对他的叔叔撒谎，说那条狗不是奥利弗，但作为回报，奥利弗将得到有爱、照料和陪伴的生活。它将远离在他叔叔家的苦日子。

John knew he had taken the right decision. At the bus stop he pulled out theletter sent in answer to his uncle’s advertisement and tore19 it to pieces beforegetting into the bus.

约翰知道他做出了正确的决定。在公共汽车站，他掏出为回应他叔叔的广告而寄来的信，在上车前把它撕成了碎片。

（英语原文选自：shortstoriesforkids.com）

▏Notes

1. roam. 漫步，闲逛

2. abuse. 虐待；滥用

3. whimper. 呜咽，啜泣

4. snort. 发哼声

5. overcast. 阴天的，阴暗的

6. fierce.（天气等）狂暴的，恶劣的

7. rage. 肆虐；激烈进行

8. lament. 对……感到悲痛，对……表示失望

9. subside. 趋于平静，平息

10. creeper. 爬行者

11. adorn. 装饰；使生色

12. crept. 匍匐爬行

13. identify.认出，识别；查明

14. spaniel. 西班牙猎犬

15. quiver. 颤抖，抖动

16. attached. 非常喜欢……的，热爱……的

17. companionship. 情谊，友谊

18. misery. 痛苦，苦难

19. tear. 撕碎，撕裂