Four-Legged Angel四条腿的天使

Surrounded by rolling green hills dotted1with horses and cows， the beautiful ranch townof Waimea on Hawaii’s Big Island is a peacefuland friendly place. One afternoon， while stayingwith friends at their house there， my husbandand I decided to go for a walk along the many，mostly traffic-free， country lanes2 in the area.

夏威夷大岛上风景如画的牧场小镇威美亚镇被连绵起伏的青山环绕，其间散布着马匹和奶牛，是一个宁静友好的地方。住在那里朋友的家里期间，一天下午，我和丈夫决定沿着该地区许多几乎没有车辆通行的乡村小路散步。

We met a beautiful Golden Retriever，obviously well cared for but with no collar. Heseemed especially friendly so we stopped to playwith him， throwing a stick which he retrieved3several times with glee4. When we went on ourwalk， he followed us， and although I worried thathe might be going too far from his home， I couldn’tdeny5 that we were enjoying his company. We feltan immediate bond with this lovely dog and eventalked about adopting6 him if we learned that hedidn’t belong to anyone.

我们遇到了一只美丽的金毛寻回犬，它显然受到了精心的照料，但没有项圈。它看起来特别友好，所以我们停下来和他玩，扔出一根棍子，它高兴地跑去衔回了好几次。当我们继续散步时，它跟在我们后面。尽管我担心它可能离家太远，但我不能否认我们很享受它的陪伴。我们感觉与这只可爱的狗立即产生了感情，甚至讨论到如果知道它不属于任何人，我们可以收养它。

After about twenty minutes， we found ourselves walking along a dirt road inan unfamiliar area， our golden friend still trotting7 beside us. Hilly grasslandssloped8 upward beyond a fence on one side of the road， and houses spacedcomfortably apart dotted the other. One house was almost hidden by tall trees. I feltsomething wrong as we passed it and felt an urge9 to be as far away from thatplace as possible.

大约二十分钟后，我们发现自己正沿着一条陌生区域的土路行走，我们金色的朋友仍在我们身边小跑。道路一侧的栅栏外是倾斜的丘陵草地，另一侧是间距适中的房屋。有一座房子，几乎被高大的树木遮蔽住了。当我们经过它时，我感觉不对劲，有一种尽可能远离那个地方的冲动。

Just then， the door to the house creaked open and five dogs rushed out，barking and growling10 as they ran toward us. I felt terrified and couldn’t move.There was nowhere to hide and no time to run.

就在这时，那座房子的门吱呀一声打开了，有五只狗冲了出来。它们一边吠叫着，咆哮着，一边向我们跑来。我感到害怕，无法动弹。我们没有地方躲藏，也没有时间逃跑。

All of a sudden， our new friend appeared between the dogs and us. He facedthem—all five of them—growling and baring11 his teeth. I was amazed to see theattacking dogs stop in their tracks ten feet away from him. Our protector held themthere while we escaped12， running quickly down the road. At a safe distance， welooked back and saw the five dogs heading back toward their house.

突然，我们的新朋友出现在那群狗和我们之间。它面对着它们，面对着它们五条狗，咆哮着，龇牙咧嘴。我惊讶地看到攻击我们的狗停在离它十英尺远的地方。我们的保护者把它们拦在那里，而我们则沿着公路快速逃跑。到了安全的距离，我们回头看，看到那五条狗正朝着它们的房子跑去。

But the Golden Retriever was nowhere in sight.

但是金毛寻回犬却不见踪影。

The road was quiet again.

路上又恢复了平静。

I felt an ache in my heart; I missed our friendalready. Instinctively13， I knew he was not hurt.

我感到一阵心痛；我已经很想念我们的朋友了。我凭直觉知道它没有受伤。

With a feeling of emptiness， we made our way back to the house， hoping the whole way that we would see our golden friend again. But it was not to be.

带着一种空虚的感觉，我们返回那座房子，希望一路上能再次见到我们金色的朋友，但事与愿违。

When I told our friend about the encounter14， her eyes flew wide open as she exclaimed，“It was an angel！ ”

当我告诉我们的朋友这次偶遇时，她眼睛睁得大大的，惊呼道：“它是一个天使！”

To this day I have no doubt. A four-legged angel protected us.

直到今天我都毫不怀疑。一个四条腿的天使保护了我们。

（英语原文选自：chickensoup.com）