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　　IN THIS ARTICLE: A pet donkey was a good way to make money and have a lot of fun back in the'20s.-Editor
　　My older brother,Floyd,was always trying to find ways to earn money.
　　[2] We lived in East Denver,Colorado in the 1920s. When I was 8,Floyd somehow became the owner of a donkey whose name was"Babe".
　　[3] Babe never moved too fast.Floyd built a two-wheeled cart for his * lawn mower（注：割草機）and Babe pulled the cart around town as Floyd looked for lawns to mow. Floyd made a little money and used the grass to feed Babe.
　　[4] Babe was kept in our backyard,but we had no lawn,only dirt.In fact,my younger sister,Ellender,and I used to * play house（注：模仿大人做家務（一種兒童游戲），俗稱“過家家”）out there every day by watering the dirt down,then * marking off（注：劃線標示）"rooms".
　　 A Big Jackrabbit（注：（北美西部的）長耳大兔）?
　　[5] Our father even made us furniture out of apple boxes and scrap lumber.We "baked" mud pies in the sun and the neighbors kids also came to play.But one morning,all that changed.
　　[6] Mother was cooking breakfast when Ellender looked out the kitchen window."Mama! Mama!"she yelled."There's a big jackrabbit in our yard!"
　　[7] Mother came to the window."Oh,* my gosh（注：（表示驚奇）我的天啊）,"Mother exclaimed.That "jackrabbit"was Babe's baby donkey!
　　[8] Floyd immediately named him "Curly" for his curly hair,and when we finally got close enough to touch him-he became our friend.
　　[9] Curly loved kids...and attention. He was a fast learner,and we taught him to play hide-and-seek.Curly would come searching and braying（注：bray（驢）叫）to find us.
　　[10] We also played a game out on the sidewalk（注：=pavement人行道）by running as fast as we could,with Curly chasing us.Before Curly could catch up,we'd run behind a tree.(He couldn't stop fast and we didn't want him running into us.)
　　[11] That game ended when Curly came running down the block and * knocked down（注：knock down 把……撞倒在地）old Mrs.Schmultz,who just happened to be coming out of her house.
　　[12] One time,we put on a show starring Curly and charged the neighbor kids a penny each.They all got to greet Curly and pet（注：愛撫；撫弄）him,then I ran through the yard to"get him started".He bucked（注：buck 突然躍起）and put on a show like you've never seen.
　　[13] The kids loved it and screamed and hollered（注：holler（俚）（為了引起對方注意或遇到痛苦時）叫喊）.The more noise they made,the more Curly acted up.
　　[14] Curly liked to play.Every morning he'd come and bray at our bedroom window to get us to come out.
　　[15] One time,he tried to play with Dad,who was on his knees putting a tire on a rim.Curly * backed up（注：back up 往后退）to Dad and kicked him with both feet,sending Dad flying over the tire.
　　[16] Curly would follow Floyd and Babe all over town when they went out to cut lawns,and he performed for anyone he saw along the way.
　　[17] Floyd also found another way to make money,selling somc of Babe's milk to two families whose children had * whooping cough（注：百日咳）.At the time,donkey milk was believed to help cure the childhood disease.
　　Dressed for Success
　　[18] Babe and Curly earned quite a reputation around town and there were some offers to buy them.Floyd wouldn't sell,but that didn't stopa couple of scofflaws（注：無視法律的人）.One rainy night,Dad heard Babe braying.He called Floyd,grabbed his gun and they ran out to the alley（注：小巷；小徑）,still in their long johns（注：長睡褲和睡衣）.
　　[19] Two men were leading Babe down the muddy alley,with Curly following.Dad fired into the air.One man slipped and fell in the mud,then both men dropped the rope and started running.
　　[20] Dad and Floyd chased them but quit when the men disappeared through some yards.Of course,they still had to walk back home.Picture two men in long johns walking down the street at 1 a.m.,covered in mud,and one carrying a gun!
　　[21] Just as they passed under a streetlight,a young man and his date（注：男女間約會對象，此處指女友）drove by in a Model T.As soon as he saw them,the man * stepped on the gas（注：step on the gas 踩油門）and sped up the street!
　　[22] The next night at the corner store,where the young men used to gather and visit,one of them related the story about seeing two crazy guys in their underwear,covered with mud and carrying a gun.Floyd had a good laugh,then explained what it was all about.
　　[23] When summer came to an end,Curly was getting pretty big.Floyd had gotten a job at a grocery store,so it was decided that Babe and Curly needed a new home.
　　[24] The American Legion ran an ad in the paper wanting to buy donkeys.So,Babe and Curly were tied to the back of our Chevy and taken across town,where we bid them good-bye.They were gone,but never forgotten.
　　本文簡介：20世紀20年代，一只寵物驢可以很好地用來賺錢，而且帶給人們許多樂趣。　　　　　　　　　　—編者
　　我哥哥弗洛伊德總是千方百計地想路子賺錢。
　　[2]20世紀20年代，我們住在科羅拉多州的東丹佛。我8歲時，弗洛伊德不知怎的有了一頭驢，并取名為“寶貝”。
　　[3]寶貝行動不是很敏捷。弗洛伊德做了一輛雙輪車，用來裝割草機。他讓寶貝拖著那車在市鎮里轉悠，尋找要修整草坪的人家。弗洛伊德賺了一點錢，并用割下來的草喂養寶貝。
　　[4]我們將寶貝養在后院，但我們沒有草坪，只有爛泥地。其實，我和妹妹埃倫德每天都在那里玩“過家家”的游戲，我們用水把爛泥沖掉，然后劃線標出“房間”。
　　一只大野兔？
　　[5]我們的父親甚至還用裝蘋果的盒子和小塊木頭為我們做了家具。我們用爛泥做餡餅并放在太陽下“烤”，鄰家的孩子們也來玩耍。但是，一天早上，一切全變了樣。
　　[6]媽媽正在做早飯的時候，埃倫德從廚房的窗口向外瞧。她喊叫著：“媽媽！媽媽！咱們的院子里有一只很大的野兔！”
　　[7]媽媽來到窗戶邊上，驚叫道：“啊，我的天啊！”那只“大野兔”原來是寶貝產下的小驢！
　　[8]弗洛伊德馬上給小驢取了個名字叫“卷毛”，因為它的毛發都卷曲著。當我們最終走近它能夠撫摸到它時，它就成了我們的朋友。
　　[9]卷毛喜歡小孩……也喜歡人們關心它。它學東西很快，我們就教它玩捉迷藏的游戲。卷毛會來尋找我們，一邊叫著一邊把我們找到。
　　[10]我們還玩一種室外游戲，就是我們在人行道上盡可能地快跑，讓卷毛來追我們。在卷毛追上我們之前，我們就在一棵樹的后面跑。（它不能很快地停下來，我們又不想讓它撞到我們身上。）
　　[11]有一次，當卷毛跑過這個街區，撞倒了剛剛從屋子里走出來的斯瑪爾茲老太太，我們這個游戲才告結束。
　　[12]有一段時間，我們讓卷毛表演節目并向鄰家的孩子們收費，每人1美分。他們都來向卷毛打招呼，撫摸它；然后，我穿過院子，“要它開始表演”。它會猛然弓背躍起，進行你從來沒有見過的表演。
　　[13]孩子們很喜歡這種表演，他們喊著，尖叫著。孩子們鬧得越兇，卷毛就表演得越起勁。
　　[14]卷毛喜歡玩耍。每天早上它都會來到我們臥室的窗外叫著，要我們出來。
　　[15]有一次，它想和我爸玩，當時我爸正跪著在輪圈上裝輪胎。卷毛朝我爸倒退過去，用兩只蹄子踢他，結果使我爸從輪胎上翻了過去。
　　[16]弗洛伊德和寶貝到鎮上去修剪草坪時，卷毛就跟著去。一路上，它看見誰就給誰表演。
　　[17]弗洛伊德又發現了另一種賺錢的方法，那就是將寶貝的乳汁賣一些給孩子患了百日咳的兩個家庭。那年月，人們相信驢奶可以治療兒童的疾病。
　　如此裝束是為了捉拿竊賊
　　[18]寶貝和卷毛在我們市鎮一帶頗有名氣，有些人提出要買它們。弗洛伊德不肯賣，但他制止不了三兩個不守法律的人來偷。一個雨夜，我爸聽見寶貝在叫。他喚醒弗洛伊德，抓起槍，和弗洛伊德跑到小巷里，兩人還穿著長長的睡褲和睡衣。
　　[19]有兩個人正牽著寶貝走在泥濘的小巷里，卷毛在后面跟著。我爸朝天空放了一槍。有個人滑倒在泥里，然后，那兩個人扔掉了繩子開始逃跑。
　　[20]我爸和弗洛伊德追趕了一陣，到他們跑出幾碼遠看不見人影就不追了。父子倆當然還得走回家。當時的情景是：兩個穿著長睡衣和睡褲的人凌晨1點鐘在街上走，渾身是泥，其中一個還扛著一桿槍！
　　[21]正當他們在一盞街燈下走過時，有個小伙子和他的女朋友開著一輛T型車經過那里。小伙子一見到他們，就踩著油門，加速駛過了那條街。
　　[22]第二天晚上，在年輕人常來聚會的街角小店里，有個人在講故事，說是看見兩個穿著內衣的狂人，渾身是泥，還扛著一桿槍。弗洛伊德不禁好一陣大笑，然后解釋了那到底是怎么一回事。
　　[23]夏天快要過去時，卷毛已經長得相當大了。弗洛伊德在一家雜貨店里謀到了一個差事，于是，決定要為寶貝和卷毛尋找一個新家。
　　[24]美國兵團在報紙上刊登廣告，說他們要買驢。所以，我們就把寶貝和卷毛綁在我們的雪弗萊牌汽車后面，把它們送到市鎮的另一邊去，在那里告別了它們。它們雖然走了，但永遠不會被我們忘記。
英語世界京G381中學外語教與學埃斯特·波特20022002黃席群謝瓊Curly:An Unforgettable FriendBy Esther Porter 作者：英語世界京G381中學外語教與學埃斯特·波特20022002黃席群

網載 2013-09-10 21:42:26

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