大家好，我是Fiona老师。
今天我们英语阅读系列要学习的是这篇文章 The Faithful Mongoose 忠诚的猫鼬。
这只猫鼬发生了什么样的事情呢，又为什么说它很忠诚呢？快来一起阅读一下吧！
Once there lived a kind Brahmin in a small village with his wife. They had a little son. One day, as he was returning home from a nearby village, he came across a baby mongoose crying next to its mother’s dead body.
“Oh! poor creature," thought the Brahmin. “If I leave it here it will surely die." He picked it up and took it home with him.
“Gowri, I found this little creature on my way home. Let us take care of him," he said to his wife. “Very well along with our son, I will take care of the mongoose also," replied his wife.
The mongoose grew up with a lot of love and care in the Brahmin’s house. He slept next to the Brahmin’s son in the cradle, drank milk and played with the boy everyday. The baby mongoose’s days were full of joy in the Brahmin’s house. As both the boy and the mongoose grew up, their friendship changed to a relationship between two brothers.
The mongoose grew up fast and as days went by, the Brahmin’s wife began to get doubts in her mind. “After all, this is a wild animal. Sooner or later it will show its true colours," she thought to herself. She put the mongoose’s bed separately and would watch him carefully when ever he played with her son.
One day when the Brahmin was away. Gowri decided to go to the river to fetch a pot of water. She looked around and saw her son sound asleep in his cradle. The mongoose was also asleep on the floor at the foot of the cradle. This should take only a few moments I hope I can trust that mongoose not to harm my little son," she said to herself and after a final look at them both she hurried down to the river.
Suddenly, the mongoose woke up with a start. He had heard a very faint noise. Looking up, the mongoose saw a large black snake crawling in through a hole in the wall.
“The snake will harm my brother. Mother and father are away. I will have to protect my little brother," thought the mongoose, as the snake came slithering towards the cradle.
The brave little mongoose pounced on the huge black snake. After a long, ferocious fight, the little mongoose finally managed to kill the snake.
Just then, he heard the Brahmin’s wife returning. Joyfully, he ran out to meet his mother and tried telling her through his little animal signs that he had protected his little brother from a dreadful snake.
But as soon as Gowri saw blood on the mongoose’s mouth and paws, she thought, “This wretched animal has killed my little son." In a fit of anger the Brahmin’s wife threw the pot full of water on the mongoose killing him instantly.
Entering the house with a heavy heart, she was amazed to see her little son lying in his cradle still deep in sleep. On the floor was a huge black snake with its ugly head bitten off.
“Oh what have I done," cried the Brahmin’s wife. “I killed that faithful little mongoose who saved the life of my precious son."
从前，有一个婆罗门，他和妻子在一个小村庄里住。他们有一个小儿子。有一天，当他从附近的村庄回家时，他发现一只婴儿猫鼬在它母亲的尸体旁边哭。
“哦！可怜的家伙，“婆罗门心想。“如果我把它放在这儿，它肯定会死的。”他把它捡起来，带回家。
“Gowri，我在回家的路上发现了这个小动物。“我们来照顾他吧，”他对妻子说。“很好，连同我们的儿子，我也会照顾猫鼬，”他的妻子回答。
猫鼬在婆罗门的家里长大了，充满了爱和关怀。他睡在婆罗门儿子的摇篮里，每天喝牛奶，和男孩一起玩耍。小猫鼬的日子在婆罗门家里充满了欢乐。当男孩和猫鼬长大后，他们的友谊变成了两兄弟之间的关系。
猫鼬长得很快，随着日子的过去，婆罗门的妻子开始在心中产生疑虑。“毕竟，这是一种野生动物。她迟早会明白自己的真实面目。她把猫鼬的床分开，当他和儿子玩耍时，他会仔细地看着他。
有一天，婆罗门不见了。古里决定去河边取一壶水。她环顾四周，看见儿子在摇篮里睡着了。猫鼬也在摇篮脚下的地板上睡着了。“这只需要几分钟的时间，我希望我能相信猫鼬不会伤害我的小儿子，”她自言自语，最后看了他们一眼后，她急忙跑到河边。
突然，猫鼬惊醒了。他听到微弱的声音。看了看，猫鼬看到一条巨大的黑蛇从墙上的洞里爬进来。
蛇会伤害我弟弟的。爸爸妈妈不在家。“我必须保护我的小弟弟，”猫鼬想，当蛇悄悄地向摇篮走来时。
勇敢的小猫鼬扑向那条巨大的黑蛇。经过长时间的激烈搏斗，小猫鼬终于成功地杀死了那条蛇。
就在这时，他听到婆罗门的妻子回来了。他高兴地跑出来迎接他的母亲，并试图通过他的小动物的迹象告诉他，他保护他的小弟弟从一条可怕的蛇。
但当Gowri看到猫鼬嘴巴和爪子上的血迹时，她想：“这只可怜的动物杀死了我的小儿子。”愤怒的婆罗门妻子立刻把水壶扔到猫鼬身上，立即杀死了他。
她心情沉重地走进屋子，惊奇地发现她的小儿子躺在摇篮里，还在熟睡中。地板上有一条巨大的黑蛇，丑陋的头被咬掉了。
“哦，我做了什么，”婆罗门的妻子叫道。“我杀了那个忠实的小猫鼬，它救了我的宝贝儿子的命。”
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