A Friend In Need
患难真情
Brownie and Spotty were neighbor dogs who met every day to play together. Like pairs of dogs you can find in any neighborhood, these two loved each other and played together so often that they had worn a path through the grass of the field between their respective houses.
布朗尼和斯波蒂是一对邻居家的狗，每天都会在一块儿玩耍。像几乎能在任何社区找到的成对的狗一样，它们俩互相爱慕，常在一起玩耍嬉戏，两家之间的草地上都已被它们踏出了一条小径。
One evening, Brownie's family noticed that Brownie hadn't returned home. They went looking for him with no success. Brownie didn't show up the next day, and, despite their efforts to find him, by the next week he was still missing.
一天傍晚，布朗尼的主人一家发现它没有回家，便出去寻找，但却没有找到它。第二天，布朗尼依然没有露面。尽管他们努力找寻，然而，到了第二周，布朗尼还是不见踪影。
说来奇怪，斯波蒂独自出现在了布朗尼的主人家里。它吠叫，哀嚎，还总是缠着家里的人，但是人们只顾忙于自己的生活，没有理会邻居家这只神经质的小狗。
Curiously, Spotty showed up at Brownies house alone. Barking, whining and generally pestering Brownie's human family. Busy with their own lives, they just ignored the nervous little neighbor dog.
一天早上，斯波蒂终于拒绝接受“不”的回答。布朗尼的主人特德被这只狂怒固执的小狗骚扰个不停。斯波蒂到处跟着特德，并且汪汪地叫个不停，之后它窜到近处空地上，又窜回来，似乎在说：“跟我来!有紧急情况!”
最后，特德跟着发狂的斯波蒂穿过空地，斯波蒂则停下跑回来，鼓励般地吠叫着。这只小狗领着特德走过一棵树，穿过树丛，来到距离房子半英里处的一块荒芜的土地上。就在那儿，特德发现了他心爱的布朗尼，它还活着，一条后腿被一个钢制捕捉器夹住了。看到这一情景，特德大为震惊，他多么希望自己早点认真地对待斯波蒂当初的求助啊！接着，特德看到了非同寻常的一幕。
斯波蒂所做的远远不只是带领布朗尼的主人来到它被困的朋友跟前。在受伤的布朗尼周围，特德发现有一排狗食和餐桌上的残羹剩饭，原来这些是那个星期斯波蒂每餐剩下的食物!
Finally, one morning Spotty refused to take “no” for an answer. Ted, Brownie's owner, was steadily harassed by the furious, adamant little dog. Spotty followed Ted about, barking insistently, then darting toward a nearby empty lot and back, as if to say, “Follow me!It's urgent!”
Eventually, Ted followed the frantic Spotty across the empty lot as Spotty paused to race back and bark encouragingly. The little dog led the man under a tree, past clumps of trees, to a desolate spot a half mile from the house. There Ted found his beloved Brownie alive, one of his hind legs crushed in a steel leghold trap. Horrified, Ted now wished he'd taken Spotty's earlier appeals seriously. Then Ted noticed something quite remarkable.
Spotty had done more than simply led Brownie's human owner to his trapped friend. In a circle around the injured dog, Ted found an array of dog food and table scraps which were later identified as the remains of every meal Spotty had been fed that week!
斯波蒂一直定期来看望布朗尼，它不惜牺牲自己的舒适生活，一心一意要让朋友活下来。很显然，斯波蒂一直坚守在布朗尼身旁，保护它免遭其他肉食动物的侵袭，夜间则依偎着它为它驱寒，还用鼻子拱它以振作它的精神。
Spotty had been visiting Brownie regularly, in a single minded quest to keep his friend alive by sacrificing his own comfort. Spotty had evidently stayed with Brownie to protect him from predators, snuggling with him at night to keep him warm and nuzzling him to keep his spirits up.
布朗尼康复了。自那以后的许多年中，两家人经常会看到这一对忠实的朋友嬉戏玩耍，在两家之间踩出小径的草地上相互追逐。
Brownie recovered. For many years thereafter, the two families watched the faithful friends frolicking and chasing each other down that well worn path between their houses.
不论发生什么事情，我们都应该忠实于我们的朋友，帮助他们摆脱困境。只有这样，我们才能交到真正的朋友，也才能成为别人真正的朋友。
No matter what occurs, we should be loyal to our friends and help them out of trouble. Only in this way can we make true friends and be true friends to others.
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