英语沙龙短文TheOldManandtheDog老人与狗

The Old Man and the Dog

Saying goodbye to Meg was the hardest thing I„ve ever done．She‟d been part of my

life for so long，always there when I needed her．

Throughout the last fifteen years，she‟ d been my closest friend，sharing my joy and

sadness．

She‟d seen me marry and divorce，have two children，lose my mother and nurse my

father through a long illness．So much in one lifetime．

We buried her in her favourite corner of the garden，beneath the flowering cherry

tree．Matthew made a little cross out of wood and Laura carefully printed her name in red

crayon

1)

．

Friends are always full of good advice at times like that．Get another dog is one of the

favourites―but you can‟ t replace a friend like that．

My father had been left almost helpless after a stroke．I „ d nursed him back to health，

but I was beginning to feel that we„d taken a step backwards．

A month after Meg‟s passing，I took a tray

2)

into the garden for Dad．He liked to sit on the

bench in the sunshine．

“Tea and biscuits，Dad，”I said cheerfully．

He turned away，startled，but not before I‟d seen the tear on his cheek．

“What a lovely day，”I burbled，giving him time to compose himself．

“Yes Jill，”he said at last．“It‟ s beautiful．”

“Try to eat something，Dad．”

He sighed and looked up at the sky．

“The children will be home from school soon．”I smiled．“Then you‟ll have a fight on your

hands if you want a biscuit．”

He chuckled softly and I had to swallow the lump which had risen in my throat．

“I love you，Dad．”I rested my hand on his shoulder．“Please，don‟ t give up．”

“I don‟ t know what you mean．”He shrugged

3)

．

“Yes，you do．You‟ve fought every inch of the way，you were winning，too，but lately，

it‟s as if you‟ve just given up．”

He heaved a sigh and picked up a biscuit，nibbling at it before grinning at me．

Dad‟ s decline puzzled the doctor，too．

“I‟ m sorry．There‟s nothing physically wrong with your father，apart from what‟ s left over

from the stroke．And mentally，well，I really don‟t think there‟s anything to worry about

there．”

The doctor was right．Dad‟ s blood tests came back clear，and further tests showed

nothing wrong．He should have been continuing to get better―but he wasn‟ t．

I tried all kinds of new meals to tempt his failing appetite．I even persuaded him to come

for a drive in the car，but as soon as we got home，he‟d sink back into apathy and I„d think，

I„m losing him again．

What made it so much harder to bear was the fact that I remembered him so well as a

young man．He„d been so full of energy and life，carrying me on his shoulders，chasing me

around the park and catching me up in his arms．

He„s set off for a walk and always，always，I„d run out of the house behind him．He„d had

4)

such a zest for life that it broke my heart to see him now，sitting out in the garden，a blanket

over his knees，gazing miserably into space．

When he first came to live with us after the stroke，he‟ d been bed－ridden．I smiled as I

remembered how Meg had finally got hi m up．

Dear Meg．She‟d brought in a stick from the garden and trotted straight upstairs with it．

I followed her，wondering what on earth she was up to．She deposited the stick on Dad‟

s bed，then stepped back，wagging her tail like mad．

Dad lifted his head from the pillow．

“What‟s this？”

She barked ever so softly and nudged t he stick with her nose．

“For me？”Dad chuckled，reaching for it，but Meg was too quick and snatched the stick

back．

It turned into a game．Every time Dad tried to touch her stick，she whipped it away．At

last，she dropped it on the floor．T his time，Meg let him pick it up．

“Jill．”Dad shouted．“Jill．”

When I got to him he was laughing．

“Would you help me down the stairs？”he asked．“I‟ d like to sit out in the garden．I can

throw the stick for Meg．”

“Of course，Dad．”I‟ d been thrilled and from that moment on，he‟ d progressed in leaps

and bounds．

Meg had been a friend to me，a playmate to the children，but she‟ d been so much more

to Dad．She‟d been with him all the time，keeping him company for the hours he h ad to

spend alone．No wonder he‟d declined．He had time to sit and brood and think，an d sadness

had settled all around him．

The following day，I settled Dad in the garden and left the children playing under his

watchful eye．

“I won‟t be long，”I promised．“You‟ll be all right，Dad？If you want anything，Matthew can

get it for you．”

“Thanks，love．”Dad smiled．“Don‟ t worry．I „ ll keep an eye on things．”

I could never replace Meg，I knew that．But I could，perhaps，fill a void in Dad‟ s life．

I‟d never been to an animal home before and wasn‟t prepared for the shock．Not only dogs，

but cats，a couple of ponies，three pygmy goats and several rabbits wanted new homes．

Two sisters ran the place．Hardly aware of what I was doing，I found myself pouring out

my life story to them．

Babs，one of the two nurses，led me to t he end of the row of pens．There，in the very

end，I saw Sadie sitting in the corner．She wasn‟t sitting quietly．She was howling―a sad，

heart－broken noise．As soon as she saw us，she stopped and came over to me，staring a

t me through the wire．She seemed to be weighing me up．

When I poked my fingers through the bars，she shied

5

away from them．I spoke softly to

6)

her，coaxingher to come to me．After w hat seemed an age，she came forward and licked

my fingers．

“She‟ s very gentle，”I remarked，wondering how she would take to my noisy children．I‟d

already lost my heart to her in a way I never imagined possible．

“Her owners moved away，”Babs said．“They put her in boarding kennels，saying they‟d

be back in a week but they never returned．She won‟ t give her trust easily，but if she‟s given

enough love―well，who knows ？”

“How cruel．”I gasped．“How could they？”

“Oh，it could have been a lot worse，”Babs continued．“She was never physically hurt，

but her confidence has taken a terrible battering．She needs constant reassurance and can‟ t

bear to be alone．”