Cats and Dogs
---Story by V.Gilbert Beers
Mother says my brother and I fight like cats and dogs. But I guess I didn't know how cats and dogs fight. So I decided to watch Kitty and Puppy.
The other night I stayed up late to watch how Kitty and Puppy fight when I go to bed. I thought they would put on little boxing gloves. I wanted to see if they fight that way. But they didn't fight at all. Puppy opened an eye once and looked at Kitty when she yawned. I think he wanted to be sure she was okay. Kitty yawned once. She opened one eye andlooked at Puppy. I guess she wanted to be sure he was okay, too. Maybe I should watch my brother more to be sure he's okay.
This morning I accidentally stepped on Puppy's tail. He yelped a little yelp and crawled into the corner. Kitty went over and rubbed against him. I think she was purring. Do you think she wanted to make him feel better? Maybe I should help my brother feel better each time he gets hurt.
When I came home from school, my brother and I played ball. Kitty and Puppy played ball with us, too. My brother and I argued a couple of times. We even said some things brothers and sisters shouldn't say to each other. But Kitty and Puppy didn't argue. They didn't say one mean word to each other. Maybe my brother and I should watch how Kitty and Puppy play. Maybe we could learn some good thing from them.
This afternoon I talked with Mother. I toldher what I had learned from Kitty and Puppy. Mother smiled and said she could be wrong. Maybe my brother and I don't like cats and dogs. Maybe we fight like brothers and sisters. And maybe, just maybe, we could learn some more good things from Kitty and Puppy.
译文:( 翻译仅供参考, 欢迎交流)
妈妈说弟弟和我打起架来像猫和狗一样。但是,我不知道猫和狗是如何打架的。所以我决定去观察一下小猫Kitty和小狗Puppy。
一天晚上,我熬夜去看Kitty和Puppy打架。我以为他们会戴上小小的拳击手套,我想看看他们是否是以这种拳击的方式打架。但是他们根本没有打。小猫Kitty打着哈欠时,小狗Puppy睁开一只眼睛看着她,我想他是想确定她没事。小猫Kitty打了一个哈欠并睁开眼睛看着小狗Puppy,我猜她是想确保他也没事。也许,我应该多看看我弟弟以确保他没事。
今天早上,我不小心踩到了小狗Puppy的尾巴。他尖叫了一声就爬到角落里去了。小猫Kitty走了过去,望他身上蹭了蹭并咕噜地叫着。你认为她是想让他感觉好些吗?也许,在我的弟弟每次受伤时,我也应该帮助他感觉好一些。
当我放学回家时,我弟弟和我一起玩球。小猫Kitty和小狗Puppy也和我们一起玩耍。我和弟弟争吵了几次,我们甚至说了一些兄弟姐妹之间不应该说的话。但是小猫Kitty和小狗Puppy却没有争吵,他们相互之间没有说一句难听的话。也许我弟弟和我应该看看小猫Kitty和小狗Puppy是怎样在一起玩耍的,也许我们可以从他们那里学到一些好的东西。
今天下午我和妈妈聊天。我告诉她我从小猫Kitty和小狗Puppy那里学到的东西。母亲笑了,并说她可能错了,也许我弟弟和我并不是像猫和狗一样打架,而只是像兄弟姐妹一样打斗。也许,只是也许,我们可以从小猫Kitty和小狗Puppy那里学习到更多好的东西。
注释:
V·吉尔伯特·比尔斯为美国著名的儿童书籍作家。他的许多书深受孩子们的喜爱。这里的文章皆选自于女儿在国外上小学时学校采用的该作者的阅读书籍。