The Stone Dog

 　　In Puerto Rico many years ago near the Condado Lagoon¹, there lived a poor fisherman. He lived alone in a hut. His only companion（同伴）was his dog.

　　The fisherman and his dog were devoted² to each other. They might be seen strolling（散步)on the white sandy beach. Or they might be seen coming through the tangle³ of vines（草藤丛）along the road that led to San Juan. However, there was one place where nobody saw them together. That was in the fisherman's boat. The man never took the dog along with him.

　　But the dog was always beside his master as the fisherman made his little boat ready to sail（航行）.When the man pulled out to sea each morning, the dog would scamper（奔跑）up on the high ridge⁴（山岭）that separated the Condado Lagoon from the open sea. There he would sit and watch all day. The dog never moved until late afternoon when he saw the little boat return. Then he would race back to the shore to greet his master. And together the man and the dog would set off for（动身去）San Juan to sell the fresh－caught（刚捕到的）fish.

　　As the years went by, the fisherman grew older. So did the faithful dog. The fisherman still went out to sea. The dog still watched for his return, sitting on the high ridge above the lagoon.

　　One morning early in September, the fisherman was getting his little boat ready. All at once（突然）the dog began to bark and howl（号叫）. He circled around the fisherman and tugged（扯）at his trousers. The fisherman could not remember when he had seen his dog act so strangely. He patted the dog's back, thinking the dog wanted to play. But nothing made any difference. The dog kept barking. The fisherman laughed and continued getting ready. Finally he gave the dog another pat. Then the man climbed into the boat and sailed away. The dog went to his watching place, still barking and howling.

　　There were other fishing boats out that morning. The sky was blue and the breeze soft and fresh.

　　Suddenly the soft breeze changed. It began to blow wildly. The fisherman's boat was seized by the wind and whirled⁵ around（随风旋转）.The sky darkened. Rain began to fall.

　　″It's a hurricane（飓风）！″said the fisherman.″A hurricane blowing onshore（向着海岸）！″The man thought of his dog at once. Had the dog left the ridge and run home？Or was he still sitting there？The fisherman tried to steer（驾驶）his boat and turn it toward the shore. Suddenly a great wave swept over his head and tossed⁶ the boat away（卷走）.

　　When dawn（黎明）came next morning, the hurricane was over. The sky was blue once more. The sea was so calm it was hard to believe it was the same sea that had roared（咆哮）and raged（狂暴）the night before. When the sun rose over the mountains, the families of the other fishermen ran to the shore. They watched for（盼望）the return of the boats. They waited and waited, but no one returned.

　　Then the people went slowly back to their homes to endure their grief（悲痛）and start a new life. As they rebuilt their village, no one gave a thought to the fisherman's dog.

　　Several months later a group of villagers was out gathering⁷ sea grapes(海葡萄). They noticed what appeared to be the figure of dog sitting high on the ridge above the lagoon（高坐在咸水湖上面的山岭上）.

　　″Look,″said one.″Isn't that the old fisherman's dog？″

　　″How could it be, after all this time？″said another.

　　To prove his point, the first man climbed the ragged（崎岖不平的）stony ridge to get hold of（抓住）the dog. But when he reached the spot, he found only a rock－－a rock shaped like a dog. The man came down quickly. But as soon as the people looked up again, they saw the stone dog. His head was held high. His body was alert（警觉的）, as if ready to spring into the sea. He just sat there on top of the ridge, waiting, waiting…

　　And there he sits today for anyone to see.

1 lagoon   

n.泻湖，咸水湖

参考例句：

• The lagoon was pullulated with tropical fish.那个咸水湖聚满了热带鱼。
• This area isolates a restricted lagoon environment.将这一地区隔离起来使形成一个封闭的泻湖环境。

2 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

3 tangle   

n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱

参考例句：

• I shouldn't tangle with Peter.He is bigger than me.我不应该与彼特吵架。他的块头比我大。
• If I were you, I wouldn't tangle with them.我要是你，我就不跟他们争吵。

4 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

5 whirled   

v.（使）飞快移动，使旋转( whirl的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Leaves whirled in the wind. 落叶在风中旋转。
• A tornado whirled into the town last week. 龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 tossed   

v.（轻轻或漫不经心地）扔( toss的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）摇荡；摇匀；（为…）掷硬币决定

参考例句：

• I tossed the book aside and got up. 我把书丢在一边，站了起来。
• He angrily tossed his tools and would work no longer. 他怒气冲冲地扔下工具不肯再干了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。