听爷爷讲那过去的事：一只不安于be himself的狗

　　We always suspected Granddad was unusual. There always was a bit of a mystery about his past. But when we got on his lap and he told us about things that happened when he was a little boy, well, somehow we knew it was all true.

　　我们一直觉得爷爷非常不寻常，他的过去总显得有点神秘。但直到有一次我们围坐在他的大腿上，听他讲自己小时候的事情时，我们才知道事实确实如此。

　　"Let me just tell you about when I was your age," Granddad would say. "Things were much different than now for you children" "How, Granddad? How?" I begged. I loved Granddad's stories. "Well, Steven, in a lot of ways, but for one thing, when I was a child, all the animals could talk."

　　爷爷说：“我给你们讲一讲我小时候的事情。”“我像你们这么大时遇到的事情与你们现在的差别很大”“有什么差别，爷爷？有什么差别？”我央求爷爷继续讲下去。我非常爱听爷爷讲的故事。“好吧，史蒂文，差别在很多方面。我们先从一件事情讲起吧——我小时候，所有动物都会说话。”

　　"No way, Granddad," Susannah nit-picked. "Yes, Susanna, and the animal that seemed to have the most to say was Rex." "Your dog, Rex, Granddad?" Harrison asked. "That's the one. Why, I remember one day when Rex came to me and told me he wasn't satisfied being a dog?"

　　“这不可能，爷爷，”苏珊娜挑剔地指出。“它们真的会说，苏珊娜，其中话最多的似乎是雷克斯。”“是您的那只狗雷克斯吗，爷爷？”哈里森问道。“没错，就是他。记得有一天雷克斯来到我身边，告诉我他对自己的生活感到不满，不想再做一只狗了。”

　　"Was it the dog food, Granddad? Didn't you give him good things to eat?" I wondered. "No, it wasn't the dog food. Seems Rex had been looking around, at other animals, at humans, even at other dogs, and he just wasn't satisfied."

　　“是狗粮的问题吗，爷爷？您不给他好东西吃吗？”我好奇地问道。“不是狗粮的事儿。似乎雷克斯之前一直在四处观望，观察其他动物、人类，甚至其他狗的生活，他只是感到对自己的生活不满意而已。”

　　"What did you tell him, Granddad?" Jenny asked. "Well, I didn't tell him anything, Jenny. I learned that Rex does better if he learns lessons himself. Just like you children do. Seems Rex had been to the circus, snuck under the tent and had seen the high wire act. That's what Rex wanted to be—a high wire trapeze artist, walking on the wire."

　　“那您是怎么回答他的，爷爷？”珍妮问道。“嗯，我什么也没说，珍妮。我了解，如果让雷克斯亲自去学习经验教训，应该会对他更有好处。就像你们这些孩子们一样。后来，雷克斯好像去了趟马戏团。他躲在马戏团的帐篷下，看到了踩钢丝表演。这就是雷克斯想要的——做一名空中飞人踩钢丝演员。”

　　"But dogs can't walk on wire, Granddad," Susanna noted. "It's already hard for them to hold the balancing pole in their paws." "Well, that's right, and when he tried it by walking on the back of the couch, well, he fell right off and yipped and yipped and yipped."

　　“但是，狗狗不会踩钢丝啊，爷爷，”苏珊娜指出。“如何用爪子拿住平衡杆已经足够难倒他们了。”“没错，当他试着在沙发靠背上走两步时，就直接跌了下来，然后就是不停地尖叫，不停地尖叫。

　　We all laughed. "Well, that didn't seem to teach him his lesson, children, so he tried something new. This time he had been in the garden and it seems he had been chatting with a snake. Apparently, the snake bragged a lot and convinced Rex he should become a snake."

　　我们全都大笑起来。“他似乎没有从中吸取什么教训，孩子们，于是他又开始尝试一些新的东西。这一次，他来到了花园里，好像在那里与一条蛇聊了会儿天。 显然，那条蛇对他说了很多大话，并让雷克斯确信自己应该成为一条蛇。”

　　"Granddad!" Harrison spoke up. "Dogs cannot be snakes!" He poked Granddad as he lectured him. "They would have trouble making that hissing sound."

　　“爷爷！”哈里森大声说道。“狗不可能成为蛇！”，他比比划划地向爷爷讲解着，“他们很难发出嘶嘶的声音。”

　　"Yes, and Harrison, when Rex practiced slithering, he accidentally wrapped himself around the toilet and could not get out of the bathroom for a while." "What did you do, Granddad, did you leave him there?" wondered Jenny.

　　“是的，哈里森，当雷克斯练习像蛇一样在地上爬行时，不小心把自己缠在了马桶上，被困在卫生间里好长时间。”“那然后呢？您怎么做的，爷爷？把他自己留在那里了吗？”珍妮好奇地问道。

　　"Well, no, your Grandma was pretty crafty with her knitting needles. No need to go into details, but after some additional yelping we got him out. He was pretty embarrassed about that episode; I can tell you that. Rex told me later that he felt that the snake project was poorly planned, but he knew for sure what he was going to be."

　　“没有啊，你们奶奶的织针手艺很棒的。但具体我们怎么做的就不多说了，反正在他的一阵尖叫声后，我们把他救了出来。我可以告诉你们的是，他对这段插曲感到非常尴尬。雷克斯后来告诉我，他觉得变成蛇的项目计划得不够周密，但他现在毫无疑问地知道自己想要成为什么了。”

　　"What did he decide, Granddad?" Harrison wanted to know. "Well, Rex had been watching TV, and he decided he wanted to be Miss America."

　　“他做了什么决定，爷爷？”哈里森想知道个究竟。“好吧，雷克斯当时一直在看电视，于是他决定要成为‘美国小姐'。”

　　"MISS AMERICA???" Jenny objected. "But REX is a boy dog!" "That was a drawback," Granddad admitted. "But Granddad," Susanna interrupted, "does he know about the swimsuit competition?"

　　珍妮反驳说：“但雷克斯是一只男狗啊！”“这确实是一个不利条件，”爷爷承认说。“还有，爷爷，”苏珊娜插嘴说，“他了解泳装秀是怎么回事吗？”

　　"Well, children that was a problem. When we got it on him, Rex not only looked silly, it slowed him down when he chased squirrels. Finally, it was Grandma who talked some sense into him."

　　“嗯，孩子们，这是个问题。当我们帮他穿上泳装时，雷克斯不仅看起来傻兮兮的，而且追松鼠时的速度都变慢了。最终还是奶奶劝说他放弃了这个念头。

　　"Grandma could speak dog?" Harrison was amazed. "Oh, fluently. She finally sat him down, got him a cup of tea and explained to him what you all know, don't you children?" "Yes, he has to be himself. That's how you get people to like you—be yourself, Granddad." I instructed. "Did she teach him to use his natural talents?"

　　“奶奶会说狗的语言？！”哈里森很惊讶。“嗯，还很流利呢。最后，奶奶让他坐了下来，给他一杯茶，向他解释了你们都知道的道理，没错吧孩子们？”“是的，他应该做他自己。要想让别人喜欢你——必须做你自己。”我回答道。“奶奶教他利用自己的天赋了吗？”

　　"Yes, Steven, she did. She showed him that we loved him for what he was already good at." "What was Rex good at, Granddad?" wondered Susanna. "Oh, scratching himself, barking, frightening squirrels. He was a very talented dog."

　　“是的，史蒂文，奶奶这样做了。奶奶告诉他，我们爱他正是因为他所擅长的。”“那，爷爷，雷克斯擅长什么啊？”苏珊娜好奇地问道。“哦，为自己抓痒痒、汪汪叫、吓唬松鼠。嗯，他是一只很有才华的狗。”

　　"A talking dog? Can that possibly be true, Granddad?" wondered Harrison. "It could possibly, Harry. Just possibly." "I wish Rex and Grandma didn't die, Granddad," said Jenny sadly. "Oh, they are together right now Jenny," Granddad said whimsically. "In Heaven, Granddad?" She brightened up. "Oh, no, Jenny. Not in heaven. Grandma and Rex aren't dead. They are just together. In another place. And it isn't far from here, children. Would you like to go see them?" "YEAH!!!!!!" All of us cheered. And we meant it, too.

　　“一只会说话的狗？这可能是真的吗，爷爷？”哈里森好奇地问。“有可能的，哈利。但只是可能而已。”“要是雷克斯和奶奶都没有死该多好啊，爷爷，”珍妮悲伤地说。“哦，他们现在在一起呢，珍妮，”爷爷用古怪的语气说道。“他们在天堂吗，爷爷？”珍妮变得高兴起来。“哦，珍妮，他们不在天堂。奶奶和雷克斯都没有死。他们只是在一起，住在另一个地方，这个地方离我们并不太远。你们想去看看他们吗？“当然想！！！！！”我们都欢呼了起来。我们确实也想去见见他们。