我的狗狗让我失望了

文/By+Tait+Trussell+译/乔文献

My dog let me down. Or so it seemed. I know that man's best friend is above reproach1）. And I may have just made a false accusation. But let me tell you exactly what happened.

A few hundred yards behind our property in northwestern Michigan， there's the start of an alluring2） trail. Its floor is coated with pine needles. Mixed deciduous3） and pine woods stand on either side. This trail is one of hundreds of old logging roads and newer snowmobile paths that wind through untold miles of forest. My dog—Beans by name—and I walk the trail frequently. Normally， we saunter4） along this one trail for half a mile， then turn right on another trail for about a mile. By this amount of time spent， Beans has sniffed at ferns5） and other flora6） and has ducked into the woods alongside the trail several times to follow the scent of a deer track or investigate some cause known only to him—as beagles7） do.

Beans is a vigorous8） 30-pound black and white dog with a brown head. He is quite handsome and very intelligent （taking after his adoptive "father"）. He can shake hands. He can jump through a hoop. And he loves classical music， which quickly puts him to sleep. He not only understands what we tell him， but he also often makes sounds as if he were trying to speak back. Am I being buffaloed9） by my love for him？ Maybe so.

On this particular fateful day， we started our walk before 9 a.m. Narrow patches of sunlight shone through the trees and lit the trail.

On this day， we took a different route which led us to a different and unfamiliar trail. Beans sniffed and darted back and forth. I was sure this trail would lead us to one that eventually came back to our familiar path. But， no. We seemed to be far off course. The first hint of concern sneaked into my mind.

I had no compass， which would have been useless anyway. I could see the sun still only part way toward high noon. So， believing that the sun still rises in the east， I knew that if we kept finding trails that took us in an easterly direction， we could eventually reach Detroit—240 miles away. On second thought， trying to head toward Lake Michigan， to our west， must not have been more than several miles away.

But no trail we took seemed to have a consistent direction. And we saw not a soul on any trail. Meanwhile， Beans seemed utterly unconcerned. The sniffing and investigating was going well for him.

Finally， after more than two hours， I suddenly realized that Beans probably knew the way home. So I said： "Beans， go home. Beans， take me home." We started down another trail with Beans pulling ahead on his leash. But this trail merely led to an intersection10） of trails.endprint

"Take me home， Beans." I urged. He turned left down a new trail. After 15 or 20 minutes， it became apparent we were getting nowhere.

"Pull me home， Beans，" I was pleading by this time—picturing the rest of the day and the night in the forest， without food or drink. Maybe lost permanently. We had walked about 10 miles. And these old legs were getting sore. Beans didn't seem to mind. But he has twice as many legs as I do.

Finally， the trail we stumbled down led beside a field， and in the distance I spotted a highway with cars zipping by. We trudged11） through a field of grasses and swampy12） ground， and slowly scrambled up an embankment13） to the road.

I decided to walk left. Because it was near noon， I had no idea in what direction we were headed. Soon we came to a crossroad. The name was familiar. Lady Luck suggested I should turn left. We did and shortly came to a house.

I knocked on the door and explained my predicament14） to an elderly lady. She chuckled and said she would go and get someone to help me.

As I plunked down15） wearily16） on a porch chair， I saw out of the corner of my eye a good friend from church climbing up the hill from the house next door. Here was Sid Snyder coming to the rescue. He laughed as I told him of our travails17） on the trails. Then he drove us home.

I said earlier that Beans had let me down. I also said that he understands what we tell him. But that doesn't mean he always obeys.

Since our adventure， I concluded that Beans probably knew all along how to get home. He was just having too much fun exploring new trails.

我的狗狗让我失望了。或者似乎如此。我清楚人类最好的朋友——狗——是无可挑剔的，因而也有可能是我错怪了它。不过，还是让我来告诉你到底发生了什么吧。

我家在密歇根西北部有片地产，在那片地产后面几百码远的地方，是一条小路的起点。这条小路很迷人，路面上铺满了松针，路两旁则掺杂耸立着许多落叶树和松树。这里有上百条过去的伐木道路和新一些的摩托雪橇路线，它们蜿蜒地穿过那片不知连绵多少英里的森林，而这条小路正是其中的一条。我和我的狗狗——名叫豆豆——经常走这条小路。通常我们会沿着这条小路溜达个半英里，然后向右转到另外一条路再走上大概一英里的样子。在这段时间里，豆豆会嗅嗅那些蕨类植物和其他植物，在小路旁的树林子钻进钻出，追寻一只小鹿留下的气味或者嗅探只有它自个儿知晓的某个目标——就像小猎兔犬做得那样。

豆豆是只精力旺盛的小狗，体重30磅，周身黑白两色，脑袋棕色。它十分英俊又非常机灵（和它的养“父”一样）。它会和人握“手”，会跳圈。它还爱听古典音乐，这能使它很快入睡。它不仅能听懂我们跟它说的话，而且常常会发出些声音来，就好像它在试着作出回应似的。我是不是被自己对它的爱迷昏了头？也许是的。

在那个特别悲催的日子，早上还不到9点我们就出发散步去了。缕缕阳光透过森林照射下来，照亮了那条小路。

在那天，我们选了一条和平常不同的路线，它将我们带到了一条不同且陌生的小路上。豆豆还是嗅来嗅去，来回奔跑。我确信顺着这条路走，我们最终能回到那条熟悉的小路上。可是，没有。我们貌似偏离得太远了。我开始感到一丝担忧。

我身上没带指南针，即便有一个也不会有什么帮助。我能看得出太阳依旧在朝着正午日上当空的方向移动。因此，怀着日出东方的信念，我明白如果我们一直寻找把我们带到东边的路，我们最终就能抵达底特律市——离这里240英里吧。我再一想，我们若尽力奔向我家西边的密歇根湖，一定只有几英里才对。

但是，我们走的路好像没有一条始终是朝着一个方向的，而且不管在哪条路上，我们连个人影都看不到。在这期间，豆豆似乎一点儿也不担心，四处嗅闻和探索对它来说正合适。endprint

终于，在走了两个多小时之后，我突然意识到，豆豆很可能知道回家的路。于是我说：“豆豆，回家。豆豆，带我回家。”豆豆脖子上拴着皮带，在前面拉着我走，我们走上了另一条路。但是，这条小路只是把我们带到了一个交叉路口。

“带我回家，豆豆。”我催促道。它向左转到了一条新路上。走了15还是20分钟后，很显然，我们还是不知道身在何处。

“拉着我回家呀，豆豆。”到此时，我已经是在恳求豆豆了。我在脑海中想象着当天剩下的时间和夜里将在这片森林里度过，没有吃的，也没有喝的，或许要永远迷失在这里。我们都已经走了大概十英里了。我这两条老腿已经开始酸痛。豆豆看起来却一点事没有，可它比我多了两条腿呢。

最后，我们踉踉跄跄走上的这条小路把我们带到了一片田野旁，我发现远处有一条高速公路，上面很多车辆飞驰而过。我们艰难地穿过那片杂草丛生、泥泞不堪的田野，慢慢地爬上了路堤。

我决定向左边走，因为那时快晌午了，我自己也不知道我们在往哪个方向走。很快我们就来到了一个十字路口。那个路名很熟悉，幸运女神告诉我应该向左拐。我们朝左一拐，很快便走到了一所房子前。

我敲开了门，向一位上了年纪的女士说明了自己的窘境。她轻声笑了笑，说她会去找人来帮我。

我累得一屁股瘫坐在门廊边的椅子上，透过眼角的余光，我看到教会的一位好友正从邻近的房子那边爬山坡上来。是锡德·斯奈德来救我了。他大笑着听我倾诉我们在那些小路上奔波的辛酸，然后开车把我们送回了家。

我之前就说过，豆豆让我失望了。我也说过，它能听懂我们跟它说的话。但是，这并不意味着它总会听话。

从我们的那次历险之后，我断定豆豆很可能自始至终都知道该怎么回家，它只是探索那些没走过的小路时玩得太不亦乐乎了。

1. above reproach： 无可指责的；完美无缺的

2. alluring [??l??r??] adj. 吸引人的；迷人的

3. deciduous [d??s?d?u?s] adj. （指树木）每年秋季落叶的

4. saunter [?s??nt?（r）] vi. 漫步；闲逛

5. fern [f??n] n. 蕨类植物

6. flora [?fl??r?] n. （指某一地区的）植物群

7. beagle [?bi?ɡl] n. （短毛、长耳、短腿、黑褐色）小猎兔犬；比格尔猎犬

8. vigorous [?v?ɡ?r?s] adj. 精力充沛的

9. buffalo [?b?f?l??] vt. <美口>迷惑

10. intersection [??nt??sek?n] n. 道路交叉口；十字路口

11. trudge [tr?d?] vi. 步履艰难地走

12. swampy [sw?mpi] adj. 沼泽地的

13. embankment [?m?b??km?nt] n. （公路、铁路的）路堤

14. predicament [pr??d?k?m?nt] n. 困境，窘境

15. plunk down： 砰地坐下

16. wearily [?w??r?li] adv. 疲倦地；疲劳地

17. travail [?tr?ve?l] n. 艰辛；劳苦endprint