第3章 忠实的朋友AFriendinNeedIsaFriendIndeed
佚名/Anonymous
布朗尼和斯波蒂是邻居，他们每天都会在一起玩耍。与几乎能在任何邻里间找到的成对的狗一样，他们互相倾慕，常在一起，以致于两家之间的草地上已经被他们踏出了一条小路。
一天傍晚，布朗尼的主人发现他没有回家，到处找遍了也没找到。第二天，依然没有看到布朗尼。尽管大家还在努力寻找，可直到第二周，还是没有找到。
让人不解的是，斯波蒂独自跑到布朗尼的主人家，吠叫、哀嚎，还总是缠着布朗尼的主人们，但他们忙于自己的事，根本不理会邻居家这只精神有点问题的小狗。
一天早上，斯波蒂再也不满意被拒绝。这只暴怒的、不依不饶的小狗围着布朗尼的主人特德叫个不停。斯波蒂死死跟着特德，汪汪地叫着，然后冲到近处的空地上，又跑回来，似乎在说：“跟我来！有情况！”
最后，特德跟着这只发疯似的小狗穿过空地，小狗停步奔回，吼叫着，催特德快点。他领着特德从一棵树下穿过，经过树丛，最后在离房子半英里远的一处荒地停了下来。在那里，特德发现他心爱的布朗尼还活着，只是一条后腿被一个钢制捕捉器夹着。特德很吃惊，为当初没有认真对待斯波蒂的求助而感到后悔。随后，他看到了惊人的一幕。
斯波蒂不仅把布朗尼的主人带到了他被困的朋友跟前，而且在受伤的布朗尼身旁，特德还发现了一圈狗食和餐桌上的残羹剩饭——后来证实那是那个星期他们每餐喂斯波蒂吃剩下的食物！
斯波蒂一直定时来看望布朗尼，下决心要让他的朋友活下去，为了朋友，他不辞劳苦。显然，斯波蒂陪伴着布朗尼，以免其他捕食动物侵袭他，夜里偎依着他，把温暖送给他，用鼻子拱他让他振作精神。
兽医把布朗尼的腿伤治好了。此后多年，两家邻居不时会看到这对忠实的朋友嬉戏玩耍，在两家房子之间的小路上你追我赶。
Brownie and Spotty were neighbor dogs who met every day to play together.Like pairs of dogs you can find in most any neighborhood，these two loved each other and played together so often that they had worn a path through the grass of the field between their respective houses.
One evening，Brownie’s family noticed that Brownie hadn’t returned home.They went looking for him with no success.Brownie didn’t show up the next day，and，despite their efforts to find him，by the next week he was still missing.
Curiously，Spotty showed up at Brownie’s house alone.Barking，whining and generally pestering Brownie’s human family.Busy with their own lives，they just ignored the nervous little neighbor dog.
Finally，one morning Spotty refused to take“no”for an answer.Ted，Brownie’s owner，was steadily harassed by the furious，adamant little dog.Spotty followed Ted about，barking insistently，then darting toward a nearby empty lot and back，as if to say，“Follow me！It’s urgent！”Eventually，Ted followed the frantic Spotty across the empty lot as Spotty paused to race back and bark encouragingly.The little dog led the man under a tree，past clumps of trees，to a desolate spot，a half mile from the house.There Ted found his beloved Brownie alive，one of his hind legs crushed in a steel leghold trap.Horrified，Ted now wished he’d taken Spotty’s earlier appeals seriously.Then Ted noticed something quite remarkable.
Spotty had done more than simply led Brownie’s human owner to his trapped friend.In a circle around the injured dog，Ted found an array of dog food and table scraps—which were later identified as the remains of every meal Spottyhad been fed that week！Spotty had been visiting Brownie regularly，in a single-minded quest to keep his friend alive by sacrificing his own comfort.Spotty had evidently stayed with Brownie to protect him from predators，snuggling with him at night to keep him warm and nuzzling him to keep his spirits up.
Brownie’s leg was treated by a veterinarian and he recovered.For many years thereafter，the two families watched the faithful friends frolicking and chasing each other down that well-worn path between their houses.