Pedro the Fisherman

鮑勃·特倫/Bob Toren

這是我曾經(jīng)聽到過的最觸動人心的一則有關(guān)狗狗的故事。

故事發(fā)生在西班牙群島東部的馬略卡島的一個小峽谷。那里有一個英國人，他是一名職業(yè)潛水員，以開潛艇為生，并與一只西班牙獵犬生活在一起。他將潛艇固定在一個碼頭，那里是潛水的最佳位置。每當(dāng)那個英國人潛水時，那只狗就會坐在碼頭焦急地等著主人回來。有一天，那個英國人在水中消失了，那只狗非常關(guān)心主人，于是跟在主人的后面也跳入水中。

在水下，那只狗看到一群魚游了過去。他抓住一條魚并把它帶上碼頭。那個英國人既驚奇又高興，并表揚了他。從那以后，那只狗總會隨著主人一起潛水。在潛水的過程中，那只狗展現(xiàn)出他卓越的捕魚技巧，給他的主人帶來了相當(dāng)大的樂趣。那個英國人將那只狗的技藝告訴了島上的居民，他們都來到那個碼頭觀看，對那只狗贊不絕口，還根據(jù)那個英國人的名字彼得，給他起了個名字——佩德羅。

有一天，那個英國人病了，沒過多久就離開了人世。鎮(zhèn)里的人都試圖收養(yǎng)佩德羅，但是那只狗從不離開那片海灘，因為他害怕他的主人回來會找不到他。無論是烈日炎炎還是大雨傾盆，他始終在那片海灘上等著。人們試著去喂他，但最終都放棄了。除了主人，他不接受任何人的食物。最后，為了養(yǎng)活自己，佩德羅回去捕魚了。

在同一座島嶼上還有一群流浪貓。他們貪婪地聚在一起看著佩德羅捕魚，佩德羅把他想要的魚挑出來帶回海灘上吃掉，然后那群貓就會爭奪他不吃的魚。佩德羅一定也注意到了這一點，因為一天早晨，當(dāng)佩德羅吃完他的魚之后，又潛入水中，上來的時候帶著一條大魚，他將魚放在沙灘上的那群貓的面前。然后他走開了，觀察著那群貓。有一只黑貓顯然比其他貓更有勇氣靠近那條魚，于是他叼起來就跑。從那以后，除了給主人守夜，這只狗好像認(rèn)為喂養(yǎng)那些不幸者是自己的責(zé)任。因此，從那以后的每一天早晨，“漁夫”佩德羅都會將自己抓到的魚與那群饑餓的馬略卡島上的貓共同分享。

The most touching dog story I've ever heard.

The setting of the story is a little cove on the east side of the Spanish island of Mallorca. It was there that an Englishman， a professional diver， lived on his yacht with his dog， a springer spaniel. He had tied his yacht to a pier where diving conditions were ideal. Each time the Englishman made a dive， the dog sat anxiously on the pier， awaiting his return. One day the dog became so concerned when the Englishman disappeared into the water that he dove in after him.

Underwater， the dog saw a school of fish swim past. He grabbed a fish and carried it back to the pier. The Englishman， surprised and pleased， praised him. After that， the dog followed the man on his dives. In the course of the shared diving， the dog developed excellent fishing skills， to the man's considerable amusement. The Englishman told the island's residents of his dog's accomplishments， and they came to the pier to watch. Delighted， they began calling the dog Pedro， after Peter， the fisherman.

One day the Englishman became ill， and shortly thereafter， he died. Townspeople tried to adopt Pedro， but the dog would never leave the beach for fear he would miss his master's return. He waited on the beach through hot sun and driving rain. People tried to feed him， but eventually they gave up. He wouldn't accept food from anyone other than his master. Finally， to feed himself， Pedro went back to fishing.

It happened that on this same island there were a number of stray cats. Ravenous， they would gather to watch Pedro dive into the schools of fish， select the fish he wanted and bring it back to eat on the shore. Then the cats would fight over what the dog had left uneaten. The dog must have observed this， for one morning when Pedro had eaten his fish， he dove into the water again and came back up with a large fish， which he placed on the sand before the group of cats. Then he backed off and watched. One black cat， with greater courage than the others， approached the fish， grabbed it and ran. After that， in addition to keeping vigil for his master， the dog also seemed to consider it his duty to feed those less fortunate. For every morning thereafter， Pedro the fisherman shared his catch with the hungry cats of Mallorca.