尼诺和忠狗1

There lived a very old man in a small hut on the outskirts of a little village which was about three miles from Antwerp. His name was Jehan Daas. When he was young, he was a soldier. During a battle, he became lame.

　　When he was eighty years old, his daughter died, and she left him her two-year-old son. Though Jehan Daas had very little food to eat every day, he brought up the child with pleasure.

　　The child soon became a precious thing to him. Little Nello grew strong and healthy, and the old man and the little child lived in the poor small hut happily.

　　They had a friend and comforter. Patrasche was his name. He was strong and kind and loyal. He was not a man, but a great yellow dog.

　　Patrasche had thick fur, a large head, large legs, and ears which stood upright like a wolf's. His legs were bowed, his feet were wide, and his muscles were made strong by many years of hard work.

　　Before Patrasche was thirteen months old, he was sold to a hardware dealer for a small price. Patrasche was always yelled at and was often hit with a stick. When he was young, he knew the pain of the cart and the collar. His master always traveled around the land, north and south, from the blue seas to the mountains.

　　He was a very cruel man and drank too much wine. He made Patrasche draw the heavy cart which was full of things such as pots and buckets, while he himself walked beside the cart idly smoking his black pipe. And he stopped at every wine shop or coffee house along the road.

　　One day, two years later, Patrasche was going on as usual along one of the straight, dusty roads that led to the city of Antwerp. It was midsummer and very hot. The sun was shining brightly over his head. His cart was very heavy. He was very hungry and thirsty. He suddenly staggered and foamed a little at the mouth, and fell.

　　His master kicked him and hit him with a stick. But he was not able to move. So his master thought him dead, and kicked his body heavily aside into the grassy ditch.

　　After yelling at him, his master went away pulling the cart along the road.

　　Patrasche lay in the ditch. That day there was a lot of traffic on the road and hundreds of people were coming and going, on foot and on mules, in wagons and in carts. Some saw him, but most of the people didn't even glance at him.

　　After a time, there came a little old man with a little child. When the old man looked at Patrasche, he stopped, then kneeled down in the grass near the ditch, and examined the dog carefully with kindly eyes. The child, too, stood looking at the poor dog. It was the first time that little Nello and big Patrasche met.

　　That day old Jehan Daas took this dog to his own little hut and took good care of him. Patrasche became better and better day by day. And after many weeks, he was able to stand up again on his four legs.

　　Old Jehan Daas made his living by carrying the milk cans of the neighbors away to the town of Antwerp. The work was hard for the lame old man.

　　One morning, before the old man touched the cart, Patrasche got up and walked to it, and placed himself between its handles. By doing so he showed that he could do the work. At first Jehan Daas didn't want to let Patrasche draw the cart, but Patrasche wouldn't step aside. The old man at last let him do the work. After that, Patrasche did this work every morning.

　　When winter came, Jehan Daas thanked God for bringing him the dying dog in the ditch on that fair day because he was very old and he grew weaker year after year. Without Patrasche, Jehan Daas was not able to pull the cart of milk cans along the deep muddy road on snowy days.

　　Patrasche was very happy. It seemed that it was his pleasure to carry this little green cart with its bright brass cans. The gentle old man always walked beside him, patted him, and spoke kindly to him. His work was over at three or four in the afternoon. After that time, he could do anything he wanted to do. He slept in the sun, walked around in the fields, ran with the young child and played with other dogs.

　　A few years later, old Jehan Daas lost the use of his limbs on account of rheumatism. He couldn't go to town with the cart. So little Nello, who was now six years old, took his place and carried the milk.

　　Nello and Patrasche did the work so well and so joyfully together that Jehan Daas didn't have to go to work when the summer came and he was better again.

　　从前，大约在离安特卫普市三英里的一个小村庄边有间小茅屋，里面住着一位老先生。他名叫耶汉‧达斯。年轻时，他当过兵。在一场战役中，他变成了瘸子。

　　当他八十岁时，他的女儿死了，留给他一个才两岁大的男孩。虽然耶汉‧达斯每天几乎三餐不继，他仍满心欢喜地把小孩养大。

　　很快地，这小孩就成了他的心肝宝贝。小尼洛长得又壮又健康。老先生和这小孩快乐地生活在那间简陋的小茅屋里。

　　他们有一个可以给他们安慰的朋友。他名叫帕特拉斯基。他很强壮而且温驯又忠实。但他并不是一个『人』，而是一只大黄狗。

　　这只狗有着浓密的长毛，巨大的头和腿，以及像狼一样直立着的耳朵。它的腿部弯曲，脚掌宽大，肌肉则因多年的苦役而变得很健壮。

　　帕特拉斯基还不到十三个月大时，就被廉价卖给一个贩卖五金器具的商人。帕特拉斯基经常遭到喝斥和棍子的鞭打。年轻时，它就体会到拖车和颈圈的痛苦。它的主人总是从南到北、上山下海地四处游走。

　　他是个很残酷的人，而且酗酒。他让帕特拉斯基拖着载满锅、桶之类东西的重拖车，而他自己则悠哉地走在拖车旁，抽着他的黑色烟斗。沿途一碰到酒馆或咖啡屋他就会停下来。

　　两年后，有一天帕特拉斯基一如往常地走在通往安特卫普市其中一条笔直且尘土飞扬的路上。时逢盛夏，天气异常炎热。烈日在它头上照耀着。它的拖车非常沉重。它又饿又渴。突然间，它蹒跚起来，口吐一些白沫就倒了下去。

　　它的主人踢它，并用棍子打它。但它却一动也不能动。因此，它的主人以为它死了，就狠狠地把它踢到路旁一条杂草丛生的水沟里。

　　它的主人对它咒骂了一会儿后，便沿路拖着拖车走开了。

　　帕特拉斯基躺在水沟里。那天路上交通繁忙，好几百个人来来往往，有走路的、骑骡的、驾着马车或拖车的都有。有些人看到它，但大部分人连看都没看它一眼。

　　过了一段时间，来了一位带着一个小孩的小老头。这位老先生看到帕特拉斯基时，便停了下来，然后在水沟旁的草地上跪了下来，带着和蔼的目光仔细检视着这只狗。那小孩也站着看这只可怜的狗。这就是小尼洛和大帕特拉斯基的初次相遇。

　　就在那天，老耶汉‧达斯把这只狗带到自己的小茅屋，并悉心地照料它。帕特拉斯基一天天地好起来。过了好几个礼拜，它又能用四脚站起来了。

　　老耶汉‧达斯靠着帮邻居把牛奶罐载运到安特卫普市来维持生计。这工作对他这个跛脚的老先生来说是很辛苦的。

　　一天早晨，在老先生摸到拖车之前，帕特拉斯基站起来朝拖车走去，并自己走进两个把手中间。它这幺做是表示它能够做这个工作。起初耶汉‧达斯不想让帕特拉斯基拖车，但帕特拉斯基不肯走开。老先生最后只得让它做这工作。之后，帕特拉斯基每天早上都做这个工作。

　　当冬天来时，耶汉‧达斯感谢上帝在那个晴朗的日子，赐给他这只躺在水沟里奄奄一息的狗，因为他老迈了而且一年比一年衰弱。没有帕特拉斯基，耶汉‧达斯是没有办法在下雪天时拖着装运牛奶罐的拖车，走在泥泞不堪的路上。

　　帕特拉斯基非常高兴。对它来说，拖着这个载有闪亮铜罐的绿色轻便小拖车似乎是一种乐趣。这个和譪的老先生总是走在它旁边，轻轻地拍它并且亲切地对它说话。它的工作在下午三、四点时结束。在那之后，它可以做任何牠想做的事。它在阳光下睡觉，在田野里四处漫步，和小尼洛一起奔跑，并和其它的狗玩耍。

　　几年后，老耶汉‧达斯因患风湿症而四肢瘫痪。他无法和拖车一起到城里去。所以现年六岁的小尼洛便取代他来运送牛奶。

　　尼洛和帕特拉斯基一起做这工作真是胜任又愉快，因此耶汉‧达斯一直到夏天来时都不必工作，后来他身体又好起来了。