We called him Old Yeller. The name had sort of two meanings. One was that his short hair was a dirty yellow. The other was that when he opened his mouth the sound he let out was more of a yell than a bark.
我们管它叫阿黄。阿黄这个名字有那么两层意思： 一是它那短短的狗毛呈灰黄色；二是它张口发出的声音与其说是犬吠还不如说是狂叫。
I remember like yesterday how he strayed in out of nowhere to our log cabin on Birdsong Creek. He made me so mad at first that I wanted to kill him. Then，later，when I had to kill him，it was like having to shoot a friend. That’s how much I”d come to think of Old Yeller.
我对此事记忆犹新，就象昨天刚发生的一样： 它不知从哪儿钻了出来，溜进了我们鸟鸣河畔的小木屋。起先它使我火冒三丈，都想把它给宰了。可是，后来到了找不得不把它杀死时，就好象不得不枪杀一位朋友似的。可见我对阿黄的关注已经到了何等的程度了。
He came the year Papa and the other settlers had to go along the trail to Kansas. This was to get cash，a thing all Texans were short of in those years. We had plenty of grass，wood and water，wild game，and good ground for growing corn.
它来到我家的那年正好爸爸和其他的一些移民要沿着山间小道上堪萨斯去，为了去弄些现金，那年头所有得克萨斯州的人都缺少这玩意儿。我们有大量的牧草，丰富的森林，充足的水源，还有不少野味以及大片种植玉米的肥沃土地。
“In fa ct，”as Papa told the others，“a ll we ne e d is mo ne y，a nd tha t we ca n ge t by s e lling our ca ttle in Ka ns a s .”
就象爸爸对别人说的那样，“事实上，我们所需要的只不过是钱。而钱呢，我们可以到堪萨斯去卖牛来换取。”
The men talked it over with each other and with the women. Kansas was more than six hundred miles north of our Texas hill country. It would take months to drive the cattle and then ride back home，and all that time the women and children would have to be left to look after themselves the best they could.
男人们互相商量，也和妇女们商量。堪萨斯在我们得克萨斯山区北面六百多英里远的地方。把牛赶到那儿，然后骑马回来得花几个月的时间。在这段时间里，妇女和孩子们只得留在家里，尽可能自己照顾自己了。
Still，they needed money，and they decided to go. They told their families what to do if the Indians came，or if the coons took to eating the corn，or the bears were killing too many hogs. Then they collected their cattle，burned a trail brand on their hips，and started out.
可是，他们需要钱，所以还是决定去走一趟。他们关照家人如果印第安人来该怎样对付，如果浣熊来吃玉米或者熊把猪弄死得太多了又该怎么办。他们把牛赶拢，在它们的臀部烙上印记，然后就上路了。
I remember how it was the day Papa left. He was standing in front of the cabin with his horse，his gun，and his bedroll. I remember how tall and straight and handsome he looked. And I remember how Mama was trying not to cry because he was leaving，and how Little Arliss，who was only five and didn”t know much，wasn’t trying at all. He was crying all right. Not because Papa was leaving，but because he couldn’t go too.
我还记得爸爸离别那天的情景。他牵着马，背着枪，带着铺盖卷站在木屋前。他看上去是多么高大、多么挺拔，又是多么地英俊！我还记得，由于爸爸要出远门，妈妈是怎样地强忍住泪不让自己哭出来。而小阿里斯才五岁，还不大懂事，根本没想到要控制自己。他哇哇地哭开了。他哭的倒不是因为爸爸要出门了，而是因为他自己不能跟着爸爸一起去。
I was fourteen years old- nearly a grown man. I stood back and didn”t let on for a second that I wanted to cry. Papa got on his horse. I looked up at him and saw he wanted us to talk alone. So I walked beside his horse down the trail.
我十四岁了--差不多是个成年人了，我靠后站着，一点儿也没有流露出要哭的样子。爸爸跨上了马。我抬起头来看了看他，知道他想和我单独谈谈。于是，我走在马的旁边，和他并排沿着那条小路走去。
When we were out of hearing of the house，Papa reached down and put a hand on my shoulder.
当我们走到家里人听不到的地方，爸爸俯下身来，一只手搭在我的肩上。
“Now，Tra vis ，”he said，“while I’m gone yo u’ll be the ma n of the family. I wa nt you to ta ke c a re of Mama a nd Little Arlis s loo k a fte r the work a nd don”t wa it for your Mama to s a y wha t ne e ds to be done.Do you thin k you c a n do tha t？”
“啊，特拉维斯，”他说，“我离家外出期间，你就是家中的男子汉了。我要你照顾好妈妈和小阿里斯，管好家里的事，别等着让你妈妈吩咐你该做些什么。你看你能做到吗？”
“Ye s s ir ，”I said.
“能，先生，”我答道。
“The re will be the c ows to milk，the wood to c ut，the young pigs to ma rk，a nd fre s h me a t to s hoot. And the n the re”s the c orn pa tch.If you le t the co ons ge t a t it，we”ll be without bre a d corn for the win te r.”
“奶牛要挤奶，要砍柴，小猪要打印记，还得去打猎搞些鲜肉来。对了，还有那块玉米地呢，如果你让浣熊把玉米地糟蹋了，我们整个冬天就吃不上玉米面包了。”
“Ye s s ir ，”I said.
“知道了，先生。”我答道。
“All right，boy，I’ll be s e e ing you towa rd s the e nd of the ye a r.”
“好吧，孩子，年底再见了。”
I stood there and let him ride on. There wasn’ t any more to say.
我站在那里，看着他骑马离去，其他没啥好说的了。
Then I remembered. I went running down the
后来，我又想起一件事。我沿
trail after him，calling for him to wait .
小道跑着追赶他，喊他等一下。
He pulled up his horse and turned in the saddle.“Ye a h，boy，”he said.“Wha t is it？”
他停住马，在马鞍上转过身来。“唷，孩子，”他说，“什么事啊？”
“Tha t hors e ，”I said.
“那匹马，”我说。
“Wha t hors e ？”he said，like he’d never heard about it before. “You me a n you”re wa nting a hors e ？”
“什么马？”他问道，好象他以前从未听说过这件事似的。“你的意思是想要一匹马，是不是？”
“P a pa.... ”Didn”t he remember？ “You know how much I’ve be e n wa nting a hors e to ride.I’ve told you time a nd a g a in.”
“爸爸..，”他难道不记得了吗？ “你知道我多么想有一匹马骑骑，我已经跟你讲过好几回了。”
I looked up in time to catch him smiling at me. So he was only teasing.
我抬起头来，正好看到他在朝着我笑。原来他在逗我呢。
“Wha t you”re ne e ding more tha n a hors e is a good dog .”
“你现在更需要的是一只好狗而不是马。”
“Ye s s ir，”I said，“but a hors e is wha t I’m wa nting more .”
“是的，先生，”我答道，“可我更想要一匹马。”
“All right，”he said.“You a ct like a ma n while I’ m gone ，a nd I’ll s e e tha t you ge t a ma n”s hors e to ride whe n I s e ll the ca ttle.I th ink we c a n sha ke on tha t.”
“好吧，”他说，“我不在家的时候，你要象个男子汉那样地办事，那么我卖掉牛后就一定给你买一匹男子汉骑的马，我看，我们可以握握手一言为定。”
He reached out his hand and we shook. It was the first time I’d ever shaken hands like a man. It made me feel big. I knew then that I could do whatever needed to be done while Papa was gone.
他 伸出手来，我们握了一下。这是我生平第一次象个男子汉似的与别人握手。这使我感到自豪。当时我就知道，爸爸不在家的时候，一切该做的事，我都能做。
I turned and started back up the trail towards the cabin. I did need a dog，Papa was right. All the我转过身来沿着那条通向木屋的小道往回走。爸爸是对的，我确other settlers had dogs. They were big fierce animals that the settlers used for catching hogs，and driving cattle，and fighting coons out of the cornfields. They were watchdogs，too，against wolves，bears，panthers，and raiding Indians. There was no question about it： for the sort of country we lived in，a good dog was sometimes worth more than two or three men.
实需要一只狗。别的人家都养狗。他们用这些又高大又凶猛的家伙去捉猪，赶牛，去轰走玉米地里的浣熊。这些狗还能用来看家，提防狼、熊、豹以及印第安人的袭击。有一点是毫无疑问的： 在我们所居住的这种山村里，一只好狗有时会比二、三个人还顶用。
I knew this as well as anybody，because the summer before I’d had a good dog. His name was Bell. He was nearly as old as I was，and we’d had him ever since I could remember. Then he went and got himself bitten playing with a rattlesnake. You’d have thought such a smart dog would have had more sense.
我 和其他的人一样明白这一点，因为在么年夏天以前我曾经有过一条好狗。它的名字叫贝尔，年龄差不多和我一样大。从我开始记事，它就和我们在一起了。后来，它竟然去和一条响尾蛇嬉戏起来，结果被咬了一口。你一定会想这样机灵的一只狗不应该那样没有头脑。
He died the same night，and I cried for a week. Papa tried to make me feel better by saying he’d get me another dog right away，but I didn’t want that. It made me mad just to think of some other dog trying to take Bell’s place.