She was about a mile from the cabin when Isaw that she was going to cross a dry river bed，likethe one where Yeller and I got mixed up with thehogs. That would be a good place. it was rather farfor us to come to burn her，but there was plenty ofdry wood about. If I could shoot her out there in thesand，there’d be no danger of our fire running awayfrom us.
在 离开木屋大约一里路的地方，我看到它就要跨过一条干涸的河床了，一条象我和阿黄曾经在那里与猪群搏斗的河床。这倒是一块好地方。我们去到那儿去烧它是远了一点，但是周围有足够的干柴。
如果我能把它打死在那儿的沙地里，我们就不会有引起火烧森林的危险。
I hurried and got ahead of her. I hid behind abush on the far side of the river - bed. But she wasso sick and blind，I think I could have stood out inthe open and she wouldn’t have seen me. I waitedtill she came wobbling across the sand and thenfired，dropping her in the middle of it.
我加快脚步，跑到了它的前面。
我躲在河床另一边的矮树丛后面。
但是，它已经病得非常厉害，眼睛也看不清楚了。所以我想，即使我站在在外面的空地上，它也不会看见我的。我等它在摇摇晃晃地穿越沙地时开枪，把它击倒在沙地中央。
I’d got myself more tired than I knew，followingSpot so far from the cabin. By the time I gotback I was dead beat.
我跟着阿花走了那么多的路，离家已经很远了。我从来也没有感到这样的疲惫不堪。当我回到家时，我可真是累垮了。
Mama took one look at me and told me to go tobed.“We”ll go a nd s ta rt the burning ，”she said.“Ifyou s ta y on tha t le g a ny longe r，it’ll ge t ba d a ga in .”
妈妈瞧了我一眼，吩咐我上床。
“我们去烧，”她说。“如果你再用这条腿走路，伤就要复发了。”
I didn’t say anything. I knew I was too weakand tired to walk that far again without rest.So Itold Mama where to find Spot and told her to leaveLittle Arliss with me. I watched her and Lisbeth setout，both riding on Jumper. Mama was carrying abucket full of coals to start the fire with.
我什么也没有说。我知道我实在太虚弱，太累了。不休息一下是走不了那么远的路了。所以，我告诉妈妈阿花在什么地方，并且要她把小阿里斯留下给我照看。我看着她和丽丝贝骑着“跳高能手”出发了。妈妈还带了满满一桶煤炭去引火。
At the last minute，Yeller got up from his cowhide.
He stood watching them for a minute，as iftrying to make up his mind. Then he went off afterthem. He was still thin and rough looking andhopping a bit on one leg. But he ought to know betterthan I did how well he was. So I didn’t call himback.
就在这最后一分钟，阿黄从它那张牛皮上站了起来。它站在那儿看了她们一会儿，象是在下决心，然后跟在她们后面走了。它仍然很瘦，很憔悴，一条腿还有些瘸。但是，对它的身体状况，它应该比我知道得更清楚，所以，我没有把它叫回来。
As it turned out. it’s a good thing I didn’t. Only，afterwards，I wished a hundred times there hadbeen some way I could have seen ahead. If I’d knownwhat was going to happen，I would have done everythingI could to stop them all from going.
事实证明，幸亏我没有叫它回来。不过，事后我一次又一次地希望能有个什么办法使我具有预见的本领。如果当时我知道会发生什么事的话，我一定会竭尽全力留住他们，一个也不让他们去。
I didn’t mean to drop off to sleep，not with LittleArliss to look after. But I did and I slept tillsundown，when I woke and felt very bad about leavinghim alone for so long.
本来我并不打算睡着，因为要照看小阿里斯，但是我睡着了，一直睡到太阳下山。当我醒来时，我感到很抱歉，不应该让他独自一个人呆了这么长时间。
But Little Arliss was all right，playing outsidethe cabin with the spotted pup. They were having agreat game. Arliss was racing round the cabin，
但是，小阿里斯倒挺好，他在木屋外面跟那只小花狗玩儿。他们做着有趣的游戏。阿里斯手里拖着一
dragging a short piece of rope. The pup was chasingthe rope. Now and then he’d get close enough tojump on it. Then he’d growl，put his teeth in it，and try to shake it and hang on at the same time.
Usually，he got pulled off his feet，but that didn’tseem to bother him. Next time Arliss came racingpast，the pup would jump on the rope again.
小段绳子，绕着木屋奔跑，小狗在后面追逐着那段绳子。不时地，它可以追上那段绳子，近得完全可以跳上去。然后它就嗥叫起来，用牙去咬绳子。它一面抖动着绳子： 一面又紧紧地抓住它。它一般总是被拖离地面，但是它对此似乎并不在乎，小阿里斯下一次跑过它时，它又会跳到绳子上去了。
I wondered what was keeping Mama and Lisbethso long. Then I thought how far it was to wherethe dead cow lay，and how long it would take thetwo of them to drag enough wood and start the fire.
They’d be lucky if they got back before dark.
我不知道为什么妈妈和丽丝贝去了那么久。于是，我计算着走到死牛躺着的地方该有多远，她俩去拖木头，生火又得花费多少时间。
如果她们能在天黑之前回到家就算是运气的了。
I went down to the spring for a bucket of freshwater and wondered when Papa would come back.
Mama had said two days ago that it would be aboutnow，and I hoped so. For one thing，I couldn’t waitto see what sort of horse Papa was going to bringme. But mostly it was because this rabies had gotme frightened. I’d handled things pretty well untilthat came along. I’d been badly cut by a hog，butthat could have happened to anybody，even a grownman. And I was nearly well from that. But if thesickness got more of our cattle，I wouldn”t knowwhat to do.
我到山泉那儿去提了一桶新鲜的泉水，暗暗思忖着爸爸什么时候能回来。前两天妈妈说过差不多就在这几天爸爸就要回来了，但愿如此。一方面我急于想看着爸爸到底会给我带来一匹怎么样的马，但主要是因为狂犬病把我给吓坏了。在这种病发生之前，我把一切事情都办得好好的。尽管我被一只猪戳成重伤，但是谁都可能出这种事，即使是个成年人也在所难免。何况我差不多已经复原了呢。但是，如果有更多的奶牛传染上这种病，我就不知道该怎么办了。
