The Dog’s Bell

狗的鈴鐺

John’s dog was a bad dog. He bit people frequently. John had great concern about this. It was not an appropriate way for a dog to behave. His friends in the village always expected the dog to bite them. The news about John’s dog spread through the village. None of the people wanted to go to John’s house.

約翰養(yǎng)了一只狗，但它很壞，經(jīng)常咬人，約翰為此非常頭疼。狗不應該這樣。村子里的人都很害怕被這只狗咬。村子里的人都知道了約翰家的狗會咬人，所以沒有人愿意到他家做客。

John tried to instruct the dog to behave, but it never worked. He tried to be patient and teach the dog to be calm. That also didn’t work. John didn’t want to punish the dog. “How will I stop my dog’s bad habit?” John asked himself.

約翰也曾嘗試過馴服它，但都沒有成功。他曾很耐心地教它安靜下來，但也沒有奏效。約翰并不想懲罰自己的狗。“怎么才能改掉它這個壞習慣呢？”約翰自言自語道。

John’s friend came to talk to him about the issue. During their important meeting, his friend said, “The people in the village asked me to represent them. We want your dog to stop this habit. Why don’t you put a bell around the dog’s neck? This way, we would hear your dog coming down the street.”

約翰朋友來找他談論這個問題。這這次重要的談話中，他朋友說道：“我代表村里其他人來這，大家都希望你的狗能改掉這個壞毛病。為什么不給它脖子上帶一個鈴鐺呢？這樣大家就能知道你的狗來了。”

John thought this was a great idea. Now, people could stay away from the dog. It would not be able to bite anyone anymore.

約翰認為這是個不錯的辦法。現(xiàn)在大家都能遠離這只狗了。它再也咬不到人了。

The dog liked the bell, too. People looked at him when they heard his bell. This made the dog very content. He liked the song the bell played when he walked. 

狗也很喜歡這個鈴鐺，因為鈴鐺一響就能引人注目，它對此非常滿意。它也喜歡走動時鈴鐺的響聲。

One day, John’s dog strolled through the village and met some other dogs. He expected them to want a bell like his. But they laughed at his bell. They said the bell made people avoid him. John’s dog shook his head. “No, they look at me because they like the bell.”

有一天，它在村子里閑逛時遇上了其它狗。它以為大家都會想要一個這樣的鈴鐺，但卻換來的是嘲笑。它們說這是人們?yōu)榱硕惚芩龅拟忚K。但它卻不以為然。“不對，人們因為喜歡我的鈴鐺才會注意到我。”

The other dogs said, “You have the wrong idea of what makes you popular. Of course they like your bell. It tells them where you are so they can avoid you. You aren’t able to bite them anymore!”

另一只狗說道：“你對自己受歡迎的原因有著錯誤的認識。人們當然喜歡這個鈴鐺，因為他們能知道你的方位以便躲開你。這樣就不會再被你咬了！”

You see, being popular isn’t something positive when it’s for the wrong reason. 

看，因為錯誤的原因而受到的關注也并不是什么好事。

單詞

appropriate adj. 適當?shù)?/p>

avoid v. 避免

behave v. 行為，舉止

calm adj. 平靜的，冷靜的

concern n. 關心，關注

content adj. 滿足的

expect v. 期待

frequently adv. 經(jīng)常地

habit n. 習慣

instruct v. 指示

issue n. 問題，議題

none pron. 一個也沒有

patient adj. 耐心的

positive adj. 積極的

punish v. 懲罰

represent v. 代表

shake v. 搖動

spread v. 傳播

stroll v. 閑逛

village n. 村莊