A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell. He painted a sign advertising the puppies and set about nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard. As he was driving the last nail into the post, he felt a tug on his overalls. He looked down into the eyes of a little boy.
“Mister,” he said, “I want to buy one of your puppies.”
“Well,” said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his neck, “these puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money.”
The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer. “I've got thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take a look?”
“Sure,” said the farmer.
And with that he let out a whistle, “Here, Dolly!” he called.
Out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran Dolly followed by four little balls of fur. The little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence. His eyes danced with delight.
As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else stirring inside the doghouse. Slowly another little ball appeared; this one noticeably smaller. Down the ramp it slid. Then in a somewhat awkward manner the little pup began hobbling toward the others, doing its best to catch up....
“I want that one,” the little boy said, pointing to the runt.
The farmer knelt down at the boy's side and said, “Son, you don't want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would.”
With that the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began rolling up one leg of his trousers. In doing so he revealed a steel brace running down both sides of his leg attaching itself to a specially made shoe. Looking back up at the farmer, he said, “You see, sir, I don't run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands.”
The world is full of people who need someone who understands.
【日积月累】
-tug n. 用力拉
-overalls n.工作服
-ramp n. 斜坡
-stir v. 微动
-hobble v. 蹒跚,跛行
-runt n. 发育不全的矮小动物, 矮子
【参考译文】
一个农民要卖掉一些小狗，于是他画了一个招牌为自己的小狗们做广告，并把这块招牌钉在院子边缘的一个柱子上。当他把最后一个钉子钉进柱子后，他感觉到有什么在扯他的外衣。他低下头，看到的是一个小男孩。
“先生，”他说，“我想买一只小狗。”
“好啊，”这个农民一边擦掉脖子后面的汗，一边说道，“这些小狗的出身很好，值很多钱的。”
男孩低下了头，片刻之后，他把手伸进自己的口袋里，掏出了一把零钱。他把这些零钱递给农民，说：“我有39美分，可不可以让我看上那些小狗一眼？”
“没问题。”农民回答道。
说完，农民吹了一声口哨，喊道：“多利，到这儿来！”
然后多利带着一群小毛球跑出了狗舍，跑下了斜坡。小男孩把脸贴在锁着铁链的栅栏上，眼睛里闪动着快乐。
在狗群往栅栏跑的过程中，小男孩注意到狗舍里面还有什么东西在挪动着。接着，另一个明显小很多的毛球慢慢出来了。它滑下斜坡，然后一瘸一拐地朝其他的小狗们走去，努力想要赶上狗群。
“我想要那只小狗。”小男孩指着最小的那只狗说。
农民在男孩身边跪下来，说：“孩子，你不会想要那只小狗的，因为它不可能像其他小狗一样陪你一起跑着玩。”
听到这些话，小男孩从栅栏上抽回身来，弯下腰来开始往上卷自己的一只裤腿。从卷起的裤腿下，可以看到他的腿上穿着特制的鞋，两边都用金属架固定着。他看着农民说：“你看，先生，我自己也不能很好地跑，而且它需要人去理解它。”
这个世界到处都是需要理解的人。
【人生启迪】
这个世界到处都是需要理解的人。的确，很多人都感到孤独，因为大家都觉得没有人能够理解自己。不是说知音难求吗？其实，只要我们肯花点心思多关注周围的世界，多换位思考一下，这个世界也并不是那么难以理解的。