【英文原文2】

He was the first of the kittens to discover he could purr，the first to make endearingly clumsy attempts to wash himself，the first to undertake the adventure of climbing out of the wicker basket．When the others，exhausted from their tumbling play，fell asleep，he would climb over the side of the basket and search for me．

It is said that when a child is born into this world，the first years of his life are taken up with finding answers to the most basic of questions：Is it a good and benign world？Can the people in it be trusted？Am I loved？If a little kitten can also be curious about such things，then the special love given Boston answered all those questions with a resounding“Yes．”

Even Boston’s looks changed．His fur，once rusty and rough，grew sleek and shiny．At first，the luster was just on his head，but gradually the glossiness moved down his entire body until little Boston gleamed from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail．Though never beautiful，he became so alert and merry，so trusting and affectionate，that the mere sight of him was a delight．

He was in his usual spot one evening when Mike walked in and heard us“talking”．

“You’ re going to miss him when he goes，”Mike said．

I wheeled from the sink．“Oh，Mike．．．”

Mike looked steadily back．I saw from his expression that this was a test between us．Would I keep my word to him or did I value a little black kitten more than his wishes？During our relationship，Mike and I had had our troubles learning to trust．I couldn’ t jeopardize the confidence I had struggled to gain．

“Yes，”I said as evenly as I could．“Yes，I‘m going to miss him．”

Soon all but Boston went to new homes．When Mike came home with word of a church fairth at was requesting kittens be donated for sale at a pet table，it was obvious that these were to be my last days with Boston．Now when I cradled him in my arms，it was often tears on my cheeks that he patted．“Oh，little Boss，it’s going to be so empty without you，I would tell him and his eyes would narrow with the effort to understand my distress．

I was in the kitchen getting dinner that night when Mike came home．Boston went to the door to greet him but I couldn’t；I was fighting too hard not to cry．It was a long time before Mike joined me．When he did，he was carrying Boston，who had a big red ribbon tied around his neck．Silently Mike held out an envelope．Inside was a Christmas card and written on it was：“It’s only November，but let’s give ourselves a Christmas present ．”

I reached out to hug Mike through my tears．

“If you can be big enough to let him go，”he said，“I can be big enough to let him stay．”