The Black Cat
黑猫
I know you will not believe this story.Only a madman could hope that you would believe it-and I am not mad.But as I am going to die tomorrow,I would like to tell my story to the world today.Perhaps some day,somebody more calm and less excitale than me,will be able to explain it.
我知道你们是不会相信这个故事的。只有疯子才会指望让你们相信——而我并没有发疯。可是考虑到明天我就要死了,我还是想在今天把我的故事讲给这个世界。也许有一天,有一个比我更镇静、更不易激动的人,将能够解释这一切。
I have always loved animals.I loved them deeply,from the very first days of my life.When I was young,we always had many animals in our house,and so I used to spend most of my days playing with them and taking care of them.As the years passed,I grew into a quiet,gentle man,and my love for animals grew too.I found that they were more friendly,more honest than most men Animals were always my best friends.
我这人一向喜爱动物,从我生命最初的岁月起、便深深地眷恋它们。我小的时候,我们家里总是养着一大堆动物,于是我常常把大部分时间都花在陪它们玩、照料它们上面。随着光阴流逝,我成长为一个安静、文雅的男人,同时,我对动物的喜爱也有增无减。我发现它们比大多数人更友好,更诚实。动物们一直是我最好的朋友。
I got married when I was quite young.Luckily,my wife loved animals too,and she used to buy me many animals as presents.In fact,our house was always full of animals-we had birds,fish,a dog,chickens,and a cat.
我在相当年轻的时候就结了婚。还好,我妻子也热爱动物,她常常买回好些个宠物送给我作礼物。事实上,我们家里总是充满了动物——我们养了好多鸟,好多鱼,一只狗,几只鸡,还有一只猫。
This cat,whom we called Pluto,was a large black cat.He was a beautiful animal,and he was also very clever.I loved Pluto more than I loved all my other animals.I wanted to do everything for him myself,so I never let my wife take care of him.I used to play with him and give him his food,and he followed me everywhere I went.
这只猫被我们称作普路托,它是只大个儿的黑猫,长得非常漂亮,而且十分聪明。比起我的其他宠物来,我对普路托更是宠爱有加。我情愿亲自为它做一切事情,所以从不让我妻子照料它。我经常陪它玩,喂它食吃;我走到哪儿,它也跟到哪儿。