第3章 马略卡岛上的喂猫者

Pedro the Fisherman

鲍勃·特伦/Bob Toren

这是我曾经听到过的最触动人心的一则有关狗狗的故事。

故事发生在西班牙群岛东部的马略卡岛的一个小峡谷。那里有一个英国人，他是一名职业潜水员，以开潜艇为生，并与一只西班牙猎犬生活在一起。他将潜艇固定在一个码头，那里是潜水的最佳位置。每当那个英国人潜水时，那只狗就会坐在码头焦急地等着主人回来。有一天，那个英国人在水中消失了，那只狗非常关心主人，于是跟在主人的后面也跳入水中。

在水下，那只狗看到一群鱼游了过去。他抓住一条鱼并把它带上码头。那个英国人既惊奇又高兴，并表扬了他。从那以后，那只狗总会随着主人一起潜水。在潜水的过程中，那只狗展现出他卓越的捕鱼技巧，给他的主人带来了相当大的乐趣。那个英国人将那只狗的技艺告诉了岛上的居民，他们都来到那个码头观看，对那只狗赞不绝口，还根据那个英国人的名字彼得，给他起了个名字——佩德罗。

有一天，那个英国人病了，没过多久就离开了人世。镇里的人都试图收养佩德罗，但是那只狗从不离开那片海滩，因为他害怕他的主人回来会找不到他。无论是烈日炎炎还是大雨倾盆，他始终在那片海滩上等着。人们试着去喂他，但最终都放弃了。除了主人，他不接受任何人的食物。最后，为了养活自己，佩德罗回去捕鱼了。

在同一座岛屿上还有一群流浪猫。他们贪婪地聚在一起看着佩德罗捕鱼，佩德罗把他想要的鱼挑出来带回海滩上吃掉，然后那群猫就会争夺他不吃的鱼。佩德罗一定也注意到了这一点，因为一天早晨，当佩德罗吃完他的鱼之后，又潜入水中，上来的时候带着一条大鱼，他将鱼放在沙滩上的那群猫的面前。然后他走开了，观察着那群猫。有一只黑猫显然比其他猫更有勇气靠近那条鱼，于是他叼起来就跑。从那以后，除了给主人守夜，这只狗好像认为喂养那些不幸者是自己的责任。因此，从那以后的每一天早晨，“渔夫”佩德罗都会将自己抓到的鱼与那群饥饿的马略卡岛上的猫共同分享。

The most touching dog story I've ever heard.

The setting of the story is a little cove on the east side of the Spanish island of Mallorca. It was there that an Englishman， a professional diver， lived on his yacht with his dog， a springer spaniel. He had tied his yacht to a pier where diving conditions were ideal. Each time the Englishman made a dive， the dog sat anxiously on the pier， awaiting his return. One day the dog became so concerned when the Englishman disappeared into the water that he dove in after him.

Underwater， the dog saw a school of fish swim past. He grabbed a fish and carried it back to the pier. The Englishman， surprised and pleased， praised him. After that， the dog followed the man on his dives. In the course of the shared diving， the dog developed excellent fishing skills， to the man's considerable amusement. The Englishman told the island's residents of his dog's accomplishments， and they came to the pier to watch. Delighted， they began calling the dog Pedro， after Peter， the fisherman.

One day the Englishman became ill， and shortly thereafter， he died. Townspeople tried to adopt Pedro， but the dog would never leave the beach for fear he would miss his master's return. He waited on the beach through hot sun and driving rain. People tried to feed him， but eventually they gave up. He wouldn't accept food from anyone other than his master. Finally， to feed himself， Pedro went back to fishing.

It happened that on this same island there were a number of stray cats. Ravenous， they would gather to watch Pedro dive into the schools of fish， select the fish he wanted and bring it back to eat on the shore. Then the cats would fight over what the dog had left uneaten. The dog must have observed this， for one morning when Pedro had eaten his fish， he dove into the water again and came back up with a large fish， which he placed on the sand before the group of cats. Then he backed off and watched. One black cat， with greater courage than the others， approached the fish， grabbed it and ran. After that， in addition to keeping vigil for his master， the dog also seemed to consider it his duty to feed those less fortunate. For every morning thereafter， Pedro the fisherman shared his catch with the hungry cats of Mallorca.