Is Holly Working Today?　霍莉今天上班嗎？

Is Holly Working Today?　霍莉今天上班嗎？

◎ Barbara J. Wood

For Holly and me, it started with a stray kitten. Abandoned in the harsh winter weather, she huddled in a ball in the front steps of our building, an elementary school for emotionally disturbed children where I provided therapy three days a week.

對我和霍莉來說，一切是從一只流浪的小貓開始的。它被人丟棄在寒冬中，蜷縮在校舍樓前面臺階上的一個球里。這是一所為心理失調(diào)兒童開設(shè)的小學(xué)，我每周在那兒提供三天的心理治療。

That morning, I kept the kitten in my office while the principal figured out where to take it.

那天早上，我把貓放在了我的辦公室里，而校長則在考慮如何處置它。

It started as the children soberly traipsed into my office that day for their therapy. When they spotted the kitten, their faces suddenly brightened. Their reticence and tenseness seemed melt away as they petted the stray, and our sessions were relaxed and open. The kitten’s effect was astounding and, by the end of the day, I was hatching a plan. My dog, Holly, was a gentle, gregarious well-behaved seven-year-old mixed parentage. Couldn’t she have the same relaxing effect on the children I counseled? Enthused, I began paperwork requesting to permission to bring Holly to school with me, providing documentation of the benefits of companion animals.

事情是從孩子們認真而又懶懶散散地走進我的辦公室接受治療開始的。當他們發(fā)現(xiàn)小貓時，一個個眼前一亮。他們撫摩這只流浪貓時，昔日的緘默和緊張似乎融化了，整個療程進行得既輕松，又順暢。小貓的影響令我吃驚，那天工作結(jié)束時，我就開始醞釀一項計劃。我的狗，霍莉，是個性情溫和而合群的7歲混血兒。它對孩子的治療也能產(chǎn)生同樣的效果嗎？我滿腔熱情地開始寫報告，引用文獻資料，列舉了以動物為伴的好處，請求批準我?guī)Щ衾騺韺W(xué)校。

The project was approved, but my supervisor clearly let me know that Holly and I were on trial. The responsibility of any problems with the “dog experiment” would land squarely on my shoulders.

我的計劃雖然獲準，但是校長交代得很清楚，我和霍莉先試試。任何與“狗試驗”有關(guān)的問題，我都要承擔(dān)全部責(zé)任。

Optimistic nonetheless, I smiled at the signs pasted on my office door as I unlocked it on Holly’s first morning with me at school. Holly is happy to be here, the children had carefully stenciled. Already the children were responding positively to the idea of a dog counselor. Holly sniffed out my office, and we settled in for a day of work.

即便如此，我還是很樂觀。帶霍莉來學(xué)校的第一天早上，打開辦公室的門鎖時，看到貼在門上的告示，我笑了。孩子們認認真真地寫著：“霍莉很高興來到這兒。”他們對狗充當顧問的想法已經(jīng)作出了積極的反應(yīng)。霍莉把辦公室嗅了一遍后，我們開始了一天的工作。

A small boy entered, and he and Holly stared at each other warily. “Dose that dog bite?”

一個小男孩走進來，他和霍莉警惕地對視著。“那狗咬人嗎？”他問道。

“No,” I assured him. “Why don’t you give her a treat?” I handed him a bag of multicolored doggie treats. “Pick any color you like,” I said. The boy chose a red treat and tentatively held it out to Holly. She neatly and gently took the treat, swallowed it quickly and licked the boy’s hand. The boy smiled, Holly’s critical debut had been a success.

“不，”我讓他放心。“你為什么不給它吃點兒什么？”我遞給他一袋五彩斑斕的狗餅干，“挑你喜歡的顏色。”我說。那男孩挑了塊紅色的，試探性地朝霍莉伸出手。它輕巧利索地咬住餅干，很快地吞了下去，舔了舔男孩的手。男孩笑了?；衾虻某醮蔚菆霁@得成功。

After the bell rang, a succession of little visitors came to our door, vying to see Holly. As they took turns handing treats to Holly, she wagged her tail and liced her hands, showing her approval. There was no wonder the children was drawn to her: For many of them, it was their first encounter with unconditional acceptance.

鈴響后，一伙小參觀者陸續(xù)來到門前，爭著要看霍莉。他們輪流喂它餅干，它晃動著尾巴，還舔他們的手，表示贊賞。難怪孩子們很喜歡它：對許多孩子來說，這是他們第一次得到無條件的認可。

During the days that followed, Holly learned not to bard at the children’s knock on my office door. I set up a corner for her in my office on a piece of carpet remnant. The children eagerly came to me for their counseling visits, sitting on the floor by Holly petting, brushing, playing with and confiding in her. As they relaxed with Holly, the let down their defenses. Our counseling sessions became smooth and productive.

在接下來的日子里，霍莉?qū)W會了聽到孩子敲我辦公室門時不再吠叫。我為它在屋角里放了塊地毯碎片。孩子們熱切而積極地來我這兒進行心理治療，坐在地板上撫摩霍莉，梳理它的毛，逗它玩，向它吐露心里話。孩子們輕松地和霍莉相處，隨之也放下了他們的防備。心理障礙療程進展得十分順利，卓有成效。

Little by little, Holly’s influence came beyond her little corner of my office. Absences at school began to drop, and the children’s disruptive behavior softened. Even the teachers ducked in for some pet therapy throughout the day, giving Holly a short pat and resoring their spirit in her presence.

漸漸地，霍莉的影響從屋角擴展到辦公室外。上課缺勤率開始下降，孩子們的搗亂行為有所緩和。甚至教師們也不時光顧，想接受寵物治療，輕拍它一下，在它面前再重新打起精神來。

I didn’t realize how loved Holly was, though, until I missed two days of work with strep throat. When I called in sick the first day, expecting a touch of sympathy, I was immediately asked if that meant Holly would have to stay home too. The second day I was seriously asked if I could at least send Holly to work in a cab. Apparently, the teachers were tired of answering the question: “Is Holly working today?”

直到我因為膿毒性咽喉炎兩天沒去學(xué)校，我才知道霍莉是多么受人愛戴。第一天我打電話請病假時，期望聽到一些同情的話語，可對方立刻問我，這是否意味著霍莉也得待在家里。第二天，學(xué)校來電話問我，能否至少讓霍莉搭出租車去上班。顯然，老師們已經(jīng)厭煩回答同樣的問題：“霍莉今天上班嗎？”

One morning before school, nine-year-old LeMar, a third-grader who visited Holly regularly, was shot and killed in a domestic dispute. His classmates learned of the tragedy while they were still on the school bus, and by the time they arrived at school, they were terrified and in tears.

一天早上，上課前，定期來看霍莉的三年級學(xué)生，9歲的勒馬爾，在家庭紛爭中被槍擊中不幸死去。他的同學(xué)們在校車上聽到這個噩耗，到了學(xué)校后，個個都驚恐不已，流著眼淚。

I hurried to LeMar’s classroom, Holly trialing behind me. LeMar’s teacher stood there with tearing streaming down her face. “My degree didn’t prepare me to handle something like this.” She sobbed. I mustered all my sources and expertise to come up with the right words to soothe them.

我匆忙趕到勒馬爾的教室，霍莉尾隨在我身后。勒馬爾的老師站在那兒，淚流滿面。“我的學(xué)歷沒有教我怎樣處理這樣的事情，”她抽泣道。我使出渾身解數(shù)，想說出恰當?shù)淖盅蹃戆矒崴麄儭?/p>

“Crying is ok for adults and children,” I began, “especially when something like this happens.” Still seeing the pain on their faces, I contsinued to tell them that was okay to be scared, that fear is a natural response. For a while, we talked about how we would miss LeMar. It was at this point that I realized what Holly was doing.

“對成人和孩子來說，哭是應(yīng)該的，”我開口說道，“尤其是發(fā)生這種事情的時候。”看到他們臉上仍顯露著悲痛，我接著告訴他們恐懼也是正常的，那是一種自然反應(yīng)。我們討論了一會兒我們對勒馬爾的思念。就在這個時候，我才注意到霍莉在干什么。

She was working her way around the room, going from child to child—and the teacher—putting her front paws on their laps and stretching up to lick tears from their faces. Unconsciously, the children hugged her back, running their fingers through her fur in such intensity that she would have done bald if they’d done it all day. She called no significant attention to herself, but quietly expressed love and consolation. She diligently kept up her silent comfort throughout that long, difficult day.

它繞著教室走，從一個孩子到另一個孩子——也到老師那兒——把它的前爪放在他們的膝上，挺身舔去他們臉上的眼淚。孩子們下意識地抱住它的背，使勁兒拉扯著它的皮毛，手指用勁兒那么大，要是被拉扯一整天的話，霍莉準會成禿毛狗了。它并不要求給予自己多大的關(guān)注，只是默默地表達著愛和安慰。在那漫長而艱難的一天里，霍莉不知疲倦地給人以無聲的慰藉。

As I slid into the front seat of my car that afternoon, I leaned back, exhausted from the emotional trauma. I just wanted to be home. Glancing briefly into my backseat, I was surprised to see that Holly had already fallen asleep. She was just as drained as I was, if not more so, not for the first time, I felt a pang of guilt. Was it fair to ask my dog to take on the emotional responsibilities of troubled children? Shouldn’t be allowed to stay home and enjoy the carefree life of a house pet?

那天下午，我鉆進汽車前座后，仰身坐下，感情的創(chuàng)傷使我疲憊不堪。我只想回家。往后座一瞥，我驚訝地看到霍莉已經(jīng)睡著了。我不知道它到底有多累，但至少和我一樣筋疲力盡。我感到陣陣內(nèi)疚。我讓我的愛犬承擔(dān)陷入痛苦的孩子們感情上的責(zé)任，這公平嗎？它是不是該留在家里，享受家庭寵物無憂無慮的生活呢？

These doubts may be why, even now, I occasionally stop in my rush to leave for school in the morning and, instead of ordering Holly into the car, look at her, asking, “Do you want to go to school today?” When she leaps up early, all wags and excitement, I figure she’s answered that burning question for all of us. Yes, Holly is working today.

諸如此類的疑問可能就是，為什么即使是現(xiàn)在，我偶爾會不再有早上急于去學(xué)校的念頭，而是看著它問道：“今天你想去學(xué)校嗎？”當它急切地跳起來，搖晃著尾巴，興奮不已時，我想它已經(jīng)回答了我們大家急于要問的問題。是的，霍莉今天上班。

超多雙語閱讀，盡在聽力課堂