Brownie and Spotty were neighbor dogs who met every day to play together. Like pairs of dogs you can find in most any neighborhood, these two loved each other and played together so often that they had worn a path through the grass of the field between their respective houses.
neighborhood n. 附近、临近respective adj. 各自的
One evening, Brownie's family noticed that Brownie hadn' t returned home. They went looking for him with no success. Brownie didn't show up the next day, and, despite their efforts to find him, by the next week he was still missing.
show up 露面missing adj. 不见的
Curiously1, Spotty showed up at Brownie's house alone. Barking, whining2 and generally pestering4 Brownie's human family. Busy with their own lives, they just ignored the nervous little neighbor dog.
whine5 v. 哀鸣pester3 v. 纠缠
Finally, one morning Spotty refused to take no for an answer. Ted6, Brownie's owner, was steadily7 harassed8 by the furious, adamant9little dog. Spotty followed Ted about, barking insistently10, then darting11 toward a nearby empty lot and back, as if to say, Follow me! It's urgent!
harassed adj. 厌烦的furious adj. 狂怒的adamant adj. 坚定的、固执的
Eventually, Ted followed the frantic12 Spotty across the empty lot as Spotty paused to race back and bark encouragingly. The little dog led the man under a tree, past clumps13 of trees, to a desolate14 spot a half mile from the house. There Ted found his beloved Brownie alive, one of his hind15 legs crushed in a steel leghold trap. Horrified16, Ted now wished he'd taken Spotty's earlier appeals seriously. Then Ted noticed something quite remarkable17.
frantic adj. 疯狂的desolate adj. 荒凉的horrified adj. 惊骇的
Spotty had done more than simply led Brownie's human owner to his trapped friend. In a circle around the injured dog, Ted found an array of dog food and table scraps18 which were later identified as the remains19 of every meal Spotty had been fed that week!
array n. 排列remains n.残余
Spotty had been visiting Brownie regularly, in a single minded quest to keep his friend alive by sacrificing his own comfort. Spotty had evidently stayed with Brownie to protect him from predators21, snuggling with him at night to keep him warm and nuzzling him to keep his spirits up.
sacrifice v. 献出predator20 n. 食肉动物snuggle v. 偎依nuzzle v. 用鼻抚摸
Brownie's leg was treated by a veterinarian and he recovered. For many years thereafter, the two families watched the faithful friends frolicking and chasing each other down that well worn path between their houses.
veterinarian n. 兽医recover v. 痊愈、恢复frolic v. 嬉戏
中文：
布朗尼和斯波蒂是邻居，两只天天相会一块玩的狗。像几乎能在任何社区找到的成对的狗一样，它们两个互相爱慕，常在一块玩耍嬉戏，两家之间的草地上已经踏出了一条小径。
一天傍晚，布朗尼的主人家发现它没回家，搜寻一番也没找到。第二天，布朗尼依旧没露面。尽管大家还在努力探寻着，到了第二周，它还是无影无踪。
奇怪的是，斯波蒂一个人出目前布朗尼主人家，吠叫、哀嚎，还一直缠着家的人，但他们忙于我们的生活，没在乎邻居家这只神经质的小狗。
一天早上，斯波蒂终于拒绝同意不的回答。布朗尼的主人特德被这只暴怒的、不依不饶的小狗骚扰个不停。斯波蒂到处跟着特德，汪汪地叫个不停，然后窜到近处空地上，又窜回来，好像在说：跟我来！状况紧急！
最后，特德跟着发疯似的斯波蒂穿过空地，小狗停步奔回，用叫声催促着。它领着特德从一棵树下穿过，经过树丛，来到离房屋半英里远的一处荒地。在那里，特德发现他心爱的布朗尼还活着，一条后腿被一个钢制捕捉器夹着。特德大为震撼，后悔当初没认真对待斯波蒂的求助。随后，一幅非凡的景象映入眼帘。
斯波蒂不只只不过带领布朗尼的主人来到它被困的朋友跟前。在受伤的布朗尼四周，特德发现有一圈狗食和餐桌上的残羹剩饭后来证实是那个星期每餐喂斯波蒂吃剩下的食物！
斯波蒂一直定时来看望布朗尼，专心致志要让它的朋友活下去，吃苦受累在所不惜。显然，斯波蒂陪着布朗尼，保护它免遭其他捕食动物的侵袭，夜间偎依着它为它驱寒，用鼻口拱它振作它的精神。
兽医治愈了布朗尼的伤腿。自那将来多年中，两家邻居不时会看到这一对忠实的朋友嬉戏玩耍，在两幢住房间久踩成径的草地上相互追逐。
