Granddad's dog Rex
聽爺爺講那過去的事：一只不安于be himself的狗

We always suspected Granddad was unusual. There always was a bit of a mystery about his past. But when we got on his lap and he told us about things that happened when he was a little boy, well, somehow we knew it was all true.
我們一直覺得爺爺非常不尋常，他的過去總顯得有點神秘。但直到有一次我們圍坐在他的大腿上，聽他講自己小時候的事情時，我們才知道事實確實如此。
"Let me just tell you about when I was your age," Granddad would say. "Things were much different than now for you children" "How, Granddad? How?" I begged. I loved Granddad's stories. "Well, Steven, in a lot of ways, but for one thing, when I was a child, all the animals could talk."
爺爺說：“我給你們講一講我小時候的事情。”“我像你們這么大時遇到的事情與你們現在的差別很大”“有什么差別，爺爺？有什么差別？”我央求爺爺繼續講下去。我非常愛聽爺爺講的故事。“好吧，史蒂文，差別在很多方面。我們先從一件事情講起吧——我小時候，所有動物都會說話。”
"No way, Granddad," Susannah nit-picked. "Yes, Susanna, and the animal that seemed to have the most to say was Rex." "Your dog, Rex, Granddad?" Harrison asked. "That's the one. Why, I remember one day when Rex came to me and told me he wasn't satisfied being a dog?"
“這不可能，爺爺，”蘇珊娜挑剔地指出。“它們真的會說，蘇珊娜，其中話最多的似乎是雷克斯。”“是您的那只狗雷克斯嗎，爺爺？”哈里森問道。“沒錯，就是他。記得有一天雷克斯來到我身邊，告訴我他對自己的生活感到不滿，不想再做一只狗了。”
"Was it the dog food, Granddad? Didn't you give him good things to eat?" I wondered. "No, it wasn't the dog food. Seems Rex had been looking around, at other animals, at humans, even at other dogs, and he just wasn't satisfied."
“是狗糧的問題嗎，爺爺？您不給他好東西吃嗎？”我好奇地問道。“不是狗糧的事兒。似乎雷克斯之前一直在四處觀望，觀察其他動物、人類，甚至其他狗的生活，他只是感到對自己的生活不滿意而已。”

"What did you tell him, Granddad?" Jenny asked. "Well, I didn't tell him anything, Jenny. I learned that Rex does better if he learns lessons himself. Just like you children do. Seems Rex had been to the circus, snuck under the tent and had seen the high wire act. That's what Rex wanted to be—a high wire trapeze artist, walking on the wire."
“那您是怎么回答他的，爺爺？”珍妮問道。“嗯，我什么也沒說，珍妮。我了解，如果讓雷克斯親自去學習經驗教訓，應該會對他更有好處。就像你們這些孩子們一樣。后來，雷克斯好像去了趟馬戲團。他躲在馬戲團的帳篷下，看到了踩鋼絲表演。這就是雷克斯想要的——做一名空中飛人踩鋼絲演員。”
"But dogs can't walk on wire, Granddad," Susanna noted. "It's already hard for them to hold the balancing pole in their paws." "Well, that's right, and when he tried it by walking on the back of the couch, well, he fell right off and yipped and yipped and yipped."
“但是，狗狗不會踩鋼絲啊，爺爺，”蘇珊娜指出。“如何用爪子拿住平衡桿已經足夠難倒他們了。”“沒錯，當他試著在沙發靠背上走兩步時，就直接跌了下來，然后就是不停地尖叫，不停地尖叫。
We all laughed. "Well, that didn't seem to teach him his lesson, children, so he tried something new. This time he had been in the garden and it seems he had been chatting with a snake. Apparently, the snake bragged a lot and convinced Rex he should become a snake."
我們全都大笑起來。“他似乎沒有從中吸取什么教訓，孩子們，于是他又開始嘗試一些新的東西。這一次，他來到了花園里，好像在那里與一條蛇聊了會兒天。 顯然，那條蛇對他說了很多大話，并讓雷克斯確信自己應該成為一條蛇。”
"Granddad!" Harrison spoke up. "Dogs cannot be snakes!" He poked Granddad as he lectured him. "They would have trouble making that hissing sound."
“爺爺！”哈里森大聲說道。“狗不可能成為蛇！”，他比比劃劃地向爺爺講解著，“他們很難發出嘶嘶的聲音。”
"Yes, and Harrison, when Rex practiced slithering, he accidentally wrapped himself around the toilet and could not get out of the bathroom for a while." "What did you do, Granddad, did you leave him there?" wondered Jenny.
“是的，哈里森，當雷克斯練習像蛇一樣在地上爬行時，不小心把自己纏在了馬桶上，被困在衛生間里好長時間。”“那然后呢？您怎么做的，爺爺？把他自己留在那里了嗎？”珍妮好奇地問道。
"Well, no, your Grandma was pretty crafty with her knitting needles. No need to go into details, but after some additional yelping we got him out. He was pretty embarrassed about that episode; I can tell you that. Rex told me later that he felt that the snake project was poorly planned, but he knew for sure what he was going to be."
“沒有啊，你們奶奶的織針手藝很棒的。但具體我們怎么做的就不多說了，反正在他的一陣尖叫聲后，我們把他救了出來。我可以告訴你們的是，他對這段插曲感到非常尷尬。雷克斯后來告訴我，他覺得變成蛇的項目計劃得不夠周密，但他現在毫無疑問地知道自己想要成為什么了。”
"What did he decide, Granddad?" Harrison wanted to know. "Well, Rex had been watching TV, and he decided he wanted to be Miss America."
“他做了什么決定，爺爺？”哈里森想知道個究竟。“好吧，雷克斯當時一直在看電視，于是他決定要成為‘美國小姐'。”
"MISS AMERICA???" Jenny objected. "But REX is a boy dog!" "That was a drawback," Granddad admitted. "But Granddad," Susanna interrupted, "does he know about the swimsuit competition?"
珍妮反駁說：“但雷克斯是一只男狗啊！”“這確實是一個不利條件，”爺爺承認說。“還有，爺爺，”蘇珊娜插嘴說，“他了解泳裝秀是怎么回事嗎？”
"Well, children that was a problem. When we got it on him, Rex not only looked silly, it slowed him down when he chased squirrels. Finally, it was Grandma who talked some sense into him."
“嗯，孩子們，這是個問題。當我們幫他穿上泳裝時，雷克斯不僅看起來傻兮兮的，而且追松鼠時的速度都變慢了。最終還是奶奶勸說他放棄了這個念頭。
"Grandma could speak dog?" Harrison was amazed. "Oh, fluently. She finally sat him down, got him a cup of tea and explained to him what you all know, don't you children?" "Yes, he has to be himself. That's how you get people to like you—be yourself, Granddad." I instructed. "Did she teach him to use his natural talents?"
“奶奶會說狗的語言？！”哈里森很驚訝。“嗯，還很流利呢。最后，奶奶讓他坐了下來，給他一杯茶，向他解釋了你們都知道的道理，沒錯吧孩子們？”“是的，他應該做他自己。要想讓別人喜歡你——必須做你自己。”我回答道。“奶奶教他利用自己的天賦了嗎？”
"Yes, Steven, she did. She showed him that we loved him for what he was already good at." "What was Rex good at, Granddad?" wondered Susanna. "Oh, scratching himself, barking, frightening squirrels. He was a very talented dog."
“是的，史蒂文，奶奶這樣做了。奶奶告訴他，我們愛他正是因為他所擅長的。”“那，爺爺，雷克斯擅長什么啊？”蘇珊娜好奇地問道。“哦，為自己抓癢癢、汪汪叫、嚇唬松鼠。嗯，他是一只很有才華的狗。”
"A talking dog? Can that possibly be true, Granddad?" wondered Harrison. "It could possibly, Harry. Just possibly." "I wish Rex and Grandma didn't die, Granddad," said Jenny sadly. "Oh, they are together right now Jenny," Granddad said whimsically. "In Heaven, Granddad?" She brightened up. "Oh, no, Jenny. Not in heaven. Grandma and Rex aren't dead. They are just together. In another place. And it isn't far from here, children. Would you like to go see them?" "YEAH!!!!!!" All of us cheered. And we meant it, too.
“一只會說話的狗？這可能是真的嗎，爺爺？”哈里森好奇地問。“有可能的，哈利。但只是可能而已。”“要是雷克斯和奶奶都沒有死該多好啊，爺爺，”珍妮悲傷地說。“哦，他們現在在一起呢，珍妮，”爺爺用古怪的語氣說道。“他們在天堂嗎，爺爺？”珍妮變得高興起來。“哦，珍妮，他們不在天堂。奶奶和雷克斯都沒有死。他們只是在一起，住在另一個地方，這個地方離我們并不太遠。你們想去看看他們嗎？“當然想！！！！！”我們都歡呼了起來。我們確實也想去見見他們。