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A sporting-goods business in Bemidji had been one of my sponsors, and one evening I gave a public slide show at its store.
伯米吉的一家體育用品商一直是我的一個贊助商，一天晚上，我在他的店里做了一個公開的幻燈片展示。
There was an older man sitting in a wheelchair, and I saw that when I told how Cookie, my lead dog, had saved my life, his eyes teared up and he nodded.
當(dāng)我講述我生命中最重要的狗Cookie如何拯救我的生命時，我看到一位坐在輪椅上的老人淚流滿面，點了點頭。
When the event was over, he wheeled up and shook my hand. "I had a dog like your Cookie—a dog that saved my life."
活動結(jié)束后，他轉(zhuǎn)過身來和我握了握手。“我養(yǎng)了一條狗，和你的狗一樣——這條狗救了我的命。”
"Oh, did you run sleds?"
“哦，你也參加了雪橇比賽嗎?”
He shook his head. "No, not like that. I lived up in Thief River Falls when I was drafted to serve in the Korean War.
他搖了搖頭。“不，不是這樣的，當(dāng)我征召參加朝鮮戰(zhàn)爭時，我在錫夫里弗福爾斯待過一段時間。
I had a Labrador retriever that I raised and hunted with. Then I was wounded—lost the use of my legs.
我養(yǎng)過一只拉布拉多獵犬，我和它一起打獵，后來我受傷了——失去了雙腿。
When I came back from the hospital, he was waiting. He spent the rest of his life by my side.
當(dāng)我從醫(yī)院回來時，它在等我，它在我身邊度過了余生。
"I would have gone crazy without him. I'd sit for hours and talk to him …"
“如果沒有它，我會發(fā)瘋的，我會坐上幾個小時跟它說話……”
He trailed off, and his eyes were moist again. "I still miss him."
老人聲音漸漸低沉，眼睛又濕潤了，“我依然想念它。”
I looked at him, then out the store window.
我看著他，然后從商店的窗戶往外看。
It was spring, and the snow was melting outside, but I was seeing a 13-year-old and a Lab sitting in a duck blind in the fall.
當(dāng)時是春天，外面的雪在融化，但我看到，秋天的時候一個13歲的孩子和一條拉布拉多獵犬正坐在一只死去鴨子的旁邊。
Thief River Falls, he'd said, and the Korean War. The timing was right, and the place.
老人曾說過，錫夫里弗福爾斯，朝鮮戰(zhàn)爭爆發(fā)，時機是正確的，地點也是。
"Your dog," I said. "Was he named Ike?"
“你的狗,”我說。“它叫艾克嗎？”
The man smiled and nodded. "Why, yes. But how … Did you know him?"
老人微笑著點點頭。“你怎么知道，是的，但你是怎么認(rèn)識這條狗的？”
That was why Ike had not come back. He had another job, taking care of his sick owner.
這就是艾克沒有回來的原因，它有另一份工作，照顧生病的主人。
"Yes," I said, turning to him. "He was my best friend."
“是的，”我轉(zhuǎn)身對他說，“它是我最好的朋友。”
