有需要的朋友Planting happiness A Friend in Need
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.
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.
Curiously，Spotty showed up at Brownie‘s house alone.Barking，whining and generally pestering Brownie’s human family.Busy with their own lives，they just ignored the nervous little neighbor dog.
Finally，one morning Spotty refused to take “no”for an answer.Ted，Brownie‘s owner，was steadily harassed by the furious，adamant little dog.Spotty followed Ted about，barking insistently，then darting toward a nearby empty lot and back，as if to say，“Follow me！It’s urgent！”
Eventually，Ted followed the frantic Spotty across the empty lot as Spotty paused to race back and bark encouragingly.The little dog led the man under a tree，past clumps of trees，to a desolate spot a half mile from the house.There Ted found his beloved Brownie alive，one of his hind legs crushed in a steel leghold trap.Horrified，Ted now wished he‘d taken Spotty’s earlier appeals seriously.Then Ted noticed something quite remarkable.
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 scraps which were later identified as the remains of every meal Spotty had been fed that week！
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 predators，snuggling with him at night to keep him warm and nuzzling him to keep his spirits up.
Brownie’s leg was treated by a veterinarian and he recovered.For many years thereafter，the two families watched the faithful friends frolicing and chasing each other down that well worn path between their houses.
布朗尼和斯波蒂是邻居，两只每天相会一起玩的狗。像几乎能在任何社区找到的成对的狗一样，它们俩互相爱慕，常在一起玩耍嬉戏，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有回家，搜寻一番也没找到。第二天，布朗尼依然没露面。尽管人们还在努力寻找着，到了第二周，它还是不见踪影。
奇怪的是，斯波蒂独自出现在布朗尼主人家，吠叫、哀嚎，还总是缠着家里的人，但他们忙于自己的生活，没有在意邻居家这只神经质的小狗。
一天早上，斯波蒂终于拒绝接受“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，似乎在说：“跟我来！情况紧急！”
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，来到离房子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。特德大为震惊，后悔当初没有认真对待斯波蒂的求助。随后，一幅非凡的景象映入眼帘。
斯波蒂不仅仅只是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，一心一意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。自那以后多年中，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。
生命的过客A Little Piece of Me
When he told me he was leaving，I felt like a vase which has just smashed.There were pieces of me all over the tidy，tan tiles.He kept talking，telling me why he was leaving，explaining it was for the best，I could do better，it was his fault and not mine.I had heard it before many times and yet somehow was still not immune；perhaps one did not become immune to such felony.
He left and I tried to get on with my life.I filled the kettle and put it on to boil，I took out my old red mug and filled it with coffee watching as each coffee granule slipped in to the bone china.That was what my life had been like，endless omissions of coffee granules，somehow never managing to make that cup of coffee.
Somehow when the kettle piped its finishing warning I pretended not to hear it.That‘s what Mike’s leaving had been like，sudden and with an awful finality.I would rather just wallow in uncertainty than have things finished.I laughed at myself.Imagine getting all philosophical and sentimental about a mug of coffee.I must be getting old.
And yet it was a young woman who stared back at me from the mirror.A young woman full of promise and hope，a young woman with bright eyes and full lips just waiting to take on the world.I never loved Mike anyway.Besides there are more important things.More important than love，I insist to myself firmly.The lid goes back on the coffee just like closure on the whole Mike experience.
He doesn‘t haunt my dreams as I feared that night.Instead I am flying far across fields and woods，looking down on those below me.Suddenly I fall to the ground and it is only when I wake up that I realize I was shot by a hunter，brought down by the burden of not the bullet but the soul of the man who shot it.I realize later，with some degree of understanding，that Mike was the hunter holding me down and I am the bird that longs to fly.The next night my dream is similar to the previous nights，but without the hunter.I fly free until I meet another bird who flies with me in perfect harmony.I realize with some relief that there is a bird out there for me，there is another person，not necessarily a lover perhaps just a friend，but there is someone out there who is my soul mate.I think about being a broken vase again and realize that I have glued myself back together，what Mike has is merely a little part of my time in earth，a little understanding of my physical being.He has only，a little piece of me.
当他告诉我他要离开的时候，我感觉自己就像花瓶裂成了碎片，跌落在茶色瓷砖地板上。他一直在说话，解释着为什么要离开，说什么这是最好的，我可以做得更好，都是他的错，与我无关。虽然这些话我已经听上好几千遍了，可每次听完都让我很受伤，或许在这样巨大的打击面前没有人能做到无动于衷。
他走了，我尝试着继续过自己的生活。我烧开水，拿出红色杯子，看着咖啡粉末一点点地落入骨灰瓷的杯子里。这正是我自己的生活写照，不断地往下掉咖啡粉末，却从来没有真正地泡成一杯咖啡。
水开了，水壶发出警报声，我假装没有听见。迈克的离去也是一样，突如其来，并且无可挽回。要知道，我宁愿忍受分与不分的煎熬，也不愿意以这样的方式被宣判“死刑”。想着想着我就哑然失笑，自己竟然为一杯咖啡有如此多的人生感怀，我自己一定是老了。
可是镜子里回瞪着我的那个女孩还是那么年轻啊！明目皓齿，充满了前途与希望，光明的未来在向她招手。没关系的，反正我也从来没有爱过迈克。何况，生命中还有比爱更重要的东西在等待着我，我对自己坚持说。我将咖啡罐的盖子盖好，也将所有关于迈克的记忆尘封起来。