(单词翻译:单击)
Many evenings Carlos and Bobby and the other men would sit at a small table and talk,
许多个晚上，卡洛斯、鲍比和其他人会坐在一张小桌子旁聊天，
opening and passing a glass bottle from which came a sharp chemical smell.
打开并递过一个玻璃瓶，里面有一股强烈的化学气味。
Not this night, though—the dogs were all alone in the Yard.
不过今天晚上没有——院子里只有狗。
Mother lifted her forelegs off the ground, pressing them against the slats of the wooden gate, and took the metal knob in her mouth.
母亲把前腿抬离地面，紧贴着木门的板条，咬住了金属把手。
I was baffled—why, I wondered, would she chew on such a thing when there were all these perfectly good rubber bones scattered about?
我很困惑——我在想，为什么周围到处都是这么好的橡胶骨头，她却要嚼这么一个东西？
She twisted her head left and right, apparently unable to get a good bite of the thing.
她左右扭着头，很显然，这个东西并不好咬。
I glanced over at Fast, but he was sound asleep.
我瞥了一眼Fast，但他睡得很熟。
Then, astoundingly, the gate clicked open.
然后，令人吃惊的是，门咔哒一声打开了。
My mother had opened the gate!
我妈妈打开了门!
She dropped her paws to the ground and shouldered the gate aside, sniffing cautiously at the air on the other side of the fence.
她把爪子放在地上，用肩膀推开大门，小心翼翼地嗅着栅栏另一边的空气。
Then she turned to look at me, her eyes bright.
然后她转过身来看着我，她的眼睛闪闪发亮。
The message in them was clear: my mother was leaving.
这个信息很清楚：我母亲要离开了。
I stood to join her, and Coco, who was lying nearby,
我站起来想要跟她一起，而躺在旁边的可可，
lazily lifted her head to blink at me for a moment before sighing and stretching back out in the sand.
懒懒地抬起头，朝我眨了眨眼睛，然后叹了口气，又在沙地上伸直了身子。
If I left, I’d never see Coco again.
如果我走了，我就再也见不到可可了。
I was torn between loyalty to Mother, who had fed me and taught me and taken care of me,
我在对养育了我，教育了我，照顾了我的母亲的忠诚
and to the pack, which included my worthless brother, Fast.
和对那群狗，包括我那没用的哥哥Fast的忠诚之间左右为难。
Mother didn’t wait for my decision. She slunk off silently into the gloom of the approaching night.
母亲没有等我作出决定。她悄悄地溜进了即将来临的夜色中。
If I wanted to catch up to her, I would have to hurry.
如果我想赶上她，我就得快点。
I scampered out the open gate, pursuing her into the unpredictable world on the other side of the fence.
我跑出敞开的大门，追着她跑进了栅栏另一边那个不可预知的世界。
Fast never saw us go.
Fast从没看见我们离开。
