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It all served to fog my mind with pleasure so that I forgot my Grandpa's repeated warnings, and one night left Maheegun unchained. The following morning in sailed Mrs. Yesno, wild with anger, who demanded Maheegun be shot because he had killed her rooster. The next morning, my grandpa announced that we were going to take Maheegun to the north shack.

By the time we reached the lake where the trapper's shack stood, Maheegun seemed to have become restless. Often he would sit with his nose to the sky, turning his head this way and that as if to check the wind.

The warmth of the stove soon brought sleep to me. But something caused me to wake up with a start. I sat up, and in the moon-flooded cabin was my grandfather standing beside me. "Come and see, son," whispered my grandfather.

Outside the moon was full and the world looked all white with snow. He pointed to a rock that stood high at the edge of the lake. On the top was the clear outline of a great wolf sitting still, ears pointed, alert, listening.

"Maheegun," whispered my grandfather.
Slowly the wolf raised his muzzle. "Oooo-oo-wow-wowoo-oooo!"

The whole white world thrilled to that wild cry. Then after a while, from the distance came a softer call in reply. Maheegun stirred, with the deep rumble of pleasure in his throat. He slipped down the rock and headed out across the ice.
"He's gone," I said.
"Yes, he's gone to that young she-wolf." My grandfather slowly filled his pipe. "He will take her for life, hunt for her, protect her. This is the way the Creator planned life. No man can change it."
I tried to tell myself it was all for the best, but it was hard to lose my brother.
For the next two years I was as busy as a squirrel storing nuts for the winter. But once or twice when I heard wolf cries from distant hills, I would still wonder if Maheegun, in his battle for life, found time to remember me.
It was not long after that I found the answer.

Easter came early that year and during the holidays I went to visit my cousins.
My uncle was to bring me home in his truck. But he was detained by some urgent business. So I decided to come back home on my own.

A mile down the road I slipped into my snowshoes and turned into the bush. The strong sunshine had dimmed. I had not gone far before big flakes of snow began drifting down.

The snow thickened fast. I could not locate the tall pine that stood on the north slope of Little Mountain. I circled to my right and stumbled into a snow-filled creek bed. By then the snow had made a blanket of white darkness, but I knew only too well there should have been no creek there.

I tried to travel west but only to hit the creek again. I knew I had gone in a great circle and I was lost.

参考译文

这一切都使我高兴过了头，结果有一天晚上我忘记了爷爷的再三叮嘱，没有把美尔根拴起来。第二天早晨，耶斯诺太太怒气冲冲地找过来，要求开枪打死美尔根，因为它弄死了她的鸡。第三天早晨，爷爷宣布我们把美尔根带到北边的小棚屋里去。

猎棚在一个湖泊旁边，当我们来到这儿时，美尔根看起来变得躁动不安。它常常蹲坐着，鼻子朝天，不停地将头扭来扭去，好像是在辨别方向。

火炉的温暖很快让我睡着了。但不知是什么使我猛然惊醒。我坐起来，看见爷爷站在我旁边，小屋里洒满了月亮的清辉。“过来看，孩子。”爷爷低声地说。

外面是一轮满月，世界因被白雪覆盖显得一片银白。爷爷指着湖边高耸的岩石，岩石上有一个清晰的大狼的轮廓，它静静地坐着，耳朵竖起警觉地在听着什么。

“是美尔根。”爷爷低声说。
那只狼慢慢抬起口鼻。“奥...奥...喔...喔...奥！”
那野性的叫声给整个白色的世界注入了活力。过了一会儿，从远处传来了一个轻柔的回应声。美尔根激动起来，用嗓子连续发出低沉的、愉悦的吼声。他快速地抛下岩石，穿过冰面离开了。

“他走了。”我说。
“是的，他去找那个年轻的母狼了。”爷爷慢慢地装着烟斗。“他将陪她度过一生，为她猎食，保护她，这是上帝安排好了的方式，没人能改变它。”

我极力告诉自己这是最好的结果，但失去兄弟让我很难过。

在接下来的两年里，我像为冬天储存坚果的松鼠一样忙。但有一两次当我听见从远处山里传来的浪叫时，我依然想知道美尔根，在它为生存而进行斗争之余，是否还记得我。不久我便找到了答案。

那一年复活节来得早，假期里我去表哥家做客。

我的舅舅原计划用他的卡车送我回家，但是由于他被一些紧急的事情给耽搁了，所以，我决定自己单独回家。

沿着路走了一英里后，我蹬上雪鞋，拐进灌木丛中。强烈的阳光已经暗淡下来。我没走多远，大片大片的雪花就开始飘落。

雪很快就下了厚厚的一层。我找不到小山北坡上的那棵松树的准确位置，我往右拐绕了一个圈子，跌跌撞撞地走进了一个冰雪覆盖的河床。那时雪已下得四处一片白茫茫，使得我辨不清方向，但是我清楚地记得在那里应该没有小溪。

我努力往西走，结果又一次遇到了那条小溪。我知道我是绕了个大圈子，我迷路了。

词汇释义

1.rooster n. 公鸡, 栖息的鸟

例句：

He strut around like a rooster in a hen house..
他像鸡舍里的公鸡一样昂首阔步。

2.restless adj.不安定的, 坐立不安的; 动作不停的

例句：

He spent a restless night.
他彻夜不眠。

3.alert adj.警惕的; 警觉的, 留心的

例句：

She is alert and thoughtful.
她很有心眼儿。

4.muzzle n.(狗、马等) 凸出的口和鼻

例句：

A bag that fits over a horse's muzzle and holds feed.
饲料袋吊在马嘴下装饲料的口袋

5.squirrel n. 松鼠, 松鼠毛皮

例句：

The squirrel stores nuts in its burrow.
小松鼠将干果贮藏在地洞里。

6.dim adj.微暗的; 朦胧的；模糊的, 看不清楚的

例句：

His sight is getting dim.
他的视力越来越差了.

难句解析

1.It all served to fog my mind with pleasure so that I forgot my Grandpa's repeated warnings, and one night left Maheegun unchained.

【难句解析】serve (only) to do sth.意思是“对...起作用，导致”；leave +n.+v-ed/adj./prep, 导致（使）...保持一种状态或位置，过去分词、形容词、介词短语做宾语补

足语，表示宾语的现状、状态或某一动作的结果。

2.The following morning in sailed Mrs. Yesno, wild with anger, who demanded Maheegun be shot because he had killed her rooster.

【难句解析】句子的前半部分为修辞倒装，正常语序为Mrs. Yesno sailed in,将与介词同形的副词移到句首，而把谓语放在主语后面，使描绘显得更为生动。