The Dog's Bell

狗的铃铛

John's dog was a bad dog. He bit people frequently. John had great concern about this. It was not an appropriate way for a dog to behave. His friends in the village always expected the dog to bite them. The news about John's dog spread through the village. None of the people wanted to go to John's house.

约翰养了一只狗，但它很坏，经常咬人，约翰为此非常头疼。狗不应该这样。村子里的人都很害怕被这只狗咬。村子里的人都知道了约翰家的狗会咬人，所以没有人愿意到他家做客。

John tried to instruct the dog to behave, but it never worked. He tried to be patient and teach the dog to be calm. That also didn't work. John didn't want to punish the dog. "How will I stop my dog's bad habit?" John asked himself.

约翰也曾尝试过驯服它，但都没有成功。他曾很耐心地教它安静下来，但也没有奏效。约翰并不想惩罚自己的狗。“怎么才能改掉它这个坏习惯呢?”约翰自言自语道。

John's friend came to talk to him about the issue. During their important meeting, his friend said, "The people in the village asked me to represent them. We want your dog to stop this habit. Why don't you put a bell around the dog's neck? This way, we would hear your dog coming down the street."

约翰朋友来找他谈论这个问题。这这次重要的谈话中，他朋友说道：“我代表村里其他人来这，大家都希望你的狗能改掉这个坏毛病。为什么不给它脖子上带一个铃铛呢?这样大家就能知道你的狗来了。”

John thought this was a great idea. Now, people could stay away from the dog. It would not be able to bite anyone anymore.

约翰认为这是个不错的办法。现在大家都能远离这只狗了。它再也咬不到人了。

The dog liked the bell, too. People looked at him when they heard his bell. This made the dog very content. He liked the song the bell played when he walked.

狗也很喜欢这个铃铛，因为铃铛一响就能引人注目，它对此非常满意。它也喜欢走动时铃铛的响声。

One day, John's dog strolled through the village and met some other dogs. He expected them to want a bell like his. But they laughed at his bell. They said the bell made people avoid him. John's dog shook his head. "No, they look at me because they like the bell."

有一天，它在村子里闲逛时遇上了其它狗。它以为大家都会想要一个这样的铃铛，但却换来的是嘲笑。它们说这是人们为了躲避它而做的铃铛。但它却不以为然。“不对，人们因为喜欢我的铃铛才会注意到我。”

The other dogs said, "You have the wrong idea of what makes you popular. Of course they like your bell. It tells them where you are so they can avoid you. You aren't able to bite them anymore!"

另一只狗说道：“你对自己受欢迎的原因有着错误的认识。人们当然喜欢这个铃铛，因为他们能知道你的方位以便躲开你。这样就不会再被你咬了!”

You see, being popular isn't something positive when it's for the wrong reason.

看，因为错误的原因而受到的关注也并不是什么好事。

核心单词

appropriate adj. 适当的

avoid v. 避免

behave v. 行为，举止

calm adj. 平静的，冷静的

concern n. 关心，关注

content adj. 满足的

expect v. 期待

frequently adv. 经常地

habit n. 习惯

instruct v. 指示

issue n. 问题，议题

none pron. 一个也没有

patient adj. 耐心的

positive adj. 积极的

punish v. 惩罚

represent v. 代表

shake v. 摇动

spread v. 传播

stroll v. 闲逛

village n. 村庄

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