with all her big brothers and sisters off to school, our ranch became a lonely place for our three-year-old daughter, becky. she longed for playmates. cattle and horses were too big to cuddle and farm machinery dangerous for a child so small. we promised to buy her a puppy but in the meantime, pretend puppies popped up nearly every day.
i had just finished washing the lunch dishes when the screen door slammed and becky rushed in, cheeks flushed with excitement. mama! she cried, come see my new doggy! i gave him water two times already. he s so thirsty!
i sighed, another of becky s imaginary dogs.
哥哥姐姐都去上学以后，对我们三岁的女儿贝基来说，农场就成为一个寂寞的地方了。她渴望伙伴。牛马太大了，她无法抱在怀里。农业机械对这么小的孩子也太危险。我们答应给她买个宠物，不过同时， 虚构 的宠物每天都会出现。
我刚洗完午饭的盘子，纱窗门就砰地被撞开，贝基跑了进来，兴奋地满脸通红。 妈妈! 她叫着， 快来看看我的新狗狗!我已经喂他两次水了，他都快渴死了!
我叹息了一声，又是一只贝基虚构的小狗。
please come, mama. she tugged at my jeans, her brown eyes pleading, he s crying and he can t walk!
can t walk? now that was a twist. all her previous make-believe dogs could do marvelous things. one balanced a ball on the end of its nose. another dug a hole that went all the way through the earth and fell out on a star on the other side.
still another danced on a tightrope. why suddenly a dog that couldn t walk?
all right, honey, i said. by the time i tried to follow her, becky had already disappeared into the mesquite.
where are you? i called.
over here by the oak stump. hurry, mama!
来呀，妈妈。 她使劲拖着我的牛仔裤，棕色的眼睛里透出乞求的眼神。 他一直在叫 他还不会走路呢!
好吧，宝贝。 我说。还来不及跟上她呢，贝基就已经消失在豆科灌木丛中了。
你在哪儿啊? 我喊道。