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. hes so thirsty!
i sighed, another of beckys 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, hes crying and he cant walk!
cant 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 couldnt 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!
不会走路?这倒是一个预想不到的变化。她以前编造的狗狗都会做令人惊异的事情。其中一只会在鼻尖上平稳地顶着一个球不让它掉下来，另一只挖洞穿越了地球，从另一端掉到星球上去了，还有一只在能在钢丝上跳舞。怎么突然有了一只不会走路的狗狗呢?
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。