戴爾·卡耐基/Dale Carnegie
Within a minute's walk of my house there was a wild stretch of virgin timber, where the blackberry thickets foamed white in the springtime, where the squirrels nested and reared their young, and the horseweeds grew as tall as a horse's head. This unspoiled woodland was called Forest Park—and it was a forest, probably not much different in appearance from what it was when Columbus discovered America. I frequently walked in this park with Rex, my little Boston bulldog. He was a friendly, harmless little hound; and since we rarely met anyone in the park, I took Rex along without a leash or a muzzle.
One day we encountered a mounted policeman in the park, a policeman itching to show his authority.
"What do you mean by letting that dog run loose in the park without a muzzle and leash?" he reprimanded me. " Don't you know it' s against the law?"
"Yes, I know it is," I replied softy, "but I didn't think he would do any harm out here."
"You didn't think! You didn't think! The law doesn't give a tinker's damn about what you think. That dog might kill a squirrel or bite a child. Now, I'm going to let you off this time; but if I catch this dog out here again without a muzzle and a leash, you'll have to tell it to the judge."
I meekly promised to obey.
And I did obey—for a few times. But Rex didn't like the muzzle, and neither did I; so we decided to take a chance. Everything was lovely for a while, and then we struck a snag. Rex and I raced over the brow of a hill one afternoon and there, suddenly—to my dismay I saw the majesty of the law, astride a bay horse. Rex was out in front, heading straight for the officer.
I was in for it. I knew it. So I didn't wait until the policeman started talking. I beat him to it. I said! "Officer, you've caught me redhanded. I'm guilty. I have no alibis, no excuses. You warned me last week that if I brought the dog out here again without a muzzle you would fine me."
"Well, now," the policeman responded in a soft tone. "I know it's a temptation to let a little dog like that have a run out here when nobody is around."
"Sure it's a temptation," I replied." but it is against the law."
"Well, a little dog like that isn't going to harm anybody," the policeman remonstrated.
"No, but he may kill squirrels," I said.
"Well now, I think you are taking this a bit too seriously," he told me.
"I'll tell you what you do. You just let him run over the hill there where I can't see him—and we'll forget all about it."
That policeman, being human, wanted a feeling of importance; so when I began to condemn myself, the only way he could nourish his self-esteem was to take the magnanimous attitude of showing mercy.
從我家的房子出發步行一分鍾，就能看到一片野生林。到了春季，那裏的黑莓叢便會開出一片片白色的花朵。小鬆鼠們在這片灌木叢中繁衍生息，而萵苣長得幾乎和馬兒一樣高。這片還沒有被開發的原始森林被稱為森林公園——它確實是一片森林。或許從哥倫布發現新大陸起就不曾改變過。我經常牽著我的小波士頓哈巴狗雷克斯到公園裏散步。小狗對人很友好，是個溫馴的小家夥。因為我們在公園裏很少遇到人，我從沒有給它拴上狗鏈，或戴上口套。
一天，我們在公園裏遇見了一位騎警—— 一位渴望發號施令的騎警。
“你為什麽不給狗拴上狗鏈，還讓它在這裏到處亂跑？”他十分嚴厲地訓斥我，“難道你不知道這樣做觸犯了法律了嗎？”
聽了警官的話，我隨即畢恭畢敬地說：“我知道，可是，我不認為小狗會傷害任何人。”
“你不那麽認為！你不那麽認為！法律可不容忍你有這種自以為是的看法。小狗也許會咬死小鬆鼠，甚至咬傷兒童。這一次我就不處罰你了，如果下次讓我看到你還沒給狗戴上口套、拴上狗鏈的話，你就要被起訴了。”
我十分禮貌地答應照做。
我確實遵守了幾次，可是雷克斯很討厭被束縛的感覺，我又何嚐不是呢？於是，我決定碰碰運氣，又像從前那樣帶著雷克斯出來了。開始的幾天，萬事順利，可不久麻煩就來了。一天下午，正當我帶著雷克斯向一座小山坡上奔跑時，突然間，我又看到了那位騎警。而雷克斯正朝著他的方向奔去。
這下可麻煩了，我知道後果。我沒等那位警官開口，便搶先說：“警官先生，這次又被您看見了，我承認，我有罪。對此，我沒有任何借口。您上周警告過我，如果我還是沒拴狗就出來，您一定會嚴懲我。”
聽了我的話，那位警官十分和藹地說：“在一個人跡罕至的地方，讓心愛的寵物盡情玩耍也是很有**力的。”
“沒錯，是很誘人，可我還是違反了法律。”我回答道。
“不，這麽小的狗不會有什麽危險的。”警官說道。
“可是，它也許會咬到鬆鼠。”我說道。
“哎，我想也許你把這件事看得過於嚴肅了。”警官說道。
“照我的話去做吧，你讓它跑過這座小山，直至我看不到為止。這樣一來問題就解決了，我們誰也不用在意了。”
作為人，警官也需要得到一種受到重視的感覺。因此，當我開始在他麵前譴責自己的時候，唯一能滿足他自尊心的就是展示他寬宏大量的一麵。
心靈小語
假如你真的錯了，與其徒勞地為自己辯解，不如坦率地承認，這樣更容易被原諒。不管麵對你的家人、上司還是社會上的其他人，假如你真的錯了，坦誠的態度遠比雄辯的理由強百倍。
W 詞匯筆記
stretch[stret]n.一片；一泓；一段
例 It is a great stretch of open field.
這是一大片開闊的田野。
unspoiled[n?spild]adj.未損壞的；未寵壞的
例 Few fellows had talents like his and fewer still could remain unspoiled by such success.
像他那樣有才能的人是罕見的，而功成名就之後依然保持本色的人更少見。
muzzle[?mzl]n.（防止動物咬人的）口套
例 To put a muzzle on the dog.
給狗戴上口套。
reprimand[?repr??m?nd]v.申斥；訓斥；斥責；懲戒；譴責
例 To reprimand an obstinate fool or to preach to a dolt is like writing upon the water.
去斥責一個固執的笨蛋，或向一個傻瓜說教，就像在水麵上寫字一樣。
S 小試身手
從我家的房子出發步行一分鍾，就能看到一片野生林。
譯___________________________________________
小狗對人很友好，是個溫馴的小家夥。
譯___________________________________________
作為人，警官也需要得到一種受到重視的感覺。
譯___________________________________________
P 短語家族
So we decided to take a chance.
take a chance：投機；冒險
造___________________________________________
So when I began to condemn myself……
condemn myself：自責
造___________________________________________