第21章 Harry and his Dog
"Beg,Frisk,beg,"said little Harry,as he sat on an inverted basket,at his grandmother's door,eating,with great satisfaction,a porringer of bread and milk.His little sister Annie,who had already dispatched her breakfast,sat on the ground opposite to him,now twisting her flowers into garlands,and now throwing them away.
"Beg,Frisk,beg!"repeated Harry,holding a bit of bread just out of the dog's reach;and the obedient Frisk squatted himself on his hind legs,and held up his fore paws,waiting for master Harry to give him the tempting morsel.
The little boy and the little dog were great friends.Frisk loved him dearly,much better than he did anyone else;perhaps,because he recollected that Harry was his earliest and firmest friend during a time of great trouble.
Poor Frisk had come as a stray dog to Milton,the place where Harry lived.If he could have told his own story,it would probably have been a very pitiful one,of kicks and cuffs,of hunger and foul weather.
Certain it is,he made his appearance at the very door where Harry was now sitting,in miserable plight,wet,dirty,and half starved;and that there he met Harry,who took a fancy to him,and Harry's grandmother,who drove him off with a broom.
Harry,at length,obtained permission for the little dog to remain as a sort of outdoor pensioner,and fed him with stray bones and cold potatoes,and such things as he could get for him.He also provided him with a little basket to sleep in,the very same which,turned up,afterward served Harry for a seat.
After a while,having proved his good qualities by barking away a set of pilferers,who were making an attack on the great pear tree,he was admitted into the house,and became one of its most vigilant and valued inmates.He could fetch or carry either by land or water;would pick up a thimble or a ball of cotton,if little Annie should happen to drop them;or take Harry's dinner to school for him with perfect honesty.
"Beg,Frisk,beg!"said Harry,and gave him,after long waiting,the expected morsel.Frisk was satisfied,but Harry was not.The little boy,though a good-humored fellow in the main,had turns of naughtiness,which were apt to last him all day,and this promised to prove one of his worst.It was a holiday,and in the afternoon his cousins,Jane and William,were to come and see him and Annie;and the pears were to be gathered,and the children were to have a treat.
Harry,in his impatience,thought the morning would never be over.He played such pranks—buffeting Frisk,cutting the curls off of Annie's doll,and finally breaking his grandmother's spectacles—that before his visitors arrived,indeed,almost immediately after dinner,he contrived to be sent to bed in disgrace.
Poor Harry!there he lay,rolling and kicking,while Jane,and William,and Annie were busy about the fine,mellow Windsor pears.William was up in the tree,gathering and shaking;Annie and Jane catching them in their aprons,and picking them up from the ground;now piling them in baskets,and now eating the nicest and ripest;while Frisk was barking gayly among them,as if he were catching Windsor pears,too!
Poor Harry!He could hear all this glee and merriment through the open window as he lay in bed.The storm of passion having subsided,there he lay weeping and disconsolate,a grievous sob bursting forth every now and then,as he heard the loud peals of childish laughter,and as he thought how he should have laughed,and how happy he should have been,had he not forfeited all this pleasure by his own bad conduct.
He wondered if Annie would not be so good-natured as to bring him a pear.All on a sudden,he heard a little foot on the stair,pitapat,and he thought she was coming.Pitapat came the foot,nearer and nearer,and at last a small head peeped,half afraid,through the half-open door.
But it was not Annie's head;it was Frisk's—poor Frisk,whom Harry had been teasing and tormenting all the morning,and who came into the room wagging his tail,with a great pear in his mouth;and,jumping upon the bed,He laid it in the little boy's hand.
Is not Frisk a fine,grateful fellow?and does he not deserve a share of Harry's breakfast,whether he begs for it or not?And little Harry will remember from the events of this day that kindness,even though shown to a dog,will always be rewarded;and that ill nature and bad temper are connected with nothing but pain and disgrace.
哈利和他的狗
“作揖，弗里斯克，作揖！”小哈利说，他坐在奶奶门前一个倒扣着的篮子上，心满意足地吃着面包和牛奶。他的妹妹安妮坐在他对面的地上，她把花朵编成花环，然后再扔掉。
“作揖，弗里斯克，作揖！”哈利重复道，他在离狗不远的地方拿了一小块面包，听话的弗里斯克后腿蹲下来，举起前爪，等待主人哈利给它一顿诱人的美餐。
小男孩和小狗是好朋友。弗里斯克十分喜欢哈利，并且比任何人对他都好，也许，因为当它回忆起自己深陷困境的时候，只有哈利是它最坚定的朋友。
可怜的弗里斯克是作为一只流浪狗来到哈利住的米尔顿的。如果它能有机会讲述自己的故事，那么这一定是关于被殴打、忍受饥饿和恶劣天气的悲惨故事。
可以肯定的是，它就在哈利现在坐的位置，出现在他的眼前。它那时处境悲惨，全身潮湿、肮脏并且处于半饥饿的状态，它正是在这里遇到了哈利，哈利很喜欢它，但是哈利的奶奶却用扫帚轰它走。
最后，哈利获得家人的许可，让弗里斯克在家门口住下，并且用吃剩的骨头、凉土豆和他能弄到的其他食物喂它。他给弗里斯克准备了一个睡觉的小篮子，就是现在哈利倒扣着当椅子的篮子。
过了一段时间，小狗用吼叫赶跑了那些上树偷梨的小偷，以此证明它是一条好狗。当它被准许进入哈利的家之后，弗里斯克便成为家里最警觉、最有价值的伙伴。它会跑很多路去拿东西或送东西；如果小安妮不小心弄掉顶针或棉花球的话，它会叼起来，或者忠诚地去学校给哈利送饭。
“作揖，弗里斯克，作揖！”哈利说经过漫长的等待之后，它如愿以偿地得到了那顿大餐。弗里斯克感到很满意，但哈利却没有。这个小男孩尽管是个好脾气的人，但是他也很顽皮，有时他可能一整天都这样，并且希望证明这是他最坏的一方面。在假期的一天下午，表妹简和表弟威廉来他家做客，他和安妮把梨拿出来款待这两个孩子。
哈利不耐烦地想，今天的早晨太漫长了，于是他便做了一些恶作剧——殴打弗里斯克、把安妮的洋娃娃的卷发剪下来，最后打坏了奶奶的眼镜。在他的客人到来之前，事实上，他是在吃过晚饭之后，被毫无颜面地赶回自己卧室的。
可怜的哈利！他躺在那里，又滚又踢，而简、威廉和安妮则忙着采摘熟透的温莎梨。威廉爬到树上采摘和摇晃，安妮和简用她们的裙子接住被摇下来的梨，并把地上的梨捡起来，放进篮子里；她们现在吃到的梨都是最好、最熟的，而弗里斯克在他们中间欢快地叫着，好像它也捡到了温莎梨！
可怜的哈利！他躺在床上，透过开着的窗户，他可以听到他们的欢声笑语。当他们的欢笑消失之后，哈利开始躺在床上哭泣，时不时地啜泣。当他听到那些稚嫩的笑声之后，他就想，要不是因为自己的行为葬送了自己的快乐的话，他也能这么开心地笑。
哈利想，安妮会不会好心地给自己一个梨呢？突然，他听到楼梯上传来脚步声，他以为是妹妹来了，脚步声越来越近，最后一个小脑袋伸进了半开的门。
但是伸头进来的不是安妮，而是弗里斯克——可怜的弗里斯克，那个已经被哈利戏弄和折磨了一上午的弗里斯克。此时，它摇着尾巴走进哈利的房间，嘴里叼着一个梨，然后跳上床，把梨放在了小男孩的手里。
这不就是哈利那懂得感恩的好伙伴吗？不论它是否作揖，难道它不该得到哈利的那份早餐吗？小哈利会永远记住今天发生的事，给予别人善意，即使是狗，也会得到回报，但是恶毒和坏脾气只能给人带来痛苦和懊悔。