023 又一个新主人

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My new owner was named Mr. Barry

我的新主人名叫巴里先生。

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His doctor had advised him to get more exercise, so he'd decided to try riding

他的医生建议他多锻炼，所以他决定试试骑马。

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Mr. Barry was a kind man who wanted to do what was best for me, but he didn't know much about horses

巴里先生是个善良的人，想给我最好的照顾，但他对马了解不多。

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He rented a stall at a stable near his home and hired a groom to take care of me

他在家附近的马厩里租了一个马栏，还雇了一个马夫来照顾我。

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The groom's name was Filcher. He was only a part-time groom

马夫的名字叫费尔彻，他只是一名兼职马夫。

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The rest of the time, he and his wife grew fruits and vegetables and raised poultry and rabbits to sell

其余时间，他和妻子种植水果蔬菜，饲养家禽和兔子来出售。

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At first I liked Filcher well enough

起初，我挺喜欢费尔彻的。

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He kept my stall clean, groomed me thoroughly, and handled me gently

他把我的马栏打扫得干净，把我刷洗得彻底，还温柔地对待我。

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But after a while, I noticed my grain meals getting smaller and smaller

但是过了一段时间，我注意到我的谷物餐越来越少。

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That was strange, because Mr. Barry had ordered lots of good food for me

这很奇怪，因为巴里先生给我订购了很多优质饲料。

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The grain shouldn't have run out already!

谷物不应该这么快就吃完了！

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Filcher always arrived at my stall very early. His little son usually came too

费尔彻总是很早就到我的马厩。他的小儿子通常也跟着来。

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The boy always had a covered basket with him, which he took into the feed room

那男孩总是带着一个有盖的篮子，然后带进饲料室。

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After a few minutes, he'd come out again, call good-bye to his father, and scurry off

几分钟后，他会再出来，跟他父亲喊再见，然后匆匆跑开。

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I still had hay to eat, but I missed the grain

我还有干草可以吃，但我很想念谷物。

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It gave me the energy I needed for my work

它给我工作所需的能量。

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One day Mr. Barry rode me to visit a farmer friend of his

有一天，巴里先生骑我去拜访他的一位农夫朋友。

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This farmer had a keen eye for horses

这位农夫对马有很敏锐的眼光。

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" Your horse doesn't look as good as when you first brought him, Barry," he said

“你的马看起来不如你刚带来时那么好了，巴里，”他说。

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" Has he been healthy?"

“它一直健康吗？”

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" I think so." Mr. Barry shrugged

“我想是吧。”巴里先生耸了耸肩。

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" I've noticed he isn't as lively as he used to be

“我注意到它不像以前那么精神了。

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My groom told me horses are always dull and weak in the autumn."

我的马夫告诉我，马在秋天总是无精打采、虚弱无力。”

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" Nonsense!" the farmer exclaimed

“胡扯！”农夫大声说道。

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" With your light work he shouldn't have any trouble at any time of the year

“以你给它安排的轻活儿，一年中任何时候都不该有问题。

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What do you feed him?"

你喂它什么？”

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Mr. Barry told him. The farmer felt me all over

巴里先生告诉了他。农夫把我全身摸了一遍。

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" I don't know who's eating your grain, Barry, but it isn't your horse," he declared

“我不知道是谁吃了你的谷物，巴里，但肯定不是你的马，”他断言道。

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" You'd better look into it!"

“你最好查一查！”

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A few mornings later, Filcher and his son arrived at the stable as usual

几天后的一个早晨，费尔彻和他儿子像往常一样来到了马厩。

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The little boy went into the feed room with his basket

小男孩提着篮子走进饲料室。

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" A-ha!" a voice cried out

“啊哈！”一个声音喊道。

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A police officer marched out of the feed room dragging the boy by the arm

一名警官大步走出饲料室，拽着男孩的胳膊。

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There was a lot of shouting and some crying, and in the end the truth came out

现场喊叫声和哭声一片，最后真相大白了。

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Filcher had been sending his son to steal my grain!

原来是费尔彻一直派他儿子来偷我的谷物！

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They sneaked it home in the basket to feed their rabbits

他们用篮子偷偷把谷物带回家，去喂他们的兔子。

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Mr. Barry was suspicious after talking with his friend, and had asked the police to look into it

巴里先生和朋友谈过后起了疑心，便请警方调查此事。

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When he found out what had happened, he fired Filcher immediately

查明真相后，他立刻解雇了费尔彻。

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A few days later, my new groom arrived

几天后，我的新马夫来了。

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He was a tall, good-looking young man named Alfred Smirk

他是个高大英俊的年轻人，名叫阿尔弗雷德·斯默克。

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Mr. Smirk considered himself very handsome

斯默克先生自认为非常英俊。

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He spent lots of time on his hair and clothing and always looked his best

他花大量时间打理发型和衣着，总是展现出自己最好的样子。

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He liked to make me look my best too

他也喜欢让我看起来光鲜亮丽。

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My mane and tail were always neat and glossy, and my hooves were painted with oil

我的鬃毛和尾巴总是整齐油亮，蹄子也被涂上了油。

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That was almost all he did for me though

然而，这几乎就是他为我做的全部了。

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Smirk was one of the laziest men I'd ever seen

斯默克是我见过最懒的人之一。

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He rarely bothered to check my feet or shoes or groom me thoroughly

他很少费心去检查我的蹄子或蹄铁，或者给我彻底刷洗。

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He did a sloppy job of cleaning my stall, and it soon began to stink

他清理我的马厩时敷衍了事，很快就臭气熏天。

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" Alfred, the stable smells a bit," Mr. Barry said one day

“阿尔弗雷德，马厩有点味道，”一天，巴里先生说道。

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" Do you think you should scrub out the stall?"

“你不觉得应该把马厩好好刷洗一下吗？”

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" Well, sir," Smirk said in his polite and charming way," I can if you like, but it's dangerous to use water in a horse's stall

“呃，先生，”斯默克用他那礼貌而迷人的方式说道，“如果您希望，我可以刷洗，但在马厩里用水很危险。

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It might cause him to catch a cold."

可能会让马着凉感冒。”

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" Oh!" Mr. Barry said." Perhaps you'd better not then

“哦！”巴里先生说，“那你最好还是别用水了。

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But something should be done about the smell

但这气味总得想个办法处理一下。”

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Perhaps someone should check the drains."

也许该找人检查一下排水沟。”

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" Good idea, sir," Smirk agreed

“好主意，先生，”斯默克赞同道。

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A man came to check my stall

有个人来检查我的马厩。

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He found nothing wrong, and the smell went on as always

他什么毛病也没发现，气味一如既往地持续着。

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The constant dampness began to make my hooves unhealthy and tender

持续的潮湿开始让我的蹄子变得不健康，变得刺痛发软。

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Eventually my feet got so bad that I couldn't walk over stones without stumbling

最终我的脚情况变得很糟，以至于走在石头上必定会踉跄。

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My master became worried and took me to the farrier

我的主人担心起来，带我去看了蹄铁匠。

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The farrier took one look at my feet and shook his head

蹄铁匠只看了一眼我的蹄子，就摇了摇头。

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" Your horse has a disease that is caused by standing in wet, dirty stalls

“您的马得了一种病，是由于站在潮湿、肮脏的马厩里引起的。

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I'm surprised your groom didn't notice it before it got this bad!"

我很惊讶您的马夫在情况变得这么糟之前竟然没有注意到！”

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Mr. Barry was surprised too — and angry

巴里先生也很惊讶——而且很生气。

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He directed the farrier to tend to my feet until I was better and fired Smirk immediately

他让蹄铁匠照料我的蹄子直到好转，并立刻解雇了斯默克。

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But this time he had no intention of finding a new groom

但这一次，他无意再找新马夫了。

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" Having a horse of my own is too much trouble," he told the farrier

“自己养一匹马太麻烦了，”他对蹄铁匠说。

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" I'm going to sell this fellow and hire a horse when I need one."

“我打算把这伙计卖掉，需要马的时候租一匹就行了。”