Clever Coyote聪明的郊狼

Once upon a time， a long ago， ahorrible monster stole all the buffalo2from the plains3 and put them in hismountain hideout.

“There，”beamed4 the monster.“Ihave enough food to last forever.”

A coyote called all the people andall the animals together in a greatmeeting to find out what they could do.No one had an idea. They were too afraidof the monster to think at all.

“I scouted5 the monster，” Coyotespoke up. “He lives with a very smallboy.”

“We cannot hurt a child，”said oneof the people.“Not even to get back ourbuffalo.”

“That is understood，” Coyotenodded. “But I was thinking... a smallboy must be very lonely with no one tolove except a horrible monster. I thinkwe should give him a pet. When thechance arises， the pet we send can setthe buffalo free.”

很久很久以前，一个可怕的怪物偷走了平原上所有的水牛，并把他们放在了他的山中藏身处。

“好了，”怪物笑容满面地说，“我有够吃一辈子的食物了。”

一只郊狼召集了所有的人和所有的动物开大会，想弄清楚他们能做些什么。没有人想出办法。

他们太害怕怪物了，根本不敢想。

“我侦察了怪物。”郊狼大声说，“他和一个很小的男孩住在一起。”

“我们不能伤害一个孩子。”其中一个人说，“哪怕是为了夺回我们的水牛。”

“这是可以理解的。”郊狼点点头，“但我在想……一个小男孩一定很孤独，他除了一个可怕的怪物，没有人可以去爱。我认为我们应该给他一只宠物。当机会出现时，我们送去的宠物可以放走水牛。”

All the people and all the animalsthought that was a marvelous6 idea.

First， they sent Mouse to win theheart of the small boy. The boy likedMouse and took him home. But themonster told the boy to send Mouse away.Next， the people sent Killdeer， a bird. Butthe bird fared7 no better.

Coyote called another meeting. “Ithink，”Coyote told all the people and allthe animals，“that I must go myself.”

That very day， Coyote set out for themonster’s lair8. When the boy saw Coyote，his eyes brightened. The boy loved Coyoteimmediately and took him home. Themonster was very angry. “Get that dirtydog out of here before I eat you both！ ”

The boy and Coyote ran out of thelair. The boy sat down. He tried not to cry，but a tear ran down one cheek. Coyote licked9 it away.

“Poor dog，”sighed10 the boy. “I betyou’re hungry.”

Coyote put back his head and howled11. That is the sound Coyote makesto comfort12 the boy.

The buffalo heard Coyote’s cry. Itfrightened them. They began stampingtheir feet the way buffalo do when theyare nervous.

所有的人和动物都认为这是一个了不起的想法。

首先，他们派老鼠去赢得小男孩的心。男孩喜欢老鼠，就把他带回家了。但是怪物叫男孩把老鼠赶走。接下来，人们送去了小鸟双领鸻。但这只鸟的进展也没好到哪里去。

郊狼又召集了一次会议。“我想，”郊狼告诉所有的人和动物，“我得亲自出马。”

就在那一天，郊狼出发前往怪物的巢穴。当男孩看到狼时，他眼睛一亮。男孩立刻喜欢上了狼，并把他带回了家。怪物非常生气。“把那只脏兮兮的狗弄出去，不然我就吃掉你们两个！”

男孩和郊狼跑出了巢穴。男孩坐了下来。他努力憋住泪水，但一滴眼泪还是顺着脸颊流了下来。郊狼把它舔掉了。

“可怜的狗。”男孩叹了口气，“我猜你饿了。”

郊狼仰起头，嚎叫起来。这是郊狼用来安慰男孩的声音。

水牛听到了郊狼的叫声。这吓坏了他们。他们开始以水牛紧张时的样子跺着脚。

The more the boy cried， and themore Coyote howled， the more frightenedthe buffalo became. One buffalobecame so afraid that he began to run.The other buffalo ran after him. Theyran and ran until they had scattered13all over the plains. The monster ranafter the buffalo.

While the monster was gone，Coyote took the small boy to live withthe people.

The monster hunted and hunted，but the buffalo had scattered without atrace. Late that night， when themonster returned to his lair， strongpeople were waiting. They killed themonster， much to the relief14 of onesmall boy and all of the people and allof the animals.

Even today， the people still givethanks to clever Coyote.

男孩哭得越厉害，郊狼嚎叫得越厉害，水牛就越害怕。一头水牛非常害怕，开始逃跑。其他水牛也跟着他跑。他们跑啊跑，直到散布整个平原。怪物追着水牛跑。

怪物走后，郊狼带着小男孩和人们一起生活。

怪物不断地追捕，但水牛已经四散无踪。那天深夜，当怪物回到他的巢穴时，强壮的人们正等着。他们杀死了怪物，这让小男孩、所有的人和所有的动物松了一口气。

即使在今天，人们仍然感谢聪明的郊狼。

（英语原文选自：nativeamericans.mrdonn.org）