Perhaps that is because dogs have been friends and helpers of men for thousands of years. 也许这是因为几千年来狗一直是人类的朋友和助手。

　　This story will tell you what a true friend a dog will be to those who are kind to him. 这个故事将告诉你，狗对善待它们的人是多么好的朋友。

　　THE OLD MAN, THE BOY, AND THE DOG 老人、男孩和狗

　　Nello and his dog Patrasche lived on the edge of a small village in a part of Belgium known as Flanders. 尼洛和他的狗——帕特拉斯基住在比利时佛兰德斯的一个小村庄。

　　The village was set in the midst of flat pastures and corn lands. 这个村庄坐落在平坦的牧场和玉米地里。

　　It had a dozen or more houses, 村里有十几或者几十户人家，

　　with shutters of bright green or sky blue and walls whitewashed until they shone in the sun like snow. 百叶窗是亮绿色或天蓝色，白色的墙壁在阳光下像雪一样闪闪发光。

　　The little hut in which Nello and Patrasche lived belonged to old Jehan Daas, Nello's grandfather. 尼洛和帕特拉斯基住在祖父——耶汉·达斯的一间小茅屋。

　　In his earlier days he had been a soldier, 耶汉·达斯早年当过兵，

　　but he had returned from the wars with a wound which had made him a cripple. 但他从战场上回来时，受伤成了跛子。

　　When Jehan Daas was eighty years old, his daughter had died and had left him her two year-old son. 在他八十岁的时候，女儿死了，和两岁的儿子相依为命。

　　He could hardly support himself, but he took the child gladly, and it soon became very dear to him. 他几乎无法养活自己，但他很开心地带着儿子，不久，他将儿子视若珍宝。

　　Little Nello— a pet name for Nicolas—grew rapidly, and the old man and the child lived happily. 小尼洛（尼古拉斯的昵称）长得很快，耶罕·达斯和尼洛幸福地生活在一起。