By Daham M’hamed

那零 选 张曼 译

Luke has always been my closest and constant companion these past five years. In fact, he is very obedient to me especially when I take care of other furry friends in our shelter。

As you already know, there have been a lot of forest fires during the summer season. Many forests are badly damaged by fire each year. Not far from our shelter, a forest caught fire during this hot summer. We are on July, a heat wave which has been going on for three days。

Luke rushed towards the forest where flames send out an infernal heat. There’s no longer any hope at the moment to wait for Luke to come back to the shelter. In fact, I was waiting for the fire brigade to announce me his death in the forest. Suddenly, a fireman burst into my office and informed me that my dog Luke succeeded to save four kittens who were trapped by the flames. According to the fireman, Luke seized the kittens, one by one moving them to a safe place。

I immediately accompanied the fireman to the forest to pick up the rescued kittens. Once on the scene of the incident, Luke was not there. Then we heard the sound of a dog came from the forest barking furiously. I recognized the sound of my dog Luke. The firemen followed the tracks of the dog until they found him barking loudly by the side of an injured fireman who was lying on the ground and desperately waiting for rescue。

Thanks to Luke, four kittens and a fireman were saved. That day, I was very proud of Luke for his two heroic actions. Luke showed much compassion for both animals like him and for a human being who was trying to put out the fire with his colleagues. Truth to tell, my happiness is great and immeasurable。

I paid a visit to the fireman in his house accompanied with my adorable Luke. What a memorable scene when the fireman hugged Luke tightly to his chest! “One thousand thanks, Luke, for saving my life,” the fireman said。

This true story of love and compassion shows us that pets are loving, caring and compassionate. We should love and protect them. Don’t belittle them. Little animals can make enormous things for humans。

在过去这五年里，卢克一直都是我最亲密、最忠诚的伙伴。实际上，他对我非常顺从，尤其是当我照顾我们收容所里其他毛茸茸的动物朋友们时。

正如你所知，在夏季，森林大火时常发生。每年，不少森林都被火灾破坏严重。在今年的酷暑时节，一座离我们收容所不远的森林起了大火。时值7月，一场热浪袭来，足足持续了三天的时间。

卢克冲向那座森林，林中的火焰发出一股地狱烈火般的热浪。此时，已没有任何希望等卢克回到收容所了。其实，我是在等着消防队向我宣布他在森林中身亡的消息。突然，一名消防员闯入我的办公室，他告诉我说，我的卢克成功地解救了四只陷入火灾中的小猫。根据那位消防员的说法，卢克抓住这些小猫，一只一只地把它们转移到了安全的地方。

我立刻陪着这名消防员赶往森林，去接那几只被救的小猫。一到事故现场，并没看见卢克的身影。随后，我们听到从森林里传出狗的狂吠声。我认出那是卢克的声音。消防员们跟随卢克的踪迹，最后他们发现它在一个受伤的消防员旁边大声吠叫，那个人躺在地上，情况危急，正在等待援救。

幸亏卢克，一名消防员和四只小猫均得以获救。那天，我为卢克的这两次英勇行为而感到自豪不已。卢克既对那些像他一样的动物怀有同情之心，也对一个与同事一起努力扑灭大火的人类伸出了援助之手。说真的，我由此而产生的巨大愉悦感是无法估量的。

我拜访了那个受伤的消防员，去他家时带上了我可爱的卢克。当消防员紧紧地把卢克抱在胸前时，那场面令人难以忘怀!“卢克，万分感谢你救了我的命，”消防员如是说。

这个有关爱与同情的真实故事告诉我们：宠物是忠诚、体贴且富有同情心的伙伴。我们应该爱护它们。不要轻视它们。小动物也能为人类做出了不起的大事。

Vocabulary:

1. shelter: 避难所，收容所。

2. infernal: 地狱般的，恶魔似的。

3. belittle: 小看，轻视，贬低。