第35章 鹦鹉多莉Dolly(第1页)
第35章鹦鹉多莉Dolly
勒妮·森迪RenéeSunday
Whenmysonurchasedalovelypearlcockatielasapet。WenamedherDollybecauseshehadedotsoneachsideofherfacelikeadoll。
Dollygrewihherendearingandlovingways。Shelovedtosingandwhistleandalwayslookedforsomeochherlittlehead。DollyandIwereespeciallydeachtimesheheardmyvoicesheletoutalong,shrillwolf-whistle。Itwas。Althoughwelovedherverymueecial,wedidrealizequitehowspecialshe>
Oneday,weweresaddenedwhenwefoundoutthatourfriends’littledaughter,Shayna,wasstriwithleukemia。Shayna'spareed;shewasjustfouryearsold。WantingtohelpmyfrieovisitShaynaatthelocal'shospitaleachtimesheuherchemotherapy。TherewaslittleIcoulddootherthancheerherupandbebyhermother'sside。Eaight,IprayedforShayna'scure。
Severalweekslater,myfamilylostourbelovedDollywheopeside。Weseareighborhooddiligentlybuttonoavail。Ourpetwasgoofacethefactthatsuchadelicatelittlebirdotpossiblysurvivethewildf。
FivedayspassedwithnosignofDolly。Welosthopeher,andwemissedhersoverymuch。
ThateveningIreceivedaphoneShayna'smother。
“Ithinkos;vefoundDolly,”shesaid。
“You'vefoundDolly?”Icouldhardlybelieveit,“Where?Areyousureit'sher?”
“edotseithersideofherface,right?”
“That'sDolly!”
“I'lltellyouthestorywhenIseeyou。eovernow。”
Theirhousewasfivemilesaway,andIdroveoverimmediately,hopingwithallmyheartthatitreallywasDolly。
WhenIarrived,ifIp;apos;tbelievemyeyes,Ilybelievemyearsbethebirdheardmyvoicesheletoutalongwolf-whistle。。。Itwasmysweetlittlebird!
Myfriendexplaihadhappened。
“I'vebeenoutmostoftheday,butourbaby-sittertoldusthatShaynawasinthebackyard。Shewasjustsittily,sinp;apos;thavemuergythesedays,whenshesawasmallbirdioldmeshehadbeenfeelingalittlelonelyandhadsaid,‘Lookattheprettybird。os;titbetoseeme?’Ofcourse,itwasDolly,althoughShaynadidn'tknow。AndthebirdflewdirectlytoShayna,landingonhershivingherakissonthecheek。Shayic。”
Myfriendued,“Ourbaby-sittersawthatthebirdwasdomestidmaemptherintoanoldcagewehadinthegarage-shewasgoingtofindahomeforher。
“Igothomeiuaintobed,aoldmethewholestory。Iwasstunned。Iknewhowupsetyou'dbeenaboutDolly。”
Iwassilent,tryiallin。Iwasgratefultoseemylain,buttherewasmore。IkhatherShayherkgthatpoorchildsuffersomudprayingforhereveryday,IhadfinallyaskedGnthatShaynawouldbehealed。IsidereditmiraculousthatwehadreallyfoundDollyagain,butthatHehadsentoursimplelittlebirdtorestonShayna'sshoulderseemedtrulywondrous。ItookitasHispromise,ahatmomentthatShaynawouldrecover。
Today,Shaynaisthirteenyearsoldandcerfree。Dollyisgettingoninyearsforabird,butweseetoitthatshelivesalifeofluxurybecauseitwasthroughherthatwewereallgivegift-thegiftofhope。
儿子小时候,我们给他买了只宠物——一只可爱的珠灰色澳洲鹦鹉。它的脸颊两侧有橘黄色的斑点,像个洋娃娃,因而我们叫它多莉。
多莉很招人喜爱,大家都很珍爱它。它喜欢唱歌、吹口哨,还特别喜欢让人挠她的小脑袋。多莉和我最为亲近,每次听到我的声音,它就吹出一声长而尖的挑逗口哨——这是我们之间独有的打招呼方式。我们都喜欢多莉,也知道它和别的鸟儿有所不同,但始终不能确定它到底特别在哪里。
一天,获悉朋友的小女儿谢娜得了白血病,我们都十分难过。谢娜的父母濒临崩溃,要知道,她才四岁啊。为了帮助朋友,每次谢娜接受化疗时,我都去儿童医院看望她。我帮不上忙,能做的也只是逗小谢娜开心,并陪她妈妈一起面对痛苦。每晚,我都为谢娜祈祷。
几个星期后,我们失去了心爱的多莉,因为鸟笼没关上,它飞走了。我们四处寻找,但一无所获。失去了宠物,我们只好面对现实,如此脆弱的小鸟在野外是活不了太久的。
五天过去了,多莉还是踪迹全无。我们对它的归来不再抱希望了,但特别想念它。
一天,傍晚时分,谢娜的妈妈打来电话。
“我想,我们找到多莉了。”她说。
“你们找到了多莉?”我简直不敢相信,“它在哪里?你确定是它吗?”