Is Holly Working Today?　霍莉今天上班吗？

Is Holly Working Today?　霍莉今天上班吗？

◎ Barbara J. Wood

For Holly and me, it started with a stray kitten. Abandoned in the harsh winter weather, she huddled in a ball in the front steps of our building, an elementary school for emotionally disturbed children where I provided therapy three days a week.

对我和霍莉来说，一切是从一只流浪的小猫开始的。它被人丢弃在寒冬中，蜷缩在校舍楼前面台阶上的一个球里。这是一所为心理失调儿童开设的小学，我每周在那儿提供三天的心理治疗。

That morning, I kept the kitten in my office while the principal figured out where to take it.

那天早上，我把猫放在了我的办公室里，而校长则在考虑如何处置它。

It started as the children soberly traipsed into my office that day for their therapy. When they spotted the kitten, their faces suddenly brightened. Their reticence and tenseness seemed melt away as they petted the stray, and our sessions were relaxed and open. The kitten’s effect was astounding and, by the end of the day, I was hatching a plan. My dog, Holly, was a gentle, gregarious well-behaved seven-year-old mixed parentage. Couldn’t she have the same relaxing effect on the children I counseled? Enthused, I began paperwork requesting to permission to bring Holly to school with me, providing documentation of the benefits of companion animals.

事情是从孩子们认真而又懒懒散散地走进我的办公室接受治疗开始的。当他们发现小猫时，一个个眼前一亮。他们抚摩这只流浪猫时，昔日的缄默和紧张似乎融化了，整个疗程进行得既轻松，又顺畅。小猫的影响令我吃惊，那天工作结束时，我就开始酝酿一项计划。我的狗，霍莉，是个性情温和而合群的7岁混血儿。它对孩子的治疗也能产生同样的效果吗？我满腔热情地开始写报告，引用文献资料，列举了以动物为伴的好处，请求批准我带霍莉来学校。

The project was approved, but my supervisor clearly let me know that Holly and I were on trial. The responsibility of any problems with the “dog experiment” would land squarely on my shoulders.

我的计划虽然获准，但是校长交代得很清楚，我和霍莉先试试。任何与“狗试验”有关的问题，我都要承担全部责任。

Optimistic nonetheless, I smiled at the signs pasted on my office door as I unlocked it on Holly’s first morning with me at school. Holly is happy to be here, the children had carefully stenciled. Already the children were responding positively to the idea of a dog counselor. Holly sniffed out my office, and we settled in for a day of work.

即便如此，我还是很乐观。带霍莉来学校的第一天早上，打开办公室的门锁时，看到贴在门上的告示，我笑了。孩子们认认真真地写着：“霍莉很高兴来到这儿。”他们对狗充当顾问的想法已经作出了积极的反应。霍莉把办公室嗅了一遍后，我们开始了一天的工作。

A small boy entered, and he and Holly stared at each other warily. “Dose that dog bite?”

一个小男孩走进来，他和霍莉警惕地对视着。“那狗咬人吗？”他问道。

“No,” I assured him. “Why don’t you give her a treat?” I handed him a bag of multicolored doggie treats. “Pick any color you like,” I said. The boy chose a red treat and tentatively held it out to Holly. She neatly and gently took the treat, swallowed it quickly and licked the boy’s hand. The boy smiled, Holly’s critical debut had been a success.

“不，”我让他放心。“你为什么不给它吃点儿什么？”我递给他一袋五彩斑斓的狗饼干，“挑你喜欢的颜色。”我说。那男孩挑了块红色的，试探性地朝霍莉伸出手。它轻巧利索地咬住饼干，很快地吞了下去，舔了舔男孩的手。男孩笑了。霍莉的初次登场获得成功。

After the bell rang, a succession of little visitors came to our door, vying to see Holly. As they took turns handing treats to Holly, she wagged her tail and liced her hands, showing her approval. There was no wonder the children was drawn to her: For many of them, it was their first encounter with unconditional acceptance.

铃响后，一伙小参观者陆续来到门前，争着要看霍莉。他们轮流喂它饼干，它晃动着尾巴，还舔他们的手，表示赞赏。难怪孩子们很喜欢它：对许多孩子来说，这是他们第一次得到无条件的认可。

During the days that followed, Holly learned not to bard at the children’s knock on my office door. I set up a corner for her in my office on a piece of carpet remnant. The children eagerly came to me for their counseling visits, sitting on the floor by Holly petting, brushing, playing with and confiding in her. As they relaxed with Holly, the let down their defenses. Our counseling sessions became smooth and productive.

在接下来的日子里，霍莉学会了听到孩子敲我办公室门时不再吠叫。我为它在屋角里放了块地毯碎片。孩子们热切而积极地来我这儿进行心理治疗，坐在地板上抚摩霍莉，梳理它的毛，逗它玩，向它吐露心里话。孩子们轻松地和霍莉相处，随之也放下了他们的防备。心理障碍疗程进展得十分顺利，卓有成效。

Little by little, Holly’s influence came beyond her little corner of my office. Absences at school began to drop, and the children’s disruptive behavior softened. Even the teachers ducked in for some pet therapy throughout the day, giving Holly a short pat and resoring their spirit in her presence.

渐渐地，霍莉的影响从屋角扩展到办公室外。上课缺勤率开始下降，孩子们的捣乱行为有所缓和。甚至教师们也不时光顾，想接受宠物治疗，轻拍它一下，在它面前再重新打起精神来。

I didn’t realize how loved Holly was, though, until I missed two days of work with strep throat. When I called in sick the first day, expecting a touch of sympathy, I was immediately asked if that meant Holly would have to stay home too. The second day I was seriously asked if I could at least send Holly to work in a cab. Apparently, the teachers were tired of answering the question: “Is Holly working today?”

直到我因为脓毒性咽喉炎两天没去学校，我才知道霍莉是多么受人爱戴。第一天我打电话请病假时，期望听到一些同情的话语，可对方立刻问我，这是否意味着霍莉也得待在家里。第二天，学校来电话问我，能否至少让霍莉搭出租车去上班。显然，老师们已经厌烦回答同样的问题：“霍莉今天上班吗？”

One morning before school, nine-year-old LeMar, a third-grader who visited Holly regularly, was shot and killed in a domestic dispute. His classmates learned of the tragedy while they were still on the school bus, and by the time they arrived at school, they were terrified and in tears.

一天早上，上课前，定期来看霍莉的三年级学生，9岁的勒马尔，在家庭纷争中被枪击中不幸死去。他的同学们在校车上听到这个噩耗，到了学校后，个个都惊恐不已，流着眼泪。

I hurried to LeMar’s classroom, Holly trialing behind me. LeMar’s teacher stood there with tearing streaming down her face. “My degree didn’t prepare me to handle something like this.” She sobbed. I mustered all my sources and expertise to come up with the right words to soothe them.

我匆忙赶到勒马尔的教室，霍莉尾随在我身后。勒马尔的老师站在那儿，泪流满面。“我的学历没有教我怎样处理这样的事情，”她抽泣道。我使出浑身解数，想说出恰当的字眼来安抚他们。

“Crying is ok for adults and children,” I began, “especially when something like this happens.” Still seeing the pain on their faces, I contsinued to tell them that was okay to be scared, that fear is a natural response. For a while, we talked about how we would miss LeMar. It was at this point that I realized what Holly was doing.

“对成人和孩子来说，哭是应该的，”我开口说道，“尤其是发生这种事情的时候。”看到他们脸上仍显露着悲痛，我接着告诉他们恐惧也是正常的，那是一种自然反应。我们讨论了一会儿我们对勒马尔的思念。就在这个时候，我才注意到霍莉在干什么。

She was working her way around the room, going from child to child—and the teacher—putting her front paws on their laps and stretching up to lick tears from their faces. Unconsciously, the children hugged her back, running their fingers through her fur in such intensity that she would have done bald if they’d done it all day. She called no significant attention to herself, but quietly expressed love and consolation. She diligently kept up her silent comfort throughout that long, difficult day.

它绕着教室走，从一个孩子到另一个孩子——也到老师那儿——把它的前爪放在他们的膝上，挺身舔去他们脸上的眼泪。孩子们下意识地抱住它的背，使劲儿拉扯着它的皮毛，手指用劲儿那么大，要是被拉扯一整天的话，霍莉准会成秃毛狗了。它并不要求给予自己多大的关注，只是默默地表达着爱和安慰。在那漫长而艰难的一天里，霍莉不知疲倦地给人以无声的慰藉。

As I slid into the front seat of my car that afternoon, I leaned back, exhausted from the emotional trauma. I just wanted to be home. Glancing briefly into my backseat, I was surprised to see that Holly had already fallen asleep. She was just as drained as I was, if not more so, not for the first time, I felt a pang of guilt. Was it fair to ask my dog to take on the emotional responsibilities of troubled children? Shouldn’t be allowed to stay home and enjoy the carefree life of a house pet?

那天下午，我钻进汽车前座后，仰身坐下，感情的创伤使我疲惫不堪。我只想回家。往后座一瞥，我惊讶地看到霍莉已经睡着了。我不知道它到底有多累，但至少和我一样筋疲力尽。我感到阵阵内疚。我让我的爱犬承担陷入痛苦的孩子们感情上的责任，这公平吗？它是不是该留在家里，享受家庭宠物无忧无虑的生活呢？

These doubts may be why, even now, I occasionally stop in my rush to leave for school in the morning and, instead of ordering Holly into the car, look at her, asking, “Do you want to go to school today?” When she leaps up early, all wags and excitement, I figure she’s answered that burning question for all of us. Yes, Holly is working today.

诸如此类的疑问可能就是，为什么即使是现在，我偶尔会不再有早上急于去学校的念头，而是看着它问道：“今天你想去学校吗？”当它急切地跳起来，摇晃着尾巴，兴奋不已时，我想它已经回答了我们大家急于要问的问题。是的，霍莉今天上班。

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