第三篇:Salt
Now that Billy\'s parents were a little more affluent,the family had agreed taht they could afford better accommodation,so they moved to a cottage on the outskirts of town,Although the cottage was somewhat old-fashioned,the agent who rented the place to them was keen to advocate that they should not install air-conditioning as they could air-condition the place by opening the skylights.The day that they moved,the air was heavy with the advent of spring,a sense of renewal accompanied them along the way;Billy and the old dog Rufus watched the amazing aerial gymnastics of the swallows out of the car window,browsing through the family album every now and then.When they arrived,a group of men were unloading the van.Billy thought looking around the new surroundings should be placed high on the agenda,so he whistled to Rufus and they set off on an adventure.They found a small footpath,Rufus showing his ecitement and his affection for Billy by panting and wagging his tail.Billy was at an age when he could still feel a sense of aesthetic excitement at the beauty of nature.The adverse effects of those yearsin the city seemed to vanish as he walked,and with Rufus as his affiliate he felt invincible.However,he had reckoned without Rufus.They rounded a bend in the path and suddenly,in the next field,they saw sheep.Rufus knew a good game when he saw one,he ran straight into the field,barking aggressively.Just then,a man in green boots stepped out and in an equally aggressive manner started to shout at Rufus to get out of the field.With asense of alarm,Billy realized that the man was carrying a shotgun and he saw himlevel it and take aim at Rufus.
\"Please don\'t shoot\" ,yelled Billy,but his seemed to aggravate the man still more.The gun went off and Rufus howled in agony.He ran helter-skelter back to Billy with his tail between his legs.The man strode over to Billy.
\"Those sheep are pregnant,\" the man said,angrily.\"If you agitate them they can lose their lambs.I will affirm my right to kill any dog that chases them.\"
\"I agree,\" said Billy.\"And I\'m sorry,please;help me to get Rufus to vet!\"
\"I don\'t think your dog will need a vet this time,\" said the man,\"the gun was only loaded with salt.But next time,keep him on a lead,okay?\" |