【英文原文2】
Within minutes she was at my door.I had been sitting at the kitchen table,head cradled in my hands,asking God for a miracle.Molly sat at my feet the whole time,looking up at me with those big puppy-dog eyes――eyes the color of milk chocolate.She seemed t o sense something was wrong.
A thousand thoughts crossed my mind before the woman rang the bell.I could pretend I wasn’t home or tell her,“I’m sorry,you have the wrong address.”But it was too late;the bell rang and Molly was barking.I opened the door,forcing myself to face my fear.
One look at Molly and the woman’s face lit up like a Christmas tree.“Here,Lucy,”she called.“Come to Mamma,girls.”Molly(Lucy)instantly obeyed,wagging her tail in delight at the sound of the woman’ s voice.Obviously she belonged to the woman.
Tears stung at the back of my eyelids and threatened to spill over at any moment.I felt like my heart was being ripped from my chest.I wanted to grab Molly and run.Instead I smiled faintly and asked her to please come in.
The woman had already bent over and scooped Molly up into her arms.She awkwardly opened her purse and stretched out a twenty-dollar bill toward me.“For your trouble,”she offered.
“Oh,I couldn’t.”I shook my head in protest.“She’s been such a joy to have around,I should be paying you.”With that she laughed and hugged Molly tighter to her bosom as if she were a lost child and not a dog.
Molly licked her face and squirmed with delight.I knew it was time for them to go home.Opening the door to let them out,I noticed a little girl sitting in the front seat of the van.When the child saw the puppy,a smile as bright as a firecracker on the Fourth of July exploded across her face.
My glance turned to a small wheelchair strapped to the back of the van.The woman saw me look at the chair and offered an explanation without my asking.Molly(Lucy)was given to the child to promote emotional healing after a car accident had left her crippled for life.
When the puppy disappeared from the yard,the little girl had gone into a deep depression,refusing to come out of the shell she was in.Molly(Lucy)was their only hope their daughter would recover emotionally and mentally.
“She formed a special bond with the puppy and Lucy gave her a reason to live,”her mother explained.
Suddenly I felt very guilty and selfish.God has blessed me with so much,I thought .My heart went out to this family that had been through such a terrible time.As they pulled out of the drive,the smile on my face was genuine.I knew I had done the right thing――that puppy was exactly where she belonged.