小貓杜威:一只溫暖世界的小鎮圖書館小貓

紐約時報暢銷書排行榜第一名!2009年溫暖世界第一真情貓咪故事!2008年美國版權拍賣破天價紀錄的熱門書!9到90歲婦孺老幼無不為之迷醉的傳奇小貓!實力派影星梅麗爾·斯特里普主演同名大片!

BEFORE LISTENING小貓魅力背后

The following audio features a clip from Dewey， the beloved library cat of Spencer[斯潘塞市]， Iowa[艾奧瓦州(又譯:衣阿華州，愛荷華州)]， as told by his owner and companion of 19 years， Vicki Myron.

It is also the story of a small town， which burned down at the beginning of the Depression[美國經濟大蕭條，1929—1933]， only to rebuild itself， and which was almost shuttered during the farm crisis of the 1980s before regrouping， and rededicating[重新投入] itself to small-town American values. Dewey’s local charm and worldwide fame became a symbol of hope for this recovering town. Through Dewey’s enthusiasm and warmth， we came to know and love many of the colorful and inspiring people of Spencer.

But perhaps the most inspiring person in Spencer is Vicky Myron herself， a single mother who survived the loss of her family farm， an alcoholic[酗酒的] husband， and a breast cancer scare， to become one of the leaders of the Iowa library system.

Chapter 1The Coldest Morning

第一章 最寒冷的早晨

I have never been a morning person， especially on a dark and cloudy January day， but I have always been 1)dedicated. There were a few cars on the road at seven thirty， when I drove the ten blocks to work， but as usual mine was the first car in the parking lot. Across the street， the Spencer Public Library was dead—no lights， no movement， no sound until I 2)flipped a switch and brought it to life. The heater switched on automatically during the night， but the library was still a freezer first thing in the morning.

After the weekend， the drop box would be full of books， so every Monday I loaded them onto one of our book carts so the clerks could process and shelve them later in the day. When I came back with the cart on this particular Monday morning， Jean was standing quietly in the middle of the room.

“I heard a noise.”

“What kind of noise?”

“From the drop box. I think it’s an animal.”

“A what?”

“An animal. I think there’s an animal in the drop box.”

The first thing I felt was a blast of freezing air. Someone had jammed a book into the return 3)slot， 4)wedging it open. It was as cold in the box as it was outside; maybe colder， since the box was lined with metal. You could have kept frozen meat in there. I was still catching my breath when I saw the kitten.

The kitten looked up at me， slowly and sadly. Then it lowered its head and sank down into its hole. It wasn’t trying to appear tough. It wasn’t trying to hide. I don’t even think it was scared. It was just hoping to be saved.

I know melting can be a 5)cliché， but I think that’s what actually happened to me at that moment: I lost every bone in my body. I am not a 6)mushy person. I’m a single mother and a farm girl who has steered her life through hard times， but this was so， so . . . unexpected.

I lifted the kitten out of the box. My hands nearly swallowed it. We found out later it was eight weeks old， but it looked no more than eight days old， if that. It was so thin I could see every rib. I could feel its heart beating， its lungs pumping. The poor kitten was so weak it could barely hold up its head， and it was shaking uncontrollably. It opened its mouth， but the sound， which came two seconds later， was weak and ragged.

Neither of us said anything for a while. We were just staring at the kitten. Finally Jean said， “How do you think it got in there?”

I wasn’t thinking about last night. I was only thinking about right now. It was too early to call the 7)veterinarian， who wouldn’t be in for an hour. But the kitten was so cold. Even in the warmth of my arms， I could feel it shaking.

…

(I helped the kitten take a hot bath carefully.)

I put him down on the table. The poor kitten could barely stand. The pads on all four of his paws were 8)frostbitten， and over the next week they would turn white and peel off. And yet the kitten managed to do something truly amazing. He steadied himself on the table and slowly looked up into each face. Then he began to 9)hobble. As each person reached to pet him， he rubbed his tiny head against her hand and purred. Forget the horrible events in his young life. Forget the cruel person who 10)shoved him down that library drop box. It was as if， from that moment on， he wanted to personally thank every person he ever met for saving his life.

我絕不是個習慣早起的人，特別是在一月份這種陰云密布的日子里，但我一向非常敬業。七點半，我驅車駛過十個街區去上班時，路上已有少量車輛，但像往常一樣，我的車是停車場里的第一輛。街對面的斯潘塞公共圖書館一片死寂——沒有燈光，沒有動靜，沒有聲響，直到我按動開關，才使它蘇醒過來。電熱器在半夜里會自動開啟，但早晨的圖書館仍然像個冰窖。

經過周末，還書箱里會塞滿了書，因此每個星期一，我都會把這些書放在一輛推車里，讓館員們上班的時候分門別類插在書架上。在這個星期一早晨，當我推著車子回來時，(同事)吉安靜靜地站在房間中央。

“我聽到一個聲音。”

“什么樣的聲音?”

“是還書箱里傳出來的。我猜是一只動物。”

“一只什么?”

“一只動物。我覺得還書箱里有只動物。”

我首先感到一陣刺骨的冷風。有人把一本書卡在滑槽里，把槽門頂開了。箱子里跟外面一樣寒冷，也許還要更冷，因為箱子四壁都是金屬。簡直可以在里面存放凍肉。我還在喘著氣，就看見了那只小貓。

小貓慢慢地抬頭看著我，充滿哀傷。然后它低下腦袋，又縮進那個窩里。……