心只有你

The average life of a hedgehog is pretty plain and simple. You have a bin， some blankets or shavings， a wheel， and maybe a toilet paper tube. You get fed every day—maybe some cat food and the occasional mealworm or cricket. You have a bottle of fresh water that is available any time you want it. It’s a nice life. A good life. I was the average hedgehog， but my life was as far from average as you could ever imagine.

My name is Glacier. I was named at an early age for my snow white quills by my new family. I was born in the warm， friendly city of Tampa， Florida on January 9， 2004. I lived my first few weeks not knowing what was beyond the walls of my temporary home. After my 8th week of life， I was brought to a large， nice home in a plastic box. As I scrambled around in the box， three giants stared down at me with bugged eyes， awaiting my every move.

That’s when I heard my new name for the first time， “Glacier！” The other two giants nodded and smiled in agreement. And from that moment on I was a part of this happy family.

I began my journey in this new family， living in a normal bin， in the room of a little boy named Jake. He would poke his head into my bin and watch me eat， drink， and play with the most cheerful smile on his face. He would often pick me up and place me under his shirt. Then I would wait for him to shove his head into his shirt and watch me some more. I was extremely nervous and uncomfortable and would simply ball up into a sphere and wait for him to put me back. He was patient but often attempted to get me to show him my face and get comfortable on his warm skin. It was an exciting day for Jake when I decided that he wasn’t going to harm me， and I simply relaxed on his chest and went to sleep. This was the final bond between me and my new best friend.

In Tampa， I was often taken out of my bin， and shown to new people in new places. I was taken into stores and hidden so I wouldn’t be seen. When people would try to pet me close to my face， I would huff and puff and Jake would scold the person. I would be brought to a place full of mini people oooing and awwwing as I would sit on desks stunned， but every thing would be fine because I knew that Jake would be right behind me.

In the next few years， our family moved a lot. During the first adventure I was loaded into a small black bag with mesh sides， and placed on top of a suitcase in a large silver van. With one last goodbye to our home， we were off. I sat on the side of the bag and watched the world fly by. The three day trip left me exhausted and confused， so I was overjoyed when we reached our next new home. Our new bedroom was small but roomy. Each day Jake would sit with me on his front porch and look at the Rocky Mountains off in the distance. I loved the freshness and beauty of our backyard and environment that we lived in. I was often brought outside to explore the grass with Jake standing over me， protecting me. There was even room to adventure in the inside of the house. I would run around on the hardwood floor and do whatever I wanted. It was great.

As Jake grew older， he got into friends and sports and video games but always made sure I had all the attention I needed. He always made time to hold me and make sure I was happy. Nothing could separate us.

One night in May 2009， Jake walked into our room to find me lying on my side with blood on my stomach. I didn’t know what was happening， but I was in a lot of pain. Jake and his mother took me to the animal hospital. We learned that I had kidney stones and arthritis in my lower back. Jake started to feed me more mealworms and different foods—like hedgehog formula food and pears—but that meant I got to spend even more time with him. Soon afterwards， I got cataracts in my left eye and I lost sight in it， but that was just the beginning.

Later that year I lost control of my back leg. Jake took even more care of me and made sure I was doing fine every day. I no longer walked around； I just sat and waited for Jake to hold me against his chest.

One night after Jake finished his homework， he gently took me out of my bin， held me against his warm face and talked to me delicately. Jake put me in his mother’s arms and got ready for bed. While in the affectionate comforting arms of my surrogate mother， I started to smack my lips and got an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. Jake started to worry and begged his mother to call the emergency vet. I couldn’t tell him but I knew I didn’t have much time left.

Jake took me in a blanket and scrambled to the car. We were off in minutes to a veterinary emergency room in a small town 30 minutes away. Jake held me close to his chest and just talked to me. I stayed as still and calm as possible and just looked at him with my one good eye.

I had lived a great long life. I had many adventures and got everything a hedgehog could ever ask for： A loving family， a great home and a best friend. And as we pulled into the parking lot， with him stroking my cheek， our eyes connected and I said one last goodbye to my good buddy Jake.

刺猬的一生，通常既簡單又平平無奇，住在一個箱子里，里面鋪些毯子或者木屑，有一個轉輪，或許還有一個衛(wèi)生紙卷心。每天都有人給你喂食，可能是一些貓糧，偶爾還能吃上蟲子或者蟋蟀。箱子里會有一碗清水，供你隨時飲用。這樣的生活很不錯了，挺好的。我是一只平凡的刺猬，但我的一生卻絕不平凡，超乎你所想。

我的名字叫冰河。在我還很小的時候，我的新家人就給我起了這個名字，因為我長著一身雪白的刺。2004年1月9日，我在美國佛羅里達州溫暖而友善的坦帕市出生。在我人生的前幾周里，我住在一個臨時的住所，對墻外的世界毫不知情。到了八周大的時候，我被帶到一個又大又舒適的塑料箱子里。正當我在箱子里東抓西爬時，突然看到三個巨人瞪大眼睛看著我，關注著我的一舉一動。

那時我第一次聽到了自己的名字：“冰河！”另外兩個巨人點點頭，微笑著表示同意。從那時起，我就成了這個快樂家庭的一份子。

我與這個家庭的故事從此展開。我生活在一個普通的箱子里，箱子放在一個叫做杰克的小男孩的房間里。他會把頭探進我的箱子，看著我吃飯、喝水、玩耍，臉上總掛著最愉快的笑容。他常常把我捧起來，放在他的襯衫里面。我就會等他把自己的頭探進襯衫里，繼續(xù)看著我。我總是極度緊張、很不自在，直接卷成一個圓球，等著他把我放回箱子里。杰克很有耐心，常常試圖讓我給他露個臉，可以舒服地呆在他溫暖的皮膚上。那天當我終于斷定他不會傷害我時，我就在他的胸膛上舒展開來，漸漸進入夢鄉(xiāng)，他可高興壞了。就這樣，我和我這位新知己最終結下了深厚情誼。

在坦帕生活的時候，我常常被“請出”箱子，在不同的地方展示給不同的人看。我會被帶到商店里并藏起來，這樣就不會讓人看到。當人們試著靠近我的臉頰時，我會生氣地鼓起身子，而杰克就會責備那個人。我會被帶到一個全是迷你人的地方，當我愣頭愣腦地坐在桌子上時，他們會發(fā)出“噢噢”、“啊啊”的驚嘆。不過一切無礙，因為我知道杰克會在我的背后支持我。

接下來的幾年里，我們一家頻繁搬遷。第一次搬家時，我被裝進一個網(wǎng)紗小黑袋里，放在一輛銀色大貨車里頭的一個手提箱上面。與我們的家最終道別之后，我們就上路了。我靠著袋子的一邊坐著，看著世界從眼前疾馳而過。一連三天的路途讓我精疲力竭，也困惑不已，因此當我們到達新家時，我高興極了。我們的新睡房雖小卻足夠寬敞。每一天，杰克都會和我一起坐在屋前門廊那里，眺望遠處的落基山脈。我真喜歡我們那清新而美好的后院，也喜歡這里的居住環(huán)境。我常被帶到屋外的草地上去探險，杰克會在那里看著我、保護我。屋子里也有可供探險的空間。我會在堅硬的木地板上到處跑，做我想做的事情。一切都棒極了。

杰克逐漸長大，有了自己的朋友，會參加體育運動，也會玩電子游戲，但他總會確保我得到該有的關注。他總會抽時間來抱抱我，確保我能擁有一個好心情。任何東西都不能把我們分開。

2009年5月的一個晚上，杰克走進我們的房間，發(fā)現(xiàn)我側身躺著，腹部有血跡。我不知道發(fā)生了什么事，但我感到痛苦極了。杰克和他的媽媽把我?guī)У綄櫸镝t(yī)院。醫(yī)生告知我們，我患上了腎結石，后背下方也有關節(jié)炎。杰克開始給我吃更多蟲子，還給我吃諸如刺猬配方食品、梨等食物，但是那意味著我要更多地和他呆在一起。不久之后，我的左眼患上了白內(nèi)障，喪失了視力，但這一切只是開始。

那一年晚些時候，我的后腿不聽使喚了。杰克更加精心地照顧我，確保我每一天都過得好好的。我再也不能到處走動了；我只是坐在那兒，等待杰克把我抱到他的胸前。

一天晚上，杰克做完作業(yè)，溫柔地將我抱出箱子，捧起我緊貼著他溫暖的臉頰，輕輕地對我低語著。杰克把我放到他媽媽的臂彎里，準備就寢。就當我躺在我這位代母那慈愛又安撫人心的臂彎里時，我開始雙唇打顫，覺得胃部很不舒服。杰克擔心起來，懇求他的媽媽打電話給寵物急救醫(yī)生求助。我沒辦法告訴他，但我知道自己命不久矣。

杰克用一張?zhí)鹤庸遥沧驳乇е疑狭塑嚒Ｎ覀兒芸炀偷搅诵℃?zhèn)上一間寵物急診室，原本三十分鐘的車程我們短短幾分鐘之內(nèi)就開到了。杰克把我緊緊地抱在胸口，和我說話。我盡可能地不動彈，保持冷靜，只是用我那只還能看見東西的眼睛望著他。

我度過了精彩而悠長的一生。我經(jīng)歷了許多冒險，也得到了一只刺猬所渴望擁有的東西：一個充滿愛的家庭，一個很棒的家園，以及一個最好的朋友。當我們的車子駛入停車場時，他撫摸著我的臉，我們眼神交會，我向我最好的伙伴杰克道出最后一聲再見。