A Horse Guardian　守护主人的马

On one occasion a gentleman was returning home from a fatiguing journey,and became very drowsy.He fell asleep,and,strange to say,he also fell from his saddle,but in so easy a manner that the tumble did not rouse him,and lay sleeping on where he alighted.His faithful steed,on being eased of his burden,instead of scampering home as one might have expected,stood by his prostrate master,and kept a strict watch over him.Some laborers at sunrise found him very contentedly snoozing on a heap of stones.They wished to approach the gentleman,that they might awaken him,but every attempt on their part was resolutely opposed by the grinning teeth and ready heels of his determined and faithful guardian.They called out loudly,and the gentleman awoke and was very much surprised at his position,while his faithful horse showed his pleasure by neighing and scraping his feet on the ground.The gentleman then mounted,and they galloped away at great speed,both glad to be able to make up for lost time.

有一次，一位先生结束了疲惫不堪的旅行，骑着马返程回家。途中，他太困了，不知不觉地打起了盹，从马鞍上摔了下来。可是，说来也怪，这一跤竟然没有把他摔醒，相反，他却躺在那里接着睡了起来。他那忠诚的坐骑，一下子没了负担，可出乎大家意料的是，它并没有撒开四蹄疾跑回家，而是待在席地而卧的主人身边，认真地站起岗来。黎明时分，一些干活的人发现他在一堆石头上呼呼大睡，就想走过去叫醒他，可是，一切的努力都遭到了这个意志坚定、忠心耿耿的守护者的坚决阻挠，它冲着干活的人又是龇牙咧嘴，又是蹬蹄甩腿，弄得他们不敢靠前。于是，人们大声喊叫，才把这位先生唤醒。看到自己躺在地上，他大吃一惊，而他那忠诚的坐骑则高兴地嘶叫起来，不断地在地上蹭着蹄子。这位先生随即重新上马，嘚、嘚、嘚地飞驰而去，主仆俩都很高兴能把损失的时间赶回来。