英语故事The NeighborsWord下载.docx
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“Oh，you’resobeautiful！
IthinkI’llcallyouJohan.Yes，Johan.”
But，nextdoor，Zalela’smotherbecameuneasywhenshelearnedaboutthepuppy.AccordingtothereligionofZalela’sfamily，dogswereuncleanandshouldnotbekeptashousepets.Shetriedtotalktoherhusbandaboutitbutheseemedunconcerned.“Well，aslongasthepuppydoesn’tcomeintoourhouse，Iguessit’llbeallright，”hesaid.
“Butdon’tyouhearitwhiningandbarkingdayandnight？
”shegrumbled.
“Oh，it’sprobablyjustnotusedtoitsnewhomeandmissesitsmother.That’swhyitbarks.”
Butthisdidnotmakeherfeelanyeasier.AndshewasafraidZalelawouldstartplayingwiththepuppy.FinallyshedecidedthatshemustforbidZalelatogotoMeiLing’shouse.
“Butwhycan’tIgothere？
”Zalelaasked.
“Becauseofthepuppy.”
“Butwhat’swrongwiththat？
Idon’tplaywithit.”
“Iknow，dear.Butyouknowourreligionforbidsuseventotouchadog.”
Depressed，Zalelacouldnotthinkofanyreply.ButsecretlyshestillcontinuedtogotoMeiLing’safterthat.
OneeveningZalelacamerushinghomeandhurriedtothebackofthehouse.Suspicious，hermotherfollowedherout，whereshefoundthegirlwashingherknee，scrubbingitvigorously.
“What’swrong，Zalela？
”sheasked，actingsurprised.
“Oh，Johnlickedmyknee，mother.”
Hearingthat，thewomanbecamefurious.“Didn’tItellyoustayawayfromMeiLing’s！
Whydidyoudisobeyme？
”
“I’msorry.Pleasedon’tbeangry.See，I’vealreadywashedmyknee，”shesaid，standingup.
“Icanseethat.ButyouarenottogotoMeiLing’sanymore.That’sfinal.”
“But，Mother，she’smybestfriend.”
JustthenMeiLingappeared.“Oh，pleasedon’tbeupset，”sheappealed.“JohanwasonlytryingtoplaywithZalela.”
ButZalela’smotherbecameevenangrier.“Indeed，playingwiththatdog！
Bothofyouknowitsagainstoutreligion.Andifadogdoestouchyou，youhavetowashthatpartofyourbodyoncewithwatermixedwithclayandsixtimeswithcleanwater.”
“ButJohanisclean，”MeiLingprotested.“Iwashhimeveryday.He’snotintheleastbitdirty.Justlookathim，”shesaid，pointingatJohan，whohadcomeupbehindher.
“Iknowhisbodyclean，MeiLing.Butforushe’sstillanuncleananimal.Andthat’sthat.”
MeiLingcouldnotthinkofanywaytodefendJohan.AndshecouldnotreallyunderstandwhatZalela’smotherwastryingtosay.AllsheknewwasthatshedidnotlikeJohan’sisbeingaccusedofbeingunclean.
Suddenlythedogbeganrunningaroundtheyard，wagginghistailandbarkingplayfully.“Oh，no！
Getthatdogoutofhere.Don’tlethimin！
”shoutedZalela’smotherindisgust.
MeiLingcouldnotbelievewhatshewashearing.Iffrightenedher.Sayingnothing，sheranoutoftheyardwithJohanatherheels.Oncebackhome，shetoldhermotherwhathadhappened.
“MeiLing，youknowthatpeopleoftheirreligionaren’tallowedtoplaywithdogs，”soothedhermother.
“ButwhydidsheaccusemyJohanofbeingunclean？
Ikeephimveryclean，”arguedMeiLing，intears.Hermotherdidnotsayanything.
Despitehermother’swarning，ZalelastillcontinuedtogotoMeiLing’s.Thegirlsdidnotseemintheleastbotheredbytherecentincident，fortheirfriendshipwastooimportanttothem.ZalelaalsorealizedthatMeiLinglovedJohanverymuch.
Johancontinuedtobeaneighborhoodnuisance.Hewouldhowlallnightandspendhistimechasingcats，alwayscausingmuchcommotion.
OneSundayafternoonMeiLingwenttoZalela’stoplay.Asthetwogirlssatthere，Johancameandstoodbythefrontgate.Zalela’scat，Koreng，cameoutofthehouseandjoinedthegirls.SuddenlyJohanchargedintotheyard，headingstraightforthecat.Jumpingwithfright，Korengranintothehouse，Johanfollowingclosebehind.Inside，Korengjumpeduponthetelevisionset.Butashedidsohebrushedagainstavase，whichfellonthefloor，shattering.
Hearingthenoise，Zalela’smothercamerushingintotheroom，“Oh，my，what’shappenedtomybeautifulvase？
”sheshoutedindisbelief.
Johanstoodinthehall，growling.Seeinghim，thewomanpickedupabroomandstartedbeatinghimwithit.Yelpinginpain，thedogranoutofthehouse.
MeiLingstoodwatching，helplessandalmostintears.Sayingnothing，sheranoutoftheyardafterJohan.Zalelawastoostunnedtodoanything.SheknewhermotherwasveryangryandwouldnotallowhertoseeMeiLingatallanymore.JustbecauseofJohan.
Thatnight，whenMeiLing’sfatherreturnedhomefromwork，hefoundhisdaughterintears.Betweensobs，shetoldhimwhathappened.
“Well，ofcourseshe’dbeangryifJohanchasedthecatintoherhouseandthenbrokehervase，”hesaid.
“What’llwedonow？
”MeiLing’smotherasked.
“Idon’tknow.Iguessshe’lljusthavetostayawayfromZalelaforawhile，”herepliedreluctantly.
MeiLingwasstunned.Herfather’swordstookherbycompletesurprise.Sherushedofftoherroom，confusedandsadabouteverythingthathadhappened.
ThatnightZalelacouldnotsleep.ShekeptonthinkingthatbecauseofJohanherfriendshipwithMeiLingwasruined.MaybeIoughttoaskhertogetridofthedog，shethought.But，no，sheknewshecouldnotaskherfriendtodothat，forMeiLinglovedthedogtoomuch.ZalelamightnotwanttoloseJohaneither.
Meanwhile，overthenextfewweeksJohan’sbarkingcontinued，butnowitsoundedincreasinglystrange.Firsthewouldwhinesoftly，thenhewouldgrowlandbark，andfinallyhewouldhowl.Andhishowlingwouldtakeonaneerie，frighteningtone.MeiLingbecameworriedthatJohanwasill，butherfatherassuredherthathewasnot.
NightafternightJohan’sstrangebarkingandhowlingcontinued.Itmadetheneighborsuneasy，fortheyfeltitwasabadomen.Rumorsbegantospreadthatitmeanteitherthedogoritsownerwasgoingtomeetwithsomeseriousmisfortune.Hearingthis，MeiLingbecameevensadder.
DuringthistimeMeiLingandZaleladidnotmeet.Althoughtheysaweachotheratschool，theynevertalked，andtheywenthomeseparately.ButfinallyonedayZalelagatheredupenoughcouragetospeaktoherfriend.WalkinguptoMeiLing，sheasked：
“Don’tyouwanttobefriendswithmeanymore？
“OfcourseIdo.Butyounowthatwe’renotallowedtomeet.”
“AndallbecauseofJohan.”
“Iknow，butthere’snothingwecando.”
“Well...”
“Well，what？
“Youwon’tbemadifIsaysomething？
“Ofcoursenot.We’refriends.”
“Well，then，MeiLing，Ithinkyoushouldkeephimtiedup.”
“Tiedup？
“Yes，keephimonaropeinyouryard.Thenwecouldseeeachotheragain.”
“ButIdon’tthinkhe’lllikethat.He’salwaysbeenfreetorunaroundashepleases.IfItiehimup，he’lljustbarkmore.”
“Doesthatmatter，aslongaswecanseeeachother？
“Butitwon’twork.It’lljustmaketheneighborsangrier.They’dprobablykillhim.”
“Don’tbesilly.Theycan’tkillhim.AndI’msurehe’llgetusedtobeingtiedupafterawhile.Asitis，hebarksallthetimeeventhoughhe’sfree.”
MeiLingthoughtforamoment.Finallyshereplied：
“Allright，I’lltrytryinghimuptonightandseewhathappens.”
Bothgirlssmiledandstartedofftowardhome，handinhand.
ThatnightMeiLingtiedJohanupundertheporch.Butthedogbarkedendlessly.Saddenedbythis，thegirlkeptongoingoutofthehousetoseehim，pattingandstrokinghisheadandback.“Don’tcry，darling.Ionlydidthisforyourowngood.Thiswaynoonewilleverbeatyouwithabroomagain.AndnowZalelaandIcanstillbefriends.”ButJohanjustwhinedandlickedherface.
Nosoonerwouldshequitehimdownthanhisbarkingwouldstartagain，growinglouderandlouder.AndthenMeiLingwouldrushouttohimoncemore.Herparentswatchedinsilence，afraidtosayanything.
Itwasgrowinglate.MeiLinghadalreadybeenouttocomfortthedogfivetimes.Tiredandupset，shefinallydecidedtoseehimfree.“Allright，I’lluntieyounow.Butpromiseyou’llbequiteandnotgoanywhere.”Thedogwhinedasifheunderstoodwhatshewassaying.Thenhegavealowgrowlandlookedtowardtheroad.
“Hey，what’sthematter？
Bequite.I’lluntieyou，butdon’troamaround，”shesaid，settinghimfree.Butasshewentbackintothehousehesatthere，staringattheroad.
Exceptforsomefrogscroakinginthedistance，thenightwascompletelystill.Suddenlyitbegantorain.Slowly，MeiLingdriftedoffintoanuneasysleep.ShedreamedthatshewaswithZalelaandJohan，thethreeofthemwalkingendlessly.Thencametoravine.Shelookedovertheedge，butitwasdarkanddeep，andshecouldnotseeanything.Then，suddenly，Johanslippedandfellintothegapingblackness.
MeiLingwokeupscreaming.Shejumpedoutofbedandrushedintotheyard.Itwasdawn.Johanwasnowheretobeseen.Shescreamedagain，andherparentscamerunningout.
Thethreeofthemlookedaroundtheyard，buttherewasnotatraceofthedog.MeiLingsearchedtheneighborhood，callingoutloudly，“Johan，Johan，”buttherewasnosignofhim.GloomilyshereturnedhomeandsatundertheporchwhereJohanusedtosleep.Quietlysh
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