一个鹦鹉救婴儿的故事

by Jennifer S. Holland

翻译：常青

一个鹦鹉救婴儿的故事

by Jennifer S. Holland

翻译：常青

我们听过忠犬救主人的故事，或是海豚帮助在海上发生危难的人们的故事……但你有听过鸟儿救人的故事吗？就在十年前，一只鹦鹉尽它所能挽救了一个幼小的新生命。

Track 5

Meagan Howard and her close friend Samantha Kusk， both students， lived together in Denver. On mornings when Samantha had class， Meagan would watch her two-year-old daughter， Hannah.

Meagan’s pet Willie was a very clever parrot. Willie was really funny and a wonderful talker. He1）picked up quite a healthy vocabulary （“Silly Willie” was a favorite saying） and became a great2）mimic. Plus， he could do a3）spot-on4）whistle of The Andy Griffith Show注1theme song.

One day in 2006， with Samantha at school， Hannah had5）perched herself in front of the morning cartoons while Meagan was busy in the kitchen， preparing the little girl her favorite breakfast， a6）pop-tart. When the7）toaster spit out the8）pastry， Meagan placed it at the center of the kitchen table to cool. She9）peeked at Hannah and was confident that the child10）was fully engaged with the TV， so she11）slipped out quickly to use the bathroom.

“I was gone maybe 30 seconds，” Meagan recalls. “And suddenly， I heard the bird. Willie was going crazy，12）squawking and13）shrieking.”

She heard two very14）distinct words from the parrot’s mouth.

“Mama！ Baby！”

He repeated over and over again. “Mama！ Baby！ Mama！ Baby！”

Meagan ran out of the bathroom to find Hannah in the kitchen. Hannah was holding the partly eaten pop-tart，15）gasping for air， her face and lips became a16）terrifying shade of blue. And Willie was still shrieking.

“Hannah had climbed up on a chair and gotten the pop-tart and she was clearly17）choking on it，”says Meagan. “I18）grabbed her immediately and started doing the Heimlich Maneuver注2until the piece came out.”

The bird quieted down and Meagan burst into tears. Hannah was fine， already smiling her big smile.

“Samantha was so grateful， thanking me for what I did，” Meagan says. “But I said， ‘Don’t thank me！ It was Willie who was the hero！’ ”

What was really surprising was that though Willie knew the word “mama，” he’d never before combined it with the word “baby.” And he hasn’t said them together ever since.

Samantha always19）had a soft spot for her friend’s pet， but after that， “the soft spot grew and grew. She was just so grateful，” Meagan says. “I know Willie will forever be Samantha’s hero.”

1） pick up 不费力地学会

2） mimic ［'mImIk】 n. 模仿者

3） spot-on 准确的，恰好的

4） whistle ［'wIsəl】 n. 口哨声

5） perch ［pʒːtʃ】 v. 栖息，就位

6） pop-tart 一种上面有果酱或果陷的小圆饼

7） toaster ［'təustə】 n. 烤面包机

8） pastry ［'peIstrI】 n. 酥皮糕点

9） peek ［piːk】 v. 偷偷地一看，一瞥

10） be engaged with 忙碌于……

11） slip out 悄悄地溜出去

12） squawk ［skwɔːk】

v.（飞禽因受伤或受惊）而粗厉地叫

13） shriek ［ʃriːk】 v. 尖声叫喊

14） distinct ［dI'stIŋkt】 adj. 不同的，清楚的

15） gasp ［gɑːsp】 v. 喘气

16） terrifying ［'terIfaIIŋ】 adj. 可怕的

17） choke ［tʃəuk】 v. 噎，使不能呼吸

18） grab ［græb】 v. 抓住

19） have a soft spot for 偏爱，有特殊的好感

注1：即《安迪·格里菲斯秀》，美国著名电视喜剧，于1960年开播，1968年停播。

注2：海姆里克腹部冲击法，用于呼吸道异物的排除，主要用于呼吸道完全堵塞或严重堵塞的患者。

The Story of a Parrot Who Saved a Baby