第14章 我和我的“喵斯”Me and My Mewse

辛迪·钱伯斯 /Cindy Chambers

According to my dictionary, a “Muse” is any of the nine Greek goddesses who preside over the arts. This means that, as a writer, I not only get to work in my pajamas, I can also claim my own goddess who will answer my prayers in times of literary distress.

Luckily, there's no need, since I have Necco, a peach-colored tortoiseshell cat to serve as my own personal “mewse”.

The cat discovered us at the local animal shelter. We were looking for a quiet, neat pet to complement our boisterous dog, Emma. We found Necco instead.

As soon as we entered the shelter, she called to us in a noisy chirps that made it clear she required immediate attention. The yellow tag on her cage-the symbol showing that this was her last day-backed up her urgent request. When the cage door swung open, she stepped into my arms and settled back with a look that clearly said, “What took you so long?”

Six months old and barely three pounds, Neeco wasted no time establishing herself as the one in charge of our lives. The leather chair was her scratching post. The Christmas tree was her playground. And the mantel, neatly decorated with a collection of brass candlesticks of all shapes and sizes, was where she discovered the Feline Law of Gravity: Cats go up, candlesticks come down. The f irst dainty swipe of a paw resulted in a satisfying crash. So did the second, third and fourth. By the f ifth crash, Necco's face bore the cat equivalent of a grin. She had discovered her purpose in life.

It happened that Necco's skills reached her peak just as my life reached a low point. My twenty-year marriage had shuddered to a stop, leaving me with a ten-year-old daughter, Katie, and a large home to support on an advertising copywriter's salary. A1though I worked full-time, the pay was modest and I often found myself with more bills than paycheck. I soon realized I would have to work as a freelance writer just to meet expenses.

That meant getting up at 4:00 a.m., writing for two hours, and then getting ready for work. Eight hours later, I would return home, f ix dinner, help Katie with homework, clean the house and get ready for another days work. I fell into bed exhausted at 11:00 p.m. only to crawl out of bed when the alarm sounded at 4:00 a.m. the next day.

The routine lasted exactly two weeks. Despite gallons of coffee, I couldn't seem to produce anything. I was cranky, frustrated, lonely and ready to admit defeat. Writing was hard. Paying bills was even harder. The only answer was to sell the house and get an inexpensive apartment. Unfortunately, that would mean more losses for Katie and me. Especially since no apartment in town allowed pets.

I hated the thought of f inding another home for us all, and I especially hated the thought of telling Katie about the changes in store. Depressed, I slept through the 4:00 a.m. alarm the next day. And the next and the next. F inally, I quit setting it.

That's when Necco did a curious thing. Knowing that a sudden crash would make a human jump, she decided that the perfect time to make that crash was at 4:00 a.m.. Her bedroom bombing raid was timed with military precision. F irst she set off a small round of artillery in the form of two pencils and my eyeglasses. I rolled over and covered my head with the blanket. Then she moved on to an arsenal of notebooks and the alarm clock. Each crash forced me deeper under the covers. F inally, she brought out the big guns. A half-f illed glass water splashed to the ground. A hardbound book crashed beside me. How could I sleep with the world literally crashing down around my ears? My “mewse” said it was time to get to work.

Wearily, I made my way to the computer. Necco hopped up on the desk, seeming to feel her job wasn't done yet. Sitting on a pile of unf inished story ideas, she watched with apparent satisfaction as I began to type.

From then on, every day Necco got me up at 4:00 a.m. sharp, when the ideas were freshest and the world slept around us. With her watching over me as I wrote, I didn't feel so alone. My goals didn't seem so impossible. Slowly, over months of early mornings, stories were born, and polished, and sold.

Today the old house still surrounds us. Katie and I are both doing f ine. And although both pets are treated like the cherished family members they are, whenever another story is sold, I give thanks to my “Muse”-a little cat with a mischievous grin, who kept me company in my “darkest hours.”

根据我的理解，“缪斯”就是九个希腊女神中掌管艺术的那一个。也就是说，身为作家的我，不仅工作时可以穿着睡衣，而且在我写作遇到困难时，还可以要求我的女神赐予我灵感。

幸运的是，我不需要这么做。全是因为我的尼科，这只猫有着桃色的花斑，就是这只猫成了我个人的“喵斯”。

我们是在当地的动物庇护所发现这只猫的。当时，我们本来想找一只安静、干净的宠物来和我们那只吵闹的狗——埃玛做伴，最后却找来了尼科。

我们刚到庇护所，尼科就大声地向我们喵喵地叫个不停，让我们明白它需要刻不容缓的关注。尼科的笼子上的黄牌显示它只能再活一天，它不得不更为急迫地请求。当笼子门刚一打开，尼科一下子跃进了我的怀里，抬头看着我，用清楚明白的眼神问我：“你为什么耽误了这么久才来？”

六个月大的尼科只有三磅重，它一到我家就马上成为我们生活中不可缺少的一分子。尼科把皮椅当成了挠爪柱，它到圣诞树上去游乐，在各种形状和大小不一的黄铜烛台整齐装饰的壁炉架上，就在这里，尼科发现了猫的万有引力定律。它一跳上去，烛台就掉了下来。起初，尼科用小巧的爪子一拍，烛台就会发出令它满意的哗啦声，于是接下来有了第二拍、第三拍、第四拍。到了第五拍，尼科的脸上露出了会心的微笑。它找到了自己的生活乐趣。

当尼科的技巧登峰造极时，我的生活却陷入了低谷。令人震惊的是，我那持续了二十年的婚姻结束了，只剩下十岁的女儿卡蒂和一栋大房子，房子的费用是我靠写广告词的薪金来维持的。虽然我的工作是全职，可收入寒酸，我常常发现我的账单比薪金支票多。不久我就意识到，我要当个自由作家才能收支平衡。

如果那样的话，我就要在清晨四点爬起来，写两个小时，然后准备上班。八小时之后回到家里，做晚饭，帮助卡蒂做作业，收拾屋子，还得为第二天的工作做准备。每晚十一点倒在**的我早已筋疲力尽，第二天早上四点闹钟一响，不得不再次爬出被窝。

我就这样过了整整两个星期。尽管喝了数加仑的咖啡，但看起来我似乎没有写出多少东西。我变得暴躁，沮丧和孤独也随之而来，失败几成定局。写作很难，付账单远比写作更难。仅有的办法就是把房子卖了，然后去住便宜的公寓。不幸的是，如果这么做，我和卡蒂将会失去很多东西，尤其是城里的任何一个公寓都不允许养宠物。

我不愿意另找住处，尤其是不想告诉卡蒂以后会发生的变化，一想到这些我就恼火。沮丧的我在第二天早晨四点闹钟响后也没起床。第三天、第四天我都没有起床。后来，我连闹钟也不设置了。

就在我消沉的时候，尼科做了一件古怪的事。因为突然知道一阵哗啦声会使人跳起来，于是尼科明白凌晨四点是发出这一噪音的最佳时间。它对卧室“轰击”的时间如同进行军事行动般准确无误。起初它用两根铅笔和我的眼镜对我进行轻微“炮轰”。我翻身，把毯子蒙在头上。随后，它的军火变成了笔记本和闹钟。每一次的哗啦声都强迫我不断地往毯子下面钻。最终，尼科拿出了它的“大炮”。啪，半杯水被它碰倒在地；砰，一本硬皮书在我的身旁坠落。全世界就像坍塌了一样在我的耳边轰响，我怎么能睡得着呢？我的“喵斯”说该起床写东西了。

我疲倦不堪地来到电脑旁。尼科就跳到书桌上，好像觉得它的工作还没有做完。它坐在一堆没写完的稿件上，满意地看着我敲打键盘。

自那以后，每天清晨一到四点整尼科就会叫醒我。我在那个时候思路最敏捷，世界在我的身旁沉睡着。尼科在一边看着我进行创作，我不感到寂寞。我的目标似乎并非不可完成。在数月清晨过后，我的作品逐渐完成，修改后，就卖掉了。

现在，我们依然住在那座老房子里。我和卡蒂过得都很好。尽管两只宠物得到的宠爱不亚于一个家庭成员，但我一旦卖出作品时，我都会感谢我的“喵斯”——一只拥有淘气笑容的小猫，它会在我情绪最低落的时候陪伴着我。

记忆填空

1.The cat discovered_______at the local animal shelter. We were looking for a_______ , neat pet to complement our boisterous_______, Emma. We found Necco_______ .

2.Six months_______and barely three pounds, Neeco wasted no_______establishing herself as the one in charge of our_______. The leather chair was her scratching_______. The Christmas tree was her_______ .

3.From_______on, every day Necco got me_______at 4:00 a.m. sharp, when the ideas were freshest and the world_______around us. With her watching over me as I_______, I didn't feel so alone.

佳句翻译

1.正当尼科的技巧登峰造极时，我的生活却陷入了低谷。

译_______________________________________________________________

2.全世界就像爆炸一样在我的耳边回响，我怎么能睡得着呢？

译_______________________________________________________________

3.它坐在一堆没写完的稿件上，满意地看着我敲打键盘。

译_______________________________________________________________

短语应用

1.And the mantel, neatly decorated with a collection of brass candlesticks of all shapes and sizes, was where she discovered the Feline Law of Gravity: Cats go up, candlesticks come down.

come down：倒塌，流传下来

造_______________________________________________________________

2.That meant getting up at 4:00 a.m., writing for two hours, and then getting ready for work.

get ready for：为……作准备

造_______________________________________________________________