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\'Oh， he\'s all right， miss！\'said my driver．He put a heavy box on the cab with the other luggage． \'Father，please take a second cab，\'said the girl．\'I\'m sure this is very cruel．\' \'Grace，get in at once，and don\'t be stupid，\'said her father．\'The driver knows his own business．\' My gentle friend had to obey，and box after box was lifted up and put on the top of the cab，or next to the driver．Then the driver hit me with his whip and we moved out of the sta-tion． The cab was very heavy and I had not eaten or rested since early that morning．I did my best and got along quite well un-til we came to Ludgate Hill．By then I was exhausted，and the heavy cab was too much for me．My feet went from under me and I fell heavily，knocking all the breath out of me．I lay quite still because I could not move．Indeed， I expected to die． There were angry voices above me and luggage was taken off the cab，but it was all like a dream．I tnought I heard the girl\'s voice saying，\'Oh，that poor horse！It\'s all our fault！\' Someone loosened my bridle and collar，and another voice said，\'He\'s dead，he\'ll never get up again．\'I heard a police－man giving orders but I did not open my eyes．Cold water was thrown over my head，some medicine was put into my mouth，and I was covered with a cloth． I don\'t know how long I was there，but a man with a kind voice persuaded me to try to get up and I managed it．Then I was gently led to some stables close by． That evening，I was taken back to Skinner\'s stables，and the next morning the horse-doctor came to see me． \'He\'s been worked too hard，\'said the doctor．\'There\'s no strength left in him．\' \'Then he must go for dog food，\'said Skinner．\'I have no fields for sick horses．It doesn\'t suit my business．I work them for as long as they\'ll go，then I sell them for what I can get．\' \'There\'s a horse fair in ten days\' time，\' said the doctor．\'If you rest him and give him food， he may get better，and then you may get more than his skin\'s worth．\' Luckily for me，Skinner took the doctor\'s advice and，after rest and food，I began to feel better．Ten days later， I was taken to the horse fair，a few miles outside London．
12 苦日子
我被卖给了杰利认识的一位面包师。这面包师的车夫是个叫贾克的男人。他喜欢把绳套收得紧紧的。这叫我拉重物时很困难。我发现这工作很不好干。 这样过了三四个月。一天，我正拉车上一个很陡的小山。这次车比以往都沉重得多。我不得不几次停下来休息，这让贾克很不高兴。 “走啊，你这懒马！我要抽你了！”他喊着并用鞭子抽我。 拉了几米，我又得停下来。鞭子又落在我的后背上，疼得钻心。我已经尽力了，可车夫还无情地惩罚我，这非常不公平。 |
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