My best friend， Cocoa， and I live in a senior-citizen apartment complex1 in a lovely small town. Cocoa is a ten-year-old poodle2 and I am a sixty-nine-yea-old lady， so you can see we both qualify as senior citizens.

　　Years ago， I promised myself that when I retired I would get a chocolate poodle to share my golden years. From the very first， Cocoa has always been exceptionally well-behaved3. I never have to tell him anything more than once. He was housebroken4 in three days and has never done anything naughty. He is extremely neat――when taking his toys from his box to play， he always puts them back when he is finished. I have been accused of being obsessively5 neat， and sometimes I wonder if he mimics6 me or if he was born that way， too.

　　He is a wonderful companion. When I throw a ball for him， he picks it up in his mouth and throws it back to me. We sometimes play a game I played as a child――but never with a dog. He puts his paw on my hand， I cover it with my other hand， he puts his paw on top， and I slide7 my hand out from underneath the pile and lay it on top， and so on. He does many amusing things that make me laugh， and when that happens， he is so delighted he just keeps it up8 . I enjoy his company immensely.

　　But almost two years ago，Cocoa did something that defies9 comprehension.Was it a miracle or a coincidence10？ It is certainly a mystery.

　　One afternoon，Cocoa started acting strangely. I was sitting on the floor playing with him， when he started pawing and sniffing at11 the right side of my chest. He had never done anything like this ever before， and I told him， " No." With Cocoa， one " no" is usually sufficient12， but not that day. He stopped briefly， then suddenly ran toward me from the other side of the room，throwing his entire13 weigh――eighteen pounds――at the right side of my chest. He crashed14 into me and I yelped15 in pain. It hurt more than I thought it should have.

　　Soon after this， I felt a lump16. I went to my doctors， and after X rays， tests and lab work were done， they told me I had cancer.

　　When cancer starts， for an unknown reason， a wall of calcium17 builds. Then the lump or cancer attaches itself to this wall. When Cocoa jumped on me， the force of the impact18 broke the lump away from the calcium wall. This made it possible for me to notice the lump. Before that， I couldn't see it or feel it， so there was no way for me to know it was there.

　　I had a complete mastectomy19 and the cancer has not spread to any other part of my body. The doctors told me if the cancer had gone undetected even six more months， it would have been too late.

　　Was Cocoa aware of 20 just what he was doing？ I'll never really know. What I do know is that I'm glad I made a promise to spend my golden years with this wonderful chocolate brown poodle――for Cocoa not only shares his life with me； he has made sure that I will be around to share my life with him！

　　美好的晚年

　　我和我最好的朋友科科住在一座可愛小城的老年公民公寓里。科科是頭10歲的卷毛狗，而我是個69歲的女人，所以我們倆都夠格當老年公民。

　　多年前，我就決意，退休時要找條巧克力色的卷毛狗與我共度美好的晚年。從一開始，科科就表現得十分聽話，什么事我說一遍就行。科科經過三天訓練后就養成了家居衛生的習慣，而且從沒有干過淘氣的事。它特別愛整潔――從盒子里拿出玩具玩畢之后，總是再放回原處。有人說我過分愛整潔，可我有時想那狗是在學我樣呢，還是它生來也是如此。

　　科科是出色的伴侶。我扔出球，它就用嘴叼起后扔給我。我們有時候玩一種我小時候玩的游戲――可這我從來沒跟狗玩過。它把爪子放在我一只手上，我用另一只手蓋在它爪子上，它把爪子放在上面，我再抽出最下面的手放在最上面，就這樣繼續著。科科有許多有趣的動作令我發笑。它見我笑，它就高興地繼續做那個動作。我十分喜歡有它這樣的伴兒。

　　但是大約兩年前，科科做了件無法理解的事。這是奇跡，還是巧合？至今還是個謎。

　　有一天下午，科科開始行動反常。我坐在地上逗它玩，它開始用爪子撓，還不斷地聞我胸部右側。以前它從來沒有這樣過。我告訴它："不要這樣。"通常說一遍" 不"就足夠了，可是那天不行。它停頓片刻，然后突然從屋子的另一端朝我奔來，把全身18磅的重量壓在我胸部右側。科科猛撞了我，疼得我哇哇直叫。我想不該有這么痛。

　　此后不久，我感到有個腫塊。我去看了醫生，做了X光透視、各種檢查和化驗。他們告訴我說，我得了癌癥。

　　癌癥開始時，不知什么原因，出現一層鈣壁。然后腫塊或癌就附著在那鈣壁上。科科跳在我身上時，沖擊力把腫塊從鈣壁上分離開，這樣使我才有可能注意到腫塊。在這之前，我無法看見也感覺不到腫塊，因而也就無從知道腫塊的存在。

　　我做了徹底的切割手術，癌細胞還沒有擴散到身體其他部位。醫生告訴我，要是再有半年還沒發現癌癥的話，就為時過晚了。

　　科科意識到它做的事情了嗎？我永遠也得不到答案。可我知道，我很高興當時我許愿要和這只杰出的巧克力色卷毛狗共度晚年，因為科科不僅與我分享它的生命，而且確實做到使我能健康地活著與它分享我的生命。

　　注釋：

　　1.complex n.綜合體，集合體，體系

　　2.poodle n.卷毛狗，（喻）追隨者

　　3.well-behaved adj.行為端正的

　　4.housebreak vt.訓練（家犬、家貓等）保持衛生習慣（即在屋外或一定的地方便溺）

　　5.obsessively adv.（在迫切性上）過分地

　　6.mimic vt.模仿，學…的樣子

　　7.slide vt.悄悄地迅速放置

　　8.keep up（使）繼續下去，（使）不停止

　　9.defy vt.使成為不可能

　　10.coincidence n.巧合

　　11.sniff vi.（吸著氣）嗅（與at搭配）

　　12.sufficient adj.足夠的

　　13.entire adj.全部的

　　14.crash vi.猛撞

　　15.yelp vi.失聲急叫

　　16.lump n.腫塊

　　17.calcium n.（化）鈣

　　18.impact n.撞擊力

　　19.mastectomy n.（醫）乳房切除術

　　20.aware adj.意識到的（與of搭配）

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