Harry, The Adventurous Flea－q19821209

Harry, The Adventurous Flea

Once was a family of fleas that lived on a great big Saint Bernard dog. This dog belonged to a wonderful family. There was a dad, a mom, and two little kids, Mary and John. This family lived in a friendly, peaceful country town somewhere in the south. Since the flea family lived on the great big Saint Bernard, that was their home. What part of the world the great big Saint Bernard lived in really made no difference to this flea family.

Harry was the youngest of the Flea Family kids and also was the adventurous one. He had an itch for adventure. He liked to roam from one end of the great big Saint Bernard to the other end. It was quite a distance since Saint Bernard's are very huge dogs. Sometimes his parents would have to scold Harry for playing so far from home. The flea mother and father did not allowed Harry to go past the middle of the great big Saint Bernard. Harry did not like to listen to his mom and dad and usually got into trouble for misbehaving .

One day, this nice country family decided to take a trip to the big city. They decided to take the family dog with them and leave him in a kennel in the city until they were ready to go back home to the country. They were only going to be gone for a couple of days and were set out to tour the big city and do some shopping at the big city mall.

Unfortunately, this family pet did not like the kennel at all. It was too noisy. The other animals in the kennel were not very friendly and the family pet was tired of all the commotion. The family pet decided to do something about this situation. He believed that if he could just find a way out, he could be reunited with his family and go back home. When the kennel keeper came in to feed all the noisy pets, the Saint Bernard made his escape. He was so quick that the kennel keeper did not have a chance to stop him. He was out of the door and down the street bouncing and running as swiftly as he could. He was mighty fast for such a large dog. Well, all this confusion was starting to make the Flea Family a bit upset. Harry loved the new feeling of excitement. What was going to happen next, he thought.

The family pet made his way down five streets, three avenues and across a four-lane highway without getting a scratch on him. A miracle, indeed! The Flea Family was just holding on for dear life. The smell of fumes from cars, the sound of sirens, people talking, horns honking and the great big Saint Bernard panting was starting to make their calm lives turn upside down. Harry, on the other hand, had traveled all the way to the great Saint Bernard's nose. From this point of view, he could see everything. "Say, what a big, big city", Harry said. He could see the mall, the people, the cars, and the big tall buildings. The city was enormous. The adventurous Harry was having so much fun except for the occasional wet lick from the great big Saint Bernard's tongue. Now that was a little too dangerous for Harry. One lick and he could be a goner. But, no, the great big Saint Bernard missed him by a mile. Thank goodness, Harry thought.

The great big Saint Bernard did not know which way to turn next but luckily, just when he was about to give up finding his country family, they found him. He had made it all the way to the mall. The parents and the two kids could not believe their eyes. There was the family pet, the great big Saint Bernard, standing at the mall entrance. "How in the world did he find his way here?" they said to each other. "My goodness," the father thought and put the great big Saint Bernard in the family vehicle. Then, they started toward home. Harry was a little sad but happy as well. This had been a memorable adventure for Harry, but it was time for him to go home too. He made his way from the nose of the great big Saint Bernard back to his home at the tail. Of course, his mom and dad were upset at him for venturing so far from home. They had been so worried. After the scolding and Harry promising not to wander so far from home again without permission, the whole Flea Family hugged him. Harry was so happy. Not only did he get to have a fun, wonderful adventure but he also got to go back home to his loving family.

Undoubtedly, Harry was an explorer at heart who had many more adventures in his life. He lived a long and happy existence on that great big Saint Bernard.

生字：
flea (n.)：跳蚤
peaceful (adj.)：和平的，安詳的
adventurous (adj.)：冒險的，愛冒險的
misbehaving (n.)：行為的不當
kennel (n.)：畜舍，養狗場
commotion (n.)：混亂騷動
situation (n.)：情況，場合
confusion (n.)：疑惑，騷動
excitement (n.)：刺激感，興奮
scratch (n.)：刮痕，傷痕
miracle (n.)：奇蹟
siren (n.)：警鈴聲
calm (adj.)：平靜的，冷靜的
enormous (adj.)：巨大的
entrance (n.)：入口，進入
memorable (adj.)：可紀念的
existence (n.)：存在，生活