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在中国乡村,特别是东南部的一些省份，流传着一种习俗，就是给小孩戴一种类似于狗脸的帽子。 这是一个关于这种帽子的故事。很久之前，俩兄弟住在一起，俩人都结了婚，过得相安无事。大哥和妻子诚实宽容，可就是没有孩子。在那个时候的中国，无后对一对夫妇来说是很严重的问题。大哥和妻子为此特别苦恼，于是决定领养他们的一个侄子。"我侄子就是我的继承人。”他自己说道。但是当他跟弟弟、弟媳谈起此事的时候，毫无理由地遭到了断然拒绝。 过了不久，弟弟生病去世了，所以抚养两个儿子的担子压在了弟媳的身上。这时，大哥又一次向她建议要领养一个侄子。但是他又被毫无理由地拒绝了。这令大哥非常不解。 过了几年，大哥喜出望外，因为他的妻子最终在中年怀孕了。大哥有时候必须出去做生意，于是他事先安排好一切，并在村里找了产婆。果不其然他的妻子在他外出做生意的时候要生了。弟媳买通了产婆来害大嫂。因为弟媳一直想得到大哥的财产，所以她拒绝让他领养儿子，就是希望大哥无后而终。 到了她那个年龄,生孩子很困难，所以大嫂特别痛苦。产婆就趁大嫂不省人事的时候麻利地抱走了婴儿，换上了一只剥了皮的小狗。然后弟媳就把婴儿扔到了田地里。整件事情谁也不知道，只有那只棕色的狗站在那里看到了一切。 大嫂醒过来了，非常吃惊地看着那个奇怪的东西。她非常失望，一见到当天回来的丈夫，就禁不住哭了。丈夫既失望又奇怪。就在这时，那只棕色狗走近他，把他领到花园里。他非常奇怪地发现狗棚里有个嫩嫩的小孩在哭。现在一切都明白了。弟媳受到了村民严厉的惩罚,但是她不知道她扔走的婴儿究竟怎么回到了母亲的怀抱。把婴儿带回家的正是那只狗。所以为了纪念这只狗的忠诚和正义，婴儿的妈妈为孩子做了一顶狗帽。狗帽在村民中变得越来越流行，不只因为它很实用，更因为它和忠诚的狗之间有着密切的联系。 A Story of the Dog Hat It is a folk custom in the countryside of China to have a kid wear a kind of hat which looks like a dog’s face, especially in the provinces of the southeast of China. Here is a story about the kind of hat. Long ago, there were two brothers in a family，both of whom were married and lived peacefully. The elder brother and the wife were honest and tolerant, but they did not have any children. And it was regarded as a big problem for a couple without children in China then. The elder brother and his wife were so upset for the matter that he would like to a- dopt one of his nephews. "Well, my nephew is the right person to be my heritor,” he said to himself. But when he talked this to his younger brother and the wife, he was refused absolutely for no reason. Not long after, the younger brother fell ill and died. Eventually, the burden of supporting the two sons was laid on the younger brother’s wife. In that case, the elder brother brought the request for adopting one of the sons from her again. But he was refused again and was given no reasons. That made the elder brother very puzzled. Years later, to the elder brother’s delight, his wife was finally pregnant at her middle age. Because the elder brother sometimes had to go out on business，he had everything well prepared and a midwife was found in the village. His wife was brought to bed just when he was out doing business. The younger brother’s wife bought off the midwife to accomplish a plot on the elder brother's wife. Because the younger brother’s wife had been intending to get the properties from the elder brother, she refused to meet the request for adopting a son from her, who wished the elder brother's family had come to an end due to no descendants. It was hard to give birth to a child for a woman of her age. The elder brother’s wife was in great pain. The midwife replaced the baby with a dog peeled off the skin quickly and neatly before the elder brother’s wife came to know something. And then the younger brother’s wife left the baby in the fields. No one knew the matter but a brown dog standing by all the time. When regaining consciousness, she was surprised at the strange thing. She was so disappointed that she cried as soon as she saw her husband who returned home later that day. He also felt so disappointed and puzzled. Just then, the brown dog came to him and led him out to the garden. To his astonishment, he found a tender baby in the dog’s hut crying. Now everything had become clear to him. She was punished by the village severely, but she didn't know how on earth the baby she threw away could be brought back to the mother's arms. It was the dog that managed to bring the baby back home. So in memory of the dog’s loyalty and his great honor, the baby’s mother made a dog hat for her baby. Dog hats became more and more popular among villagers not only because it was practicable but also because it had a close relation with the faithful dog. |
