英语小故事第164期：Old Dogs Become Young Again

“My 10-year-old dog can’t even walk up two steps to get into the house,” Alicia told her new friend. “I have to carry Prince up those two steps. Late one night I saw an ad on TV for Young Again Dog Beverage. They showed an old dog trying to get into an armchair. It got only partway into the chair before it slid back down to the floor. They showed another dog trying to catch a Frisbee. The poor dog couldn’t even jump off the ground. They showed another dog going for a ‘walk.’ But instead of actually walking, the dog was sitting in a baby carriage that its owner was pushing. These were all the ‘before’ pictures.

“Then they showed the ‘after’ pictures—after the animals had drunk the Young Again Dog Beverage for one week. It was a miracle! I couldn’t believe my own two eyes! The first dog easily leaped up into the armchair. The second dog leaped almost four feet into the air to catch the Frisbee! And the third dog stood on its hind legs and pushed the family cat in the baby carriage!

“Well, of course, I was sold! So, I sent in my $19.95 to the address on the TV screen. After it arrived, I put 10 drops into Prince’s water dish each day for a week. Nothing happened. So I doubled the dosage for another two weeks, but Prince was still tired and weak.

“I called the company. They asked me what kind of dog I had. I told them that Prince was a mixed breed. They said the TV ad I saw was for purebreds only. They told me to order Young Again Mutt Beverage for $11.95. That was four days ago. I can’t wait till it gets here, so I can watch Prince run up and down those steps and start chasing cats again, just like the good old days!”