每天读一篇英语小故事：Book Him

英语自学网

　　A man accused of failing to return more than 700 children’s books to five
different libraries in the county was released from jail yesterday after a book
publisher agreed to post his bond of $1,000. The publisher said, “There’s a
story here. This is a man who loves books. He just can’t let go of them. He
hasn’t stolen a single book. So what’s the crime? We think that Mr. Barush has a
story to tell. We plan to publish his story.”
        　　When asked why he didn’t return the books, Mr. Barush said, “Well, how
could I? They became family to me. I was afraid to return them, because I knew
that kids or dogs would get hold of these books and chew them up, throw them
around, rip the pages, spill soda on them, get jam and jelly on them, and drown
them in the toilet.”
        　　He continued, “Books are people, too! They talk to you, they take care of
you, and they enrich you with wisdom and humor and love. A book is my guest in
my home. How could I kick it out? I repaired torn pages. I dusted them with a
soft clean cloth. I turned their pages so they could breathe and get some fresh
air.
        　　“Every week I reorganized them on their shelves so they could meet new
friends. My books were HAPPY books. You could tell just by looking at them. Now
they’re all back in the library, on the lower shelves, on the floors, at the
mercy of all those runny-nosed kids. I can hear them calling me! I need to
rescue them. Excuse me. I have to go now.”