Then one Monday morning we patted his head and let him out for what turned out to be the last time.
接下来一个星期一的早晨，我们拍了拍他的脑袋，又把他送走了，结果证明这却是最后一次。
He never came back. We never saw or heard from German again.
他再也没有返回来。我们再也没有见过或听人说起过German.

I think of him often.

我常常想起他来。
He came when I needed him the most and stayed until I was strong enough to go on alone.
他在我最需要他的时候来了，并且一直呆到我坚强得足够独自持家。
Maybe there is a perfectly natural explanation for German’s visits to our house——
也许对于German的来访有一个极自然的解释——
maybe his owner went away on weekends-maybe.
也许他的主人要在周末离开——也许是有这种可能。
I believe German was sent because he was needed,
我相信German送到我们这儿来，是因为我们需要他。
and because no matter how abandoned and alone we feel,
因为不论我们感觉是被遗弃还是感到孤独，
somehow, somewhere, someone knows and cares.
总有人在某个地方，采取某种方式了解并关心我们，
We are never really alone.
所以我们永远不会真正地孤独。