玛丽和她的丈夫迪米特里住在希腊南部一个名叫佩拉霍拉的小村庄里。
Mary and her husband Dimitri lived in the tiny village of Perachora in southern Greece.
玛丽最珍贵的财产之一是一只小白羊，那是她丈夫送给她的。
One of Mary's prize possessions was a little white lamb which her husband had given her.
她白天把它拴在田野里的一棵树上，每天傍晚再去把它牵回来。
She kept it tied to a tree in a field during the day and went to fetch it every evening.
然而，有一天傍晚，那只小羊不见了。
One evening, however the lamb was missing.
绳子已经被割断了，所以很明显，那只小羊是被偷走的。
The rope had been cut, so it was obvious that the lamb had been stolen.
迪米特里从田里回来时，他的妻子把发生的事告诉了他。
When Dimitri came in from the fields, his wife told him what had happened.
迪米特里立刻出发去寻找小偷。
Dimitri at once set out to find the thief.
他知道在这样一个小村庄里，这件事不会难以查清。
He knew it would not prove difficult in such a small village.
向几个朋友打听了失窃的事之后，迪米特里发现他的邻居阿列科突然多了一只新羊。
After telling several of his friends about the theft, Dimitri found out that his neighbour, Aleko, had suddenly acquired a new lamb.
迪米特里立即去了阿列科家，愤怒地指控他偷了那只羊。
Dimitri immediately went to Aleko's house and angrily accused him of stealing the lamb.
他告诉他最好把羊还回来，否则他就报警。
He told him he had better return it or he would call the police.
阿列科否认拿了那只羊，并带迪米特里去了他家的后院。
Aleko denied taking it and led Dimitri into his backyard.
他解释说，他确实刚买了一只羊，但他的羊是黑色的。
It was true that he had just bought a lamb he explained, but his lamb was black.
迪米特里为自己鲁莽行事感到羞愧，向阿列科道歉，为自己的无端指控而致歉。
Ashamed of having acted so rashly, Dimitri apologized to Aleko for having accused him.
他们正谈着话，天开始下雨了，于是迪米特里在阿列科家待到雨停。
While they were talking it began to rain and Dimitri stayed in Aleko's house until the rain stopped.
半小时后，当他走到屋外时，他惊讶地发现那只"黑色"小羊几乎变成了白色。
When he went outside half an hour later, he was astonished to find that the little black lamb was almost white.
它的羊毛被染成了黑色，却被雨水冲洗干净了！
Its wool, which had been dyed black, had been washed clean by the rain!