reading dialy 5

Cats keep lost boy warm

MISIONES, Argentina, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Argentine police say a destitute 1-year-old boy was kept alive by a colony of stray cats who shared food scraps and kept him warm in the city of Misiones.
The boy, who had been missing for several days, was found by Police Officer Lorean Lindgvist, The Daily Telegraph reported Saturday
"The boy was lying at the bottom of a gutter. There were all these cats on top of him licking him because he was really dirty," Lindgvist said. "When I walked over they became really protective and spat at me. They were keeping the boy warm while he slept."
Lindgvist said she noticed scraps of food near the boy and surmised "the cats knew he was fragile and needed protecting," the Telegraph reported, noting doctors said the warmth of the cats saved the boy during freezing nights that could have killed him.
The boy's father, who is homeless, said his son vanished several days ago and that cats had always been protective of the boy, Lindgvist said.

＊アドレス＊
http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2008/12/20/Cats-keep-lost-boy-warm/UPI-27331229804833/

＊要約＊
アルゼンチンのミシオネス州で1歳の幼児が数日前から行方不明になっていた。
ある日、警官のLorean Lindgvistさんが街を巡回していると、排水溝の中にいる幼児を発見。そこは猫たちのねぐらになっており、たくさんの猫たちも一緒にいた。
Lorean Lindgvistさんが幼児を保護しようとすると、猫たちは幼児を自分たちの子どものように思っており、幼児を守ろうとして威嚇してきた。
猫たちは幼児が凍死しないよう寒い夜でも幼児を暖め続け、飢え死にしないよう餌も与えていた。
また、猫たちが幼児に付いていた汚れをなめてキレイにしていた。医者は「寒い夜も猫たちが体温で幼児を暖め続けていたことが良かった」とコメントしている。

＊感想＊
とってもやさしい猫だなぁと感動しました。
猫に冷たいイメージを持っている人も結構いると思いますが、これを読んで考えなおしてほしいです。

＊単語＊
Several………数～
Telegraph……電報
gutter………排水溝
scraps………廃材
surmised……推測
fragile………か弱い