Chapter 18 Chapter 17 Tashi's Ranch

Tibetan mastiffs crowded the window outside.I have been in the mastiff farm for a month, and this is the first time I have taken Green out on a long trip. For some reason, my eyes were a little sour, and I hugged Green and touched noses with the Tibetan mastiffs one by one. With a bag on my back and a compass in my hand, I led a young wolf with a head full of romantic fantasies and jumped on the road like this, devoting myself to the most beautiful season of the grassland.We went deep into the hinterland of the grassland, and the more we walked, the happier we were. The mist is misty, as a remnant of the cool night, and there are still a few drops of dewdrops after the frost flowers have melted on the translucent new shoots of the grass stems, but soon, when the sun leaps out of the horizon, this little moisture will turn into memories.Morning and noon are like two seasons.The sun is getting stronger, and the surroundings are white like a fantasy. The scorching sun and ultraviolet rays of the grassland are not so uncomfortable behind the clouds. Compared with the cramped, cramped and unsatisfactory summer in the city, this place at least makes people clear.Wandering in the wilderness, when the distant cooking smoke lay silently in my sight, the originally ordinary concept of "human footprint" became rarer than ever.

The little birds are busy collecting grass seeds and worms, making themselves as fat as pompoms, and the red-headed gulls and other waterfowl skimming across the river add a bit of life to the ribbon-like river.I made a garland and put it on my head and took pictures by the water. Green stretched out his little tongue and licked me in the water, turning the water surface into a distorting mirror. I laughed and rolled with him on the grass and made a ball. We were covered in petal pollen, butterflies and dragonflies flew around us.This is the prairie, the paradise on earth, that a city girl dreams of.

Finally, I had enough of the smugness, so I lay down on the fine and silky meadow to rest, with one hand behind my head, looking at the blue sky and eating some dry food.Green was not very interested in dry food, and after chewing two bites, he went to chase the running pika.It was the first time he had walked so far, and his curiosity could not be suppressed.Of course he can't catch up with the agile pika. The current hunting instinct is more like a game for Little Green. Under my care, he has never been short of food.Green ran farther and farther, and when he finally stopped, I was gone.He was briefly confused, and began to lower his head to smell the smell when he came.

A slight sound came from the depths of the grass, interrupting his thoughts of looking for his mother. He looked curiously. It was a few little Tibetan foxes with golden-red fluff playing in the grass, gnawing half of the dry Sheep hooves.A raven was pacing not far away, flying over from time to time to check if there was anything to share. From the moment Green opens his eyes, he differentiates between what he sees, smells, hears, and feels.Any animal that is not of the same kind can be used as meat. From birth to now, he has eaten a dead mouse, a live chicken, and countless fish, and killed a cat that was snatching food from him. After picking up a lamb, he was very satisfied with his record.But in these little foxes, he smelled similar to right and wrong, how should he distinguish them?

Green crawled in the grass, and involuntarily moved a few steps closer.But the little foxes didn't welcome him like the dogs in the city. They immediately pricked up their ears and stopped playing. They danced like a few golden flames and disappeared into the grass with a "swish" at a speed that dazzled Greene. .When encountering something running, Green's desire to chase instantly dominated his behavior, and he chased after it without thinking...but he didn't even catch a flame.For the first time, Green encountered something that could easily get rid of him, so that he didn't even have a chance to smell and recognize it.

Green twitched his nose and sniffed the air to find his way back, and his mother's cry seemed to be getting closer.He walked back slowly, and when he passed by the place where the little foxes were playing again, the raven from before was guarding the goat's hooves, pecking with relish.Green felt hungry, and he leaned forward tentatively, baring his teeth.The raven flapped its wings and backed away, not intending to have any conflict with the animals on the ground at all. According to the old rules of the grassland, the raven's share would be kept sooner or later.The ravens were busy collecting the bits and pieces of wool scattered on one side, which was a good material for nesting.

Green easily got the goat's hoof, but where is the meat on the lean and dry goat's hoof?It can only be used as a greedy toy. Green barely tore off a little bit of fur, chewed a small piece of bone and swallowed it, and then lost interest in the shriveled sheep's hooves.Green turned to watch with great interest the raven walking funny on two feet busy around him.Such a big bird is close at hand, which is not common in the city. Green seems to think of the dull chicken he killed before.Birds that walk on two legs are clumsy and harmless to him.And, uh--that flavor seems to taste good in the aftertaste!A sense of superiority and curiosity with nothing to do made Little Green stretch out a paw to tease the dark thing.The raven screamed and was shocked. The raven didn't expect that this uneducated little thing would be so ignorant of the rules, and it would come up with his idea. Touched the tip of Green's nose.Green whimpered in pain, curled up and rolled desperately in the grass.The raven was also frightened, and flew away quickly, screaming.

I giggled and continued to follow Green from a distance, watching him slowly visit the vast wilderness.Green had had enough pain and shouted enough, and started to stand up, stumble and continue to move forward.He was constantly caught in the weeds under his feet, or tripped and struggled by the deep and shallow grass nests. Occasionally, the grass stalks that bounced over would hit his nose that had just been pecked, reminding him of the embarrassment he had just encountered.Green began to hate drafting haystacks. He yearned for high and abrupt places, and ran happily towards a small bare slope, which was an abandoned watchtower for marmots.

The view on the small dirt slope is good, and Little Green comfortably breathes the air full of sunshine particles and enjoys the breeze blowing in front of him. A tickling air comes out of his throat involuntarily: "Mo oh... oh oh... ..." He tried his voice a few times, not bad!He is so confident in his singing talent.I hid in the grass and quietly took out my mobile phone, found the recording of calling him in the past, and turned on the speaker to play it.Although the sound was almost inaudible on the vast grassland, Green's keen ears still vaguely caught the voice answering him, and he sang more happily, and the little wolf's singing was fluttering with the wind.In order to spread the singing farther, the little singer raised his head and pointed the tip of his nose to the sky.

Green quickly noticed a small black spot hovering back and forth in the sky, gradually flying low, with black wings, like the raven that just flew away, Green immediately gritted his teeth, annoyed at the disgraceful exit just now, if If the raven dared to come down and peck his nose again, he would definitely give the raven some color! I followed Green's gaze and saw the kite-sized bird. I took out the telescope and searched slowly in the sky. It was really difficult to focus.When I put down the binoculars and looked again, the "little bird" was gradually flying lower, and the distance was difficult to judge, but it seemed to be larger than the raven. The "little bird" hovered in the air to lock its position, and the third-level flight feathers of its wings showed a thin bright color through the dazzling sunlight.this is……?I tried my best to search the familiar figure in the database of my mind, and felt a little uneasy. This uneasiness intensified, and my heart beat wildly in an instant.not good!

Suddenly, Green ran wildly and quickly ran towards me. A strong sense of foreboding and inexplicable fear hit him. This instinctive fear kept calling out to him: "Run! Run! Run as hard as you can!" "Green! Green!" I jumped out of the long grass and yelled in fright. A black shadow had swept across the sky above my head, wrapped in a gust of wind, the "threat" fell from the sky, and the figure the size of a raven suddenly turned into a shadow covering the sky. The troll, who was attacked by terror from the sun, faced Green like a god of death!Golden eagle - the top carnivorous raptor on the grassland! The huge figure of the golden eagle instantly crossed the grass field and swooped down like a fighter jet.He opened his sharp claws like steel cones, and grabbed Green's back.This sharp claw can easily penetrate Green's skull, and the huge wings flap the breath of death!Green turned around in a hurry, his agility surpassed all his usual movements, the golden eagle deviated from the target, flapped its wings quickly to adjust the attack angle, and still pointed its paws at the fleeing Green. I never thought that the inconspicuous "bird" in the sky would turn out to be a frighteningly huge killer after it landed on the ground. The wingspan of about two meters and the wide feathers made me so thin Green, who was as big as a lamb, looked so insignificant in front of him.It must be the small uncovered slope where Green is located that makes this "little prey" particularly eye-catching. For golden eagles, this is tantamount to an invitation to eat. I yelled like crazy, and slammed my phone at the golden eagle, but I missed!Seeing that Green was about to be caught!I rushed over and picked up the telescope in my hand and smashed it!In the nick of time, the heavy telescope hit the golden eagle's wings like a meteor hammer, breaking off a few large flying feathers. The golden eagle was startled and quickly flapped its wings and soared into the sky!That blow surprised him a lot. All birds love their feathers the most, just like the most precious minions of wolves. He will never ruin his flying career for a small meal.The golden eagle flapped its wings and quickly raised its height.Green had already run back to me, and I immediately covered Green like a hen guarding her chicks.The golden eagle circled around in disappointment before disappearing on the other side of the mountain unwillingly. I fell to the ground, and the garlands had already fallen all over the ground.Green screamed in horror and threw himself into my arms, desperately burrowing into my armpit, the mother and son trembled with lingering fear.Green grew up in the city and has never encountered a natural enemy. Fortunately, his sensitivity to threats at critical moments drove him to flee for his life-a rapidly growing threat came straight at him, and the comer must be bad!Green, who survived the catastrophe, finally realized that in this strange and vast wilderness, in addition to looking for meat to satisfy his stomach craving, there are other creatures also hungry for the same meat!Those who are smaller and weaker than themselves can be killed and eaten by him, and those who are stronger than themselves can kill and eat him in turn!Here, chasing and being chased, hunting and being hunted, eating and being eaten, everything is so blind and disorderly, full of violence and chaos.Under the dominion of chance and ruthlessness, greed and killing are intertwined at will, endlessly.Green has already learned to eat, not to be eaten, he just started to learn! I picked up my phone and binoculars with shaking hands, my legs were so weak that I could no longer stand still.I have always thought that as long as people and dogs do not harm the little wolf, there will be no danger in this empty grassland, and carelessness and ignorance will lead to disaster.The golden eagle, which I only watched in zoos and on TV, attacked Green right in front of my eyes.There would be a sharp howling sound when there was a picture of an eagle hitting the sky on TV, but this golden eagle launched a surprise attack without a sound. If Green hadn't looked at the sky and howled just now, he would not have found the golden eagle at all.Never before have I known the Raptor as well as I do now.We began to have an idea of ​​the murderous intent that filled the world, and a sense of awe for the reckless life hiding in the depths of the grassland.Harsh nature warns all life that enters here with the fact of killing, your role has only two choices - hunter!Or prey! I sat on the lawn and gasped for breath for a while, then suddenly laughed heartily.If one survives, there will be future fortunes!I set up my camera to commemorate this adventure.This is already unknown how many times Green has escaped from death.In any case, Green was still alive, and he was still trembling in my arms, looking at me seriously while trembling. After the panic gradually subsided, Green put his little paws on me, and tried to raise his slender legs during the embarrassing period of growing up. Ridiculous body, sticking out a soft and warm tongue to kiss my lips lightly, not for begging, not for games, a kind of gratitude for the rest of my life in the kiss... Green leaned closer and sniffed the fallen eagle feathers on the ground, trembling while sniffing, the wind blew the feathers, and Green backed away in a hurry, as if afraid that those feathers would fly up and bite him.The golden eagle taught us to be vigilant, and warned us to restrain our childish curiosity and not set foot in dangerous areas, because in this desolate and dangerous grassland, every mistake we make may be fatal.Green's gait changed significantly, and he began to look left and right, and looked up at the sky from time to time, fully mobilizing his vision, hearing, touch, smell and other senses for self-defense to understand this wilderness that is completely different from the city.He no longer acts alone, and once he can't see me, he immediately looks for me by smelling, and every few dozen steps he walks, he always looks back to see if I'm nearby.Green's neck is soft and flexible. Sometimes when I clearly see Green walking forward with his back to me, he can suddenly turn his head and shoot piercing eyes at me behind him. The wide range of turning back makes me dumbfounded.In Luo Guanzhong's ninety-first chapter, it is said that "Sima Yi regards the wolf as an eagle, and cannot be given military power; it will be a disaster for the country for a long time." You can keep your body still and turn your neck back 180 degrees.In the past, I always thought this was an exaggerated description, but after seeing Little Green’s look back, I realized that there might be some truth to it, but I don’t know if the neck of a wolf after adulthood is still so flexible. No matter how much danger the grassland brings us, it still beckons to us with irresistible charm.We continued to walk deep into the grassland, and there was a singing sound from afar, melodious and clear, and only the singing of the grassland people could match this vastness, like the cool summer breeze that refreshes the spirit.A Tibetan man came galloping with a whipping horse in his hand, and the thin light flickered in and out of his ears, outlining a flying silhouette, a masculine figure.He came to me in an instant, stopped the horse seven or eight meters away.He froze for a moment, with a clear smile in his eyes: "Pomoyimore!" (Pretty girl!) I smiled back: "Kasuo Tashi!" (Thank you!) He took a look and hid behind me Green watched him warily. "This...is a wolf?" He asked suspiciously, "Why are you with a wolf?" I smiled, and it took a long time to say this. "My name is Tashi, what about you?" "Li Weiyi." "Han nationality?" Tashi looked suspiciously at me who had already put on an authentic Tibetan robe, "Why can you speak Tibetan?" I giggled and said, "I only know those few sentences." I thought to myself, I still made up for this month, and if I talk too much, I will reveal my truth. Tashi didn't believe it, so he babbled again, I blushed and shook my head, I couldn't understand! Tashi stopped talking, and started talking to me in blunt Tibetan Mandarin: "I thought you were a girl from the neighborhood." He raised his horsewhip and pointed at the pasture and said proudly, "From here to the other side of the mountain. , and above and below that river are my family’s pastures, and these cattle and sheep are all mine.” Oh, so I walked into Tashi's pasture. "It's been a long time since I saw a wolf." Tashi said, "There are a lot of foxes in my pasture. I often see poachers sneaking traps on the mountain, stripping the fox skins and selling them for money. Sometimes even our cattle and sheep are killed. Broken leg, very hateful! So I often look around to prevent these people from coming. Just now I saw you walking into the pasture from a long distance, so I came to have a look." "Do you think I was also poached?" Tashi laughed: "You are not, wolves believe you." I laughed too. Tashi and I hit it off, and the more we chatted, the more we hit it off. He simply brought a horse for me to ride, and pointed to the tent in front of the river with smoke rising from it, inviting me to his house as a guest, and I readily agreed. I was sitting outside the yurt, stroking Green who had been with me for a day, and drinking the warm buttered tea served by my grandmother.Tashi handed me a piece of air-dried meat, and then sat on the grass next to it.Tashi also took a piece of air-dried meat in his hand, tore off a piece with his teeth and handed it to Green.Green, who had been hungry for a whole day, smelled the meat and immediately took a bite. Tashi quickly withdrew his hand and was almost stabbed by the fangs.The tough pilaf green went down without chewing.Tashi's eyes widened before he regained consciousness, Green had already rushed towards him, and the 1.8 meter strong man was thrown upside down by the three-month-old wolf cub.Green screamed and tore at the wide sleeves of his Tibetan robe, snatching the remaining piece of flesh from his hand. Tashi yelled at me anxiously.I quickly reached out and grabbed Green's ears and the fur on the back of his neck and dragged him down forcefully. Green screamed in pain but did not give up the snatch at all. He would rather have his ears torn off than his flesh.His sharp claws kicked and kicked, and he turned his head hard to bite my hand that was grabbing his neck. He was wild, and he was hungry after a day of walking.I quickly let go of his ears, picked up my piece of air-dried meat, swayed it in front of his eyes and threw it three or four meters away. As soon as I let go, Green shot it out like an arrow. "Sit down, don't go over. He thought you were going to grab his meat." I reminded Tashi. "I won't take it, and if you tell him not to take it from me." Tashi held on to his share of meat tightly.I try not to laugh.Tashi patted the dirt on the meat and put it in his mouth, took a bite, then spit it out again, spitting a few mouthfuls. "He stepped on my mouth, it's full of mud." He wiped his mouth with his sleeve vigorously, laughing funny, "Is there any more?" I smiled and replied: "No." In fact, I think the mud on the face is more like a Kham man. "I bitten my sleeve, and I will borrow some needlework from my mother later and I will mend it for you." "Okay." Tashi's smile is filled with the soft light of the setting sun, and it is easier to find the most simple and kind side of people only in the original ecological area without too much materialism and money worship.Friendliness, mutual assistance and tolerance, which are so rare in the city, are very common here.The deeper you go to the grassland without tourism development, the more profound this experience will be. "You can't die of starvation in Tibetan areas, and you will have something to eat when you walk into a tent." I heard this sentence from travel friends more than ten years ago, and it seems to be true. The setting sun quietly climbed over the mountain like a red fox, and the shadows of the clouds in the sky faded to the last blush, and light and shadow gradually intertwined.The evening breeze caresses the river bend, breaking the thin clouds and sedges swaying in the water.The moon rises and the sun sets, the wind stops and the clouds close, the air smells of flowers and herbs is extremely quiet, the boundless pastures turn light blue under the moonlight, and the river full of moonlight sways on the wilderness with silver hooks and iron paintings. This is an epic of hundreds of millions of years of geological changes. I am not used to staying in the tent for a long time, and I am inexplicably excited to go out. I sit on the grassland with the night wind and look up at the starry sky comfortably. The clarity and clarity are rare in the city.Tashi took out a pot of charcoal from a brazier and put it in front of me, and added a few pieces of dried cow dung with tongs, and the warm flames shot up. "The night in the prairie is very cold, so you don't have to be afraid of the fire." Zhaxi said with a smile, the light of the fire reflected on his bronze-colored skin, which looks like an oil painting.He brought two large bowls like flower pots: "Drink some wine, warm!" I smiled cheerfully and didn't shirk it. I have long wanted to taste the authentic highland barley wine when I came to the grassland. Since the brazier was brought out, Little Green immediately noticed the warm feeling in the cold wind, and the light was so eye-catching in the dark.Little Green knows nothing about fire, and only the sun can give him this warm and bright feeling in his memory. Just like every animal is full of mystery and curiosity about the sun, the flickering light makes him feel magical. Fascinated.He focused on the campfire, opening and closing his eyes as the fire swayed in the wind.The sun is out of reach, but the shard-like light in front of me seems to be palpable. How happy it is to be close to that warmth in this cold night.Green couldn't hold back anymore, and walked towards the charming thing that shone like a sleepwalker. "Green, don't go, it's fire!" I quickly reminded Green because he looked wrong. "Fire, fire..." My voice echoed in Green's mind dreamily, what is fire?He stopped hesitantly, tilted his head and stared obsessively at the thing called "fire".God, he thought that was the most fascinating thing in life, and he went on like a gnat to the light.I grabbed Green's slender neck: "You are dying?!" Seeing that he was less than three meters away from the fire, Green's journey to light was suddenly blocked by me. He was furious and struggled to go.I was very angry, and grabbed him tightly: "No! Burn you to death, you little idiot!" "No" was one of the first words Green understood, but this word was just a suggestion to the wolf who had no dog nature, and whether he followed it or not completely depended on his mood.But what does "burn" mean?Green doesn't understand, if he doesn't understand, he must figure it out!Wolves are quite curious animals.The living thing that twitched like a bright red tongue conjured Grimm, leaving him in a trance.Green resisted my stop even more desperately, "flying wolf to fire" over and over again!I can hardly hold him down. Aren't beasts naturally afraid of fire?But judging from Green's obsessive state, it seems that some fears are not born with them, and there is no fear without awareness.It's like Green boldly "walking" up the water for the first time without knowing it.Beasts in nature may have seen forest fires that claimed countless lives, so they are deeply afraid, and pass this sense of fear from generation to generation through their language and education, so that those beasts who have not experienced fire will also stay away from fire. However, Green's life experience is special, no one can tell him by words, so he can only teach by example.Recalling the scene of Green jumping into the hot meat pot on the first day he came to the grassland, I made up my mind to let Tashi take out a piece of charcoal fire, so that Green could experience it. Only when he was burned once can he understand why I stopped him. he. Zhaxi carefully hooked a small piece of charcoal from the fire, but it was still too big to hold it up. After digging around, he finally found a small piece of charcoal the size of a cigarette butt, and carefully placed it half a meter in front of Green. .Green's curious eyes widened, and the bright little spots found in the "Shards of the Sun" in front of him were as dazzling as stars to him.Green broke free from me and jumped on me! "Hey", Green was numb for a moment, and the light that had been tempting him grabbed his tongue fiercely.Green screamed and threw out the charcoal in his mouth, but he couldn't shake off the heart-wrenching pain. This was the most special pain he encountered in the most sensitive part.Green's frightened heart was beating wildly, and the great panic made his curiosity completely disappear. Water, Green instinctively looked for water!He plunged into the big bowl behind me, the water had a sweet and sour smell, but who cares, the wolf never pays attention to taste, as long as the cold water can relieve the burning sensation of his tongue, he will use his hot tongue Roll up the water over and over again to swallow!He licked up all the water in the two large bowls in less than a few tens of seconds.However, this is the second mistake he made today - that is our highland barley wine. Tashi and I looked at each other and waited for the following... After two belches full of alcohol, Green's eyes gradually became unfocused.The head, which was already too big and uncoordinated, became extremely heavy at this moment, almost falling over the small body.A few streaks of blood began to appear in the wolf's eyes. If it weren't for the wolf fur covering his face, his face would be flushed by now.Green's tongue hung all the way to his chest, and the clear saliva dripped down along a thin thread, and a large area of ​​chest hair was wet.Green grinned and smiled foolishly, feeling ecstatic.This guy's whereabouts were even more erratic, he took three steps sideways to the left, and then took two steps sideways to the right, alternating cat steps and crab steps. He seemed to be trying to stand upright and walk in a straight line, but his four legs were as soft as the tentacles of jellyfish Not listening.Finally, he staggered into my arms, looked at me with drunken eyes and kept smirking, and then nothing happened. "It's good to be drunk, I don't know if it hurts." Tashi was overjoyed, "I'm afraid we are the first to see a wolf drunk." Silly wolf, I took U!I held Green's numb tongue hanging on my chest, and shook some anti-inflammatory powder on the burnt tip of the tongue. After sobering up the next day, Green was a good man again. He used his front teeth to scratch off the blisters on his tongue, and after a few days of licking it healed up, but he never dared to approach the ghostly fire again.All animals, including humans, grow and explore the world out of curiosity.Green has suffered from curiosity since he was a child: being stung by wasps in his studio, falling into the pond of the community, biting the wires at home, jumping off the parapet on the roof of the building, provoking Tibetan mastiffs, chasing foxes, playing with ravens, attracting golden eagles, Playing with fire and injuring himself and pouring alcohol to stop the scalding... How many first times does this little guy have to go through before he can grow up?According to the documentary, more than half of wolf pups in the wild will not live to the next year.Alas, curiosity killed the wolf! I set up my own camping tent and lived in Tashi’s ranch, which is another feeling compared to living in a prefabricated house in Mastiff Farm.Tashi kept the watchdog under strict control, and Green stayed with me, curling up at my feet at night to sleep.When Green arrived on the open grassland, the mountain wind blew his body odor away, and sometimes I couldn't smell anything when I slept with him on my pillow.In addition to licking his fur and taking a bath, he also likes to stand in the wind and shake his wolf fur for a wind bath. This morning, I opened the zipper door of my small tent, and Green got out first, jumping and jumping on the grass with excitement, the little wolf was familiar with nature, he circled around Tashi and his saddled horse, as if with Tashi has become an old acquaintance.I got out of the tent and saw that the grass was so white that I couldn’t see the end at a glance. Finger-thick frost flowers had condensed on all the grass stems and shrubs, like white coral blooming all over the mountains and plains overnight. Just rustle down.I simply grabbed a lot of cream to wipe my hands and face.Frost dew is cold and refreshing.Tashi yelled from a long distance: "There is hot water in the tent!" I took out a towel and toothbrush, only to realize that my small camping tent had been covered with a layer of felt at some point, and it was fixed with a rope to the ground nails. superior. Tashi walked over with Green in his arms: "Grandma built it for you last night. It's been frosty and cold these few nights. Your tent is too thin, and it will freeze in the first frost." I said warmly in my heart, "Grandma is so nice." After I washed, I drank the freshly squeezed yak milk in the morning.My mother leaned in front of the tent and looked at me kindly, then pulled up my Tibetan robe and looked at it, and said with a smile: "The Tibetan robes bought in the city look good, but they don't work in pastoral areas, they are too thin! It's going to be cold, Mama will give you a thick one." I thanked Mama repeatedly in surprise and joy.Tashi's wife is a hard-working woman who milks cows every day from dawn to dusk, grazes herds, and makes buttered tea.The hard traditional life made her hunched slightly. When I asked her what her name was, she was always shy and silent, probably due to a language barrier. In the days of Tashi Ranch, in addition to accompanying Green to travel around, I am always willing to participate in and experience the housework of the Tashi family: milking cows, making butter, making yogurt, frying barley, grinding barley noodles... I like being busy the most. After everything was done, I drank buttered tea and chatted with Tashi's family, and asked me all the questions I was curious about the grassland people: "Tashi, what does it mean to wear a red string on the cow's ears?" "That's a sign of releasing animals. It is to release the cattle and sheep that were supposed to be killed. This is a Tibetan custom. Every year, many people go to Langmusi to worship Buddha and release animals. People with poor economic conditions release a cow or two. A flock of sheep can be released if the conditions are good. The red string is the symbol of being released, and no one is allowed to slaughter the released animals tied with the red string until they die of old age. Tibetans know it.” That's it, I nodded and took a sip of tea.Tashi's eight-year-old son Tsering was lying beside me teasing Green.Green is the easiest to play with the kids.Tashi's wife was sitting by the side stirring the buttered tea in a bowl, listening to our chat with a smile.I don't know if she can understand our Chinese. Listening to Tashi's words, I suddenly had a vague inspiration in my heart: "Tashi, you taught me to say this Tibetan phrase 'he was released by the monastery'." Tashi taught it several times, and I repeated it over and over again. Tashi asked curiously, "Why do you learn this sentence?" I stroked Green, smiled preoccupied and did not answer, and asked instead: "Tashi, Don’t you hate wolves? Wolves will eat sheep after all.” In fact, this sentence has been lingering in my heart for several days. The cub lived in a herdsman's house, and he was accompanied by a flock of sheep. This feeling is so unreal that I feel like I am dreaming now.Why can they accept the wolf? Before Tashi answered, Tsering chuckled while tickling Green and said, "It's just a little wolf, what are you afraid of? Besides, the shepherd is in charge of the sheep, and the wolf is in charge of the shepherd. As long as you do your part The wolf will not come to trouble you." My heart trembled, and the eight-year-old child actually said such words rich in grassland philosophy, which surprised me, a city person. Tashi took out a can of highland barley wine and said with a smile: "Don't be surprised, that's what his grandfather taught him. In fact, the grassland herdsmen used to be a little bit in awe of wolves, but now it's hard to see wolves. Children don't learn that." I've never been afraid of wolves, so I can't be afraid." "Then have you ever taught a wolf?" "Of course, there were a lot of wolves here when I was young." Zhaxi opened the wine jar, saw that I immediately pricked up my ears and approached him, and said with a smile, "Listen to my father, my family Once upon a time, there was a bitch who was very smart and strong, and herdsmen from far and near wanted her pups. One year, the bitch finally gave birth to first litter puppies, but the first litter puppies were not born, and she had not yet been weaned. The herdsmen scrambled to take the pup away. The bitch ran out of the house with her nipples swollen to look for her pup, barking miserably. Abba ignored her, thinking that she would be fine in a few days. A few days later, my father suddenly found that the bitch was sharing food among the dogs in the territory, and there was a big male wolf by her side, circling around the bitch. My father chased away the male wolf, but the bitch also followed the wolf. The bitch ran away. The next day the bitch came home with flattened teats and scratches and teeth marks all over her stomach. Abba hated the bitch for mixing with wolves, so he beat the bitch and tied the bitch outside the sheep pen with a chain. That day At night, Dad found that the male wolf had sneaked into the pasture and bit the iron chain of the bitch. Dad scared the wolf away and locked the bitch into the house. The matter was not over yet, the next evening, the male wolf insisted on I brought a pack of wolves to snatch the bitch, some wolves strangled the watchdog, and some wolves dug holes under the wall. The earthen houses in the early years could not withstand the wolves digging, the wolves roared outside, and the bitch barked inside. No one has ever seen such a desperate wolf. No one dared to go out, and knocking on a basin in the house could not scare the wolves away. Fortunately, there was an old shotgun at home at that time. My father shot and killed a wolf. The pack just dispersed. Unexpectedly, just after nightfall, the wolves came into the pasture to bite the sheep and dig the wall. Even if they were shot, they couldn’t scare away! The whole family hated and feared that there would be no peace. At that time, the communication was backward and there was no way to call for help. Dad saw that bitch jumping up and down in the house and bumping into the window, thinking that this bitch must not be able to keep a family: it can’t keep at home, and it’s not a family-friendly animal no matter what. Now, since the wolves are targeting this one The bitch came, and it’s worth a wolf’s fur for a bitch. I opened the window and let the bitch go, and the wolves retreated without saying a word after getting the bitch.” I held my chin, and heard a little confused: "Why are the wolves fighting for a dog?" Then I rolled my eyes, smiled sweetly and intoxicated, "Could it be that the male wolf fell in love with this bitch?" "Women, just want to be romantic!" Zhaxi smiled and pointed to the wine bowl in front of me and said, "Try the highland barley wine I made myself." "My God," I said urgently, "you should hurry up!" The more anxious I was, the more smugly Tashi smiled, and he finally revealed the secret after whetting my appetite: "Listen to my father, there was a wolf on the other side of the mountain, and someone killed a she-wolf with her breasts hanging. , When they searched the wolf den, a litter of wolf cubs had already been snatched away by the wolves, and it was the time when those wolves came to snatch the bitch, and that doggy male wolf actually robbed my bitch to be a nurse! After Tashi finished speaking, he saw my incredible expression and burst out laughing. "Then...then no one seeks revenge from the wolves?" "What kind of enmity is there? Isn't the wolf forced to do that? My father didn't approve of killing wolves. It happened that year I was born, and my father was very soft-hearted when he hugged me, saying that the male wolf He is willing to work hard for his cubs, and he is worthy of being a good wolf father. And since then, the wolves have never come to pick up my sheep, and gave them to a dog nurse. The wolf is not ungrateful. So my father always said that the wolf will not offend me , I don’t offend wolves...everything is left to the animals on the grassland to survive.” Tashi looked at the little Tsering who was having fun with Green, and shook his head slightly, “It’s a pity, my son’s life is already gone. I can't see the wild wolf." Zhaxi laughed dryly twice, held up the wine bowl and touched me: "Damn it!" I drank it all in one gulp, and the slightly sour wine exuded a scent of green plants, which stretched to me the fragrance of the whole grassland summer in an instant.厚重、浓烈、微苦、回甘……仿佛是草原传统生活的真实写照。扎西的狼故事和他的青稞酒一样令人畅快而又心生酸楚。 几天后，我骑马跟着小次仁一起去放牧，格林边溜达边和鼠兔兜圈子。 次仁有我陪他放牧很是高兴，呱呱不停地说着话：“我爷爷说，以前这里是没有栅栏的，现在人多了，牛羊也多了，大家的牧场都连在一起，只能围起来了。”次仁勒马慢慢走着，手里的乌朵乌朵：藏族牧民驱赶牛羊所用的投石绳。用羊毛线编制，分为三段，中间为枣核形，一端顶部有套环，另一端末为鞭梢。使用时，将石子放在中间枣核形织物中，右手中指抠住套环，抓住鞭梢，逆时针方向抡甩几圈，瞄准领头羊的角后放松鞭梢，抛出石子可达百米以上，以管理羊群。扬得呜儿呜儿直响。牧民的孩子从小在马背上长大，生来一种不需掩饰的洒脱气质，懂事很早，七八岁就能帮家人骑马放牧，和城里骑着摇摇马扔着玩具还娇滴滴跟父母使横的孩子完全不同。 “这里的栅栏坏了哦？”我注意到围栏的一处豁口。 “不是坏的，爷爷让弄开的，四边都留着洞的。”次仁说，“这是给那些过路的野生动物一条生路。”看来爷爷的话对次仁影响颇深，当听说次仁的爷爷去年已经去世，我心里有些淡淡的伤感。 次仁一路讲着很多牧场上的故事。只是当我问起牧场上的一条沟槽的由来时，次仁笑着不好意思说。我更好奇了，仔细琢磨那条长长的沟槽，宽度不到三尺，深两尺有余，笔直地横穿过牧场，有二三十米长，显然是人挖的。但让我奇怪的是这条单独的沟槽前不着村后不着店，既不是修房子的地基，也不是用来引水的，费这么大工夫挖这条沟槽干什么用呢？我一个劲儿追问次仁：“这条沟也是爷爷让挖的吗？” “不是，那是阿爸的点子。”小次仁雪白的牙齿笑起来特别明显，这才边笑边给我讲了这个沟槽的由来——那是扎西三年前挖的，为了锻炼牧场上的羊。因为扎西一直觉得这么多年来，羊的体质越来越弱，冻死的病死的一年比一年多，羊肉也不好吃了。于是扎西就在这两个草场之间挖了一条沟槽，羊想吃对面的草就得“跳槽”，跳过槽的是好羊，跳不过的是差羊，这对羊是个锻炼也是个筛选，好羊就能吃到更多的牧草。这看起来是个好主意，可气的是那些羊并不合作，宁愿只吃这边的赖草也懒得去跳槽，因为对羊来说那条沟槽说宽不宽说窄不窄，跳过去必须费点力气，如果跳不过去掉在沟中间还得费半天劲儿爬上来，羊可不乐意。扎西只好每次赶羊跳槽，开始几次羊被驱赶着还去奋力跳一跳，后来干脆也不跳了，反正被人赶上了也不会把他们怎么样。有些羊看见人追上来，索性往地上一趴，赶就赶呗，反正我不跳，难道你还能把我扛过去？扎西没办法，又重新在羊圈门口挖了一条沟槽，心想着羊总得出圈吧，出圈就必须跳过去。哪知道仍旧有很多的羊懒得跳出去，待在羊圈里饿得直叫唤。扎西的妻子怕羊饿坏了，抱来饲料和干草喂羊。羊也是很聪明的动物，这么一来二去很快就明白了即使待在羊圈里不出去也饿不死，越来越多的羊学“聪明”了，坚决不出圈，吃喝拉撒都在圈里，甚至有些羊因为长期卧圈，得了腐蹄病。羊圈门口的那道深沟反而给人制造了麻烦，于是扎西就把圈门口那道沟给填平了，而牧场上的这道沟太长，填起来太费事儿，也就任它摆在那儿了。 原来这条沟是羊群的健身设施啊。听了次仁的解释，我联想到了另一个东西——曾经在朋友家里看见过的“狗跑步机”，那是给城市里养尊处优的狗狗们锻炼身体的工具。狗跑步机已经有了，羊跑步机还会远吗？ 我当笑话似的给次仁讲起狗跑步机这东西，孩子新奇地喊：“我一定要告诉阿爸！” 晚饭时候，阿妈做了手把羊肉，一家人围在炉边啃着肉，还给了格林一大份生肉，扎西家的两只藏狗有主人的命令在先，不去追咬格林，这些日子混熟了对格林也就视而不见了。次仁兴高采烈地跟扎西说起“狗跑步机”的事情，扎西一家都不明白是什么东西。我有点尴尬，本来是开玩笑的话，没想到会让这一家人这么认真。我只好硬着头皮给他们详细描绘了一番。扎西听完哈哈大笑，知道次仁肯定把他挖沟的事儿跟我说了，笑道：“不行啊，羊懒了，就算有跑步机也不会跑的。而且动得多吃得多，我只分了3000亩的草场，不够这些健美羊吃。” “3000亩，那很大了呀！”在我这个寸土寸金的城市人眼里，这已经是一块非常广阔的天地了。 “草已经不行了……”扎西割下一块血肠，放进嘴里嚼着，“我给你算算，从前一只羊一年要20亩地的好草才能养得肥，我这里300只羊就得6000亩的好草，3000亩的草连羊都不够吃，我还有200多头牦牛靠边儿站着呢！”他说着有些郁闷起来，“过去我家的草场是最好的，密密麻麻全是草，小时候阿妈带我出去还要给我拴根绳子，怕我淹没在高草里找不着了。可现在……”扎西指着帐篷外不足一巴掌高的草皮说：“草场一年比一年差，光啃这些贴地草，60亩也不见得能养肥一只羊，我现在养的牛羊如果放在当年我阿爸眼里，就全是不合格的处理牛羊！等明年开春，羊羔牛犊一下，又是一大堆，越生越愁，我只有去租草场放牧，可没人的牧场难找啊。明年的牧草还不知道在哪儿呢。” “为什么不卖掉呢？” “牛羊质量差，谁买？”扎西苦笑一声，“若尔盖湿地退化得很厉害……如果禁牧五年，肯定能恢复到原来的样子。可现实的逻辑是——载畜量过重，草场沙化，牛羊质量差销不出去，病死、饿死、冻死！死掉的越多，这里的牧民就越多地增加牲畜弥补自己的损失，于是草场更退化！我已经不想多养了，可我的牛羊还在以每年七八十只的速度增长……” 听着扎西的诉说，我的心情沉甸甸的。没想到表面美丽辉煌的大草原实际上却早已病入膏肓。为什么会造成这样的恶性循环，或许我也很难理解其中的来龙去脉。 过了两天，我又和次仁去放牧，扎西闲来无事也陪着我们一起转转草场。格林远远地跟在我们后面，这小家伙对这牧场熟悉了以后，胆子又开始大起来。 到了傍晚，吃了一天牧草的羊群显得懒散而悠闲，黄昏的光线把羊的身影拉得长长的，草原上一片安宁。我和扎西、次仁坐在草地上闲聊。 正聊着，地面一阵抖动，前方乱作一团，羊炸群了！一百多只羊陡然狂奔乱跑起来，羊蹄子跺得地面噔噔乱响。我们急忙站起来一看，格林不知何时冲入了羊群，张牙舞爪地冲着羊群一阵猛追。羊咩咩大叫着向我们奔来。一边的牛群则迅速围成了一圈，牛角向外，严阵以待地观望。 次仁扬起了乌朵大声吆喝，扎西迅速跨上马背跑过去拢羊群，我一边呼喊着格林，一边也想跨上马跑过去，却手忙脚乱地怎么也踩不到马镫子上。正在这时，突听扎西大喊了几声，我抬头一看，羊群已经跑到牧场中间那道沟槽前面，飞身一跃就跳过沟来！嘿，羊集体跳槽还挺壮观的。有些羊跑到沟槽前还犹豫着想绕道，回头一看狼牙都快咬到腿上了，哪容多想，跳槽！凡是跳过槽的羊，脚步顿时悠闲下来，能不跑则不跑了。 扎西停止了吆喝，勒马在沟边看着狼追羊逃，笑逐颜开。跳过沟来的羊越来越多，格林也越逼越近。突然，格林也跑到了沟边，突然出现的沟槽让他有点措手不及。他连忙腾身一跃！哎呀，差一点，前爪子过了，后爪子没爬上沟，“噗”的一声掉进了沟槽里。格林使劲扒抓了几下沟沿，爬不上来。羊群停了，喘着粗气轮番到沟前瞅了一眼，幸灾乐祸地跺跺蹄子，继续吃草。 小格林在正面上不来，望了望长长的沟槽，突然横向跑了起来，沿着沟槽助跑，看准合适的地方一冲就跳出沟来！ 这边，我已经骑上马赶到了扎西旁边，他连忙冲我摆手，让我不要打扰这场游戏：“我平时怎么赶羊都赶不过去，狼一追羊就跳了！”我看扎西饶有兴致的样子，想想格林还小没什么杀伤力，追羊也只是好奇而已，于是勒马观望。 羊群一看狼跳出来了，又是一阵炸群乱跑。羊群绕来绕去摆脱不了格林，最后又跑到沟槽边再往回跳。羊也许看出了沟槽能阻止格林，只要自己跳过去就能暂时安全。如此来回跳了几次，终于有一只老羊实在跳不过去掉进沟里了，老羊哆嗦着与跳进沟来的格林对峙，咩咩叫着高声求救。老羊的求救声一传出，羊群突然就不跑了，两边的羊迅速向沟槽聚拢。 “他们要来救同伴了！”我想，心里有点感动，也担心格林会不会吃亏。 然而走到沟边的羊只是探头张望，没有一只羊表现出亮角或者跺蹄子的愤怒状，只是沿着沟边排成两行看热闹。有的羊还顺带着啃起了沟边的草，边吃边看。有的羊在后面看不到沟里的动静，就不住地往前挤，把前排的两只羊差点挤到沟里去。两只前羊愤怒回身，猛跳起来用尽浑身力气向后羊顶撞过去！三羊开打，拥挤的羊群顿时骚乱起来，有些羊瞅准空当挤到前排去，有些被顶撞到的羊干脆加入了战斗，你顶我我顶你，乱战一气！草皮横飞烟尘四起，羊角撞击的“咔咔”声听得我心里一阵阵发紧，这羊角要是顶在小格林身上，恐怕不需三两下就被顶死了。 再看看沟里的格林，他总算追到了一只老羊，兴奋地站在沟里，好奇地张望着老羊，但下一步该干什么，他也不知道。小格林伸鼻子想凑近闻闻，老羊惊悚地咩叫着退后。格林再凑上去……老羊一直退到沟槽的尽头，围观的羊也缓步跟进，继续占领最佳观众席…… 我突然明白了这些羊在狼的追逐下不反抗、不绕道，反而选择不断跳沟的含意——让牺牲者尽快产生。而且，很多羊在逃跑的时候也并不跑太快，似乎所有羊抱定的一个观念就是：我不需要冲第一，只需要比最后一个倒霉蛋快一点就行了；我不需要用抵抗证明自己强大，只需要在关键时候跳过沟就轮不到我死了。这或许就是羊性法则。一旦牺牲者产生就意味着没自己什么事儿了，剩下的则是吃草看好戏。我觉得心里有点堵得慌，这只老羊在羊群中一定有很多的子女兄弟，然而…… 老羊的屁股已经抵到了沟槽的尽头，退无可退了。“吐噜噜！”老羊突然大喷了一口气，浑浊的老眼迸出火星！他猛地低头亮起了羊角，对着眼前这个小天敌。格林一愣，站住不动了，本能告诉他：“危险！别招惹了！”老羊开始跺蹄子，摆出拼老命的架势。在这狭窄的沟槽里，老羊如果横角一冲，格林哪里有躲藏的地方啊？小次仁赶紧抡起乌朵，“啪！”一块飞石打在老羊的鼻子上；扎西骑马过去轰开羊群，甩起绳子套老羊；我连忙跳下沟去，抱回了格林。 次仁赶羊回圈。我抱着格林牵着马，和扎西一起往回走。扎西这时才想起什么来，恼火地说：“牧羊狗哪儿去了？”扎西扯着嗓子喊了好一阵，才远远地看到两只狗溜达着回来了。牧羊狗的作用无非是驱狼拢羊，而现在狼越来越少，羊又有铁丝网围着，牧羊犬也是“狗浮于事”，估计就“喝茶遛弯儿泡母狗”去了吧。 格林的出现，在羊群中掀起了一阵“跳槽运动”。虽然是小狼，但是对羊群来说，他们久违的天敌来了，他们有紧迫感了。我隐隐感觉到了狼在生物链中的作用。 扎西说：“以后隔几天就让小狼去赶一次羊。” 我犹豫着：“要是格林真下口咬了怎么办？” 扎西回答：“被狼咬过的羊伤好以后免疫力会增强，很少生病。” 这话我是第一次听说，但扎西说这是祖辈们流传下来的说法，不知道是不是真有道理。不过在狼追羊跳的角逐中，格林的确在有些羊的屁股上抓咬出了血口子。我看见有一只羊的伤口一直流血，害怕感染，忙把伤羊牵回圈里擦药。扎西似乎对羊的小伤小碰毫不在乎，但他对我手里拇指般大的小药瓶却很感兴趣：“你这是啥？” “云南白药，止血的。”我拽下一点羊绒毛充当药棉蘸着药粉往羊的伤口上擦。 扎西看了一会儿，笑道：“这点小伤根本不用管的，再说，你这点药擦一个伤口都不够，你等着。”他翻身上马就向牧场跑去，边跑边沿路看地，俯身捡起一样东西，很快就跑了回来扔给我，是个苹果大小的“蘑菇”。扎西自豪地抬抬下巴：“用我们草原人的东西吧。” 扎西教我掰开“蘑菇”，里面迸出一些烟尘状的黄褐色粉末，他把这些粉末涂抹在羊的伤口上，血很快就止住了。我惊叹一声：“这是什么呀？” “马蹄包马蹄包：医用名为马勃，一种腐生真菌，现成的止血药，草原上多的是。草原狼有时候伤得重了也会找到这种马蹄包，把它的粉末蹭在伤口上，很快就好了。”扎西解释道。 我长见识了，又问：“扎西，你不是很少见到狼吗？你怎么观察到的？” 扎西呵呵一笑：“我阿爸教的。” 看来，狼对草原人的影响还真够深的，不仅在智慧、生存、军事、环境，甚至医学上都有贡献。扎西自信的眼里流露出一种原生态的草原智慧，让我对草原先民的训导发自心底地信服起来，不知祖辈们还有多少令我们望尘莫及的生存之道。以狼为师，以草原生灵为师的草原人，他们的传统、信仰和文化，他们的勤劳与睿智，他们的艺术气息都根植于这片草原中，他们才是草原真正的一分子。 然而，狼快没了，其他野生生灵也快没了。最令人痛惜的是一种动物的消失还是一种草原传统的终结？