離開
進入《中英對照讀新聞》The farmer in Thailand who became friends with a buffalo－與水牛成為朋友的泰國農夫
蘇拉特．帕伊卡特與他鍾愛的水牛通堪。（摘自網站）
◎魏國金
Thai farmer Surat Paewkate was never expecting to form a bond with buffalo Thong Kham. The 34-year-old was paid to take care of the buffalo - but he says it slowly developed into a friendship.
泰國農民蘇拉特‧帕伊卡特從未料想他會與水牛「通堪」緊繫在一起。這名34歲男子受雇照料這頭水牛—但他說，這慢慢地發展成友誼。
"Thong Kham is so sweet and canny," he told BBC Thai. "He loves to walk in my paddy field with me on his back." So it was only natural that he started to post selfies with his beloved buffalo. His photos quickly went viral, turning him and Thong Kham into instant internet celebrities in Thailand.
「通堪是這麼可愛機靈，」他告訴英國廣播公司（BBC）駐泰部門。「牠喜歡我騎在牠背上，一起在我的稻田裡漫步」。所以，自然而然地他開始上傳他與鍾愛的水牛的自拍照。他的照片迅速竄紅，讓他與通堪瞬間成為泰國網紅。
But this friendship was almost torn apart when Thong Kham’s owner decided to sell the buffalo to someone else. "I was quite upset [but] I did not have enough money to buy him," said Paewkate.
但這份友誼在通堪的飼主決定將牠賣給別人時差點被拆散。「我很擔心（可是）我沒有足夠的錢買下牠，」帕伊卡特說。
He explained that he would need to raise 100,000 Thai Baht to buy Thong Kham - and people answered. Within two days, he raised a total of THB135,969 and closed the crowd funding campaign.
他說明，他必須集資10萬泰銖來買通堪—人們給予回應。兩天內他募集到13萬5969泰銖，然後關閉這項眾籌活動。
"I [used to] dream about having a paddy field, a house and a buffalo I can ride when I go to work in the fields. With Thong Kham, my last dream has come true," he said.
「我（過去常）夢想有一塊稻田、一間房子與一頭我去田裡工作時，可以騎乘的水牛。因為通堪，我最後的夢想已成真，」他說。
《新聞辭典》
go viral：爆紅。例句：This song goes viral on social media.（這首歌在社群媒體上爆紅。）
tear apart：撕碎、拆散、使難過。例句：The child’s misery really tore me apart.（這孩子的不幸遭遇讓我非常難過。）
used to：過去經常。例句：I used to smoke.（我過去常抽菸。）
