1. Feed your dog bread soaked in dirty water to keep it small.

不让狗变大的秘诀：把浸泡了脏水的面包喂给狗吃

 

Long before the days of designer dogs, people had some unusual methods of creating a pocket-sized pet. One 15th-century manuscript suggests a breeder soak some bread in water they’d previously¹ washed their hands with. Feeding that soggy bread to the puppies they had bred supposedly ensured a dog would not grow any bigger than a person’s hand.

在“设计师款”狗狗出现很久以前，人们已经有培育袖珍狗的“奇招”了。一份15世纪的手稿上写道，将面包在洗过手的水里浸泡过再喂给小狗吃，就能确保狗狗不会长得比人的手更大。

 

2. No dogs in the dining hall.

不能把狗带入餐厅

 

According to 15th-century etiquette² rules, a person should not make a dog “thi felow at the tabull round”. Translation: No dogs in the dining hall. And no feeding a pet from a person’s own dinner plate, either.

按照15世纪的礼仪规则，人不能将狗带入餐厅，也不能让狗从人的餐盘里吃东西。

 

3. Be careful around cats in pursuit of a mouse.

要当心正在捉老鼠的猫

 

A medieval person had to be careful if they were near a hunting cat. If they got scratched, bitten, or otherwise injured by a cat that was in pursuit of a mouse and wanted retribution, then they were out of luck. A cat is not liable if it happens to hurt someone who “had no business being there” while it was hunting a rodent³.

中世纪的人在猫捉老鼠时必须分外小心。如果他们在猫捉老鼠时被抓到、咬到或受到其他伤害，那么他们别想得到补偿。如果一只猫在捉老鼠时意外伤到了“不该在那里的人”，那么这只猫没有任何责任。

 

4. Use your cat to determine the weather.

用猫可以预知天气

 

The Distaff Gospels advised people to use their cats as a meow-teorologists. According to an account documented in the manuscript, if a cat is sitting in the window licking its behind and rubbing its ear, that means a person should hold off on doing laundry because rain is coming.

《女性福音》建议人们用猫来预测天气。据手稿上记载，如果一只猫坐在窗户上舔屁股揉耳朵，这意味着即将要下雨，不要急着洗衣服。

 

5. Slip your husband some dog urine to ensure happy relations.

狗尿有助于家庭和谐

 

If a woman wanted her husband to learn to like her family and friends, according to The Distaff Gospels, she'd need enlist⁴ the help of some of dog urine. When said friends and family members visit with their dog, a woman should collect Fido’s pee, then secretly put it in her husband’s beer or soup. Once the man has drunk the urine-spiked beverage⁵, he’ll become friendly with both the dog and the people who own it.

据《女性福音》记载，如果一名女子想让丈夫喜欢自己的亲友，她需要借助狗尿的力量。当亲友带着自己的狗前来拜访时，女子要把收集的狗尿偷偷放进丈夫的啤酒或汤中。一旦男人喝下加了狗尿的饮料，他就会同狗和狗主人交好。

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