像任何士兵一样，波兰二战“老兵”沃尔泰克在远离火线时喜欢靠抽烟与喝啤酒来放松自己，不过一旦上了战场，沃尔泰克就成了一名英勇的“士兵”，冒着枪林弹雨为战友们运送弹药。体重113公斤、身高1.82米的沃尔泰克可能是二战中最传奇的“战士”之一，因为它不是人，而是一只棕熊。这只名叫沃尔泰克的棕熊于二战期间加入波兰前线军队，后来在苏格兰的爱丁堡公园去世。沃尔泰克的传奇一生已被写成了“传记”《熊大兵》，该书将于本月正式出版。而苏格兰民众为它立雕像的呼声也越来越高，甚至好莱坞也有意将“熊大兵”的故事搬上银幕。

He enjoyed cigarette and a bottle of cold beer and could carry more ammunition* than any other soldier. But Voytek wasn’t one of the ordinary dogs of war — he was a battling bear. Now he might be getting a memorial and a movie.

Adopted by the Polish army, the brown bear “fought” at the bloody Battle of Monte Cassino before dying of old age in Edinburgh Zoo, Scotland. Now a campaign has been started to build a monument to him and a U.S. moviemaker is interested in the bear’s story.

Voytek — known as the Soldier Bear — was taken to Scotland after the war by Polish troops and was stationed* near the Berwickshire village of Hutton, before moving to Edinburgh Zoo, where he died in 1963.

A book telling the remarkable story, due to be released this month, has prompted* calls for a statue to the bear in Scotland. Statues have been erected in London and in Ottawa, Canada, but none in Scotland.

Voytek was found wandering in the hills of Iran by Polish soldiers in 1943. They adopted him and as he grew he was trained to carry ammunition. When Polish forces were deployed* to Europe, the only way to take the bear with them was to “enlist*” him.

He was given a name, rank and number and took part in the Italian campaign.

Voytek saw action at Monte Cassino, before being billeted* — along with about 3,000 other Polish troops — at the army camp in Berwickshire. The soldiers he served with said he was easy to get along with.

Polish veteran Augustyn Karolewski, 82, who still lives near the site of the camp in Berwickshire, said: “He was like a big dog; no one was scared of him.

“He liked a cigarette, he liked a bottle of beer. He drank a bottle of beer like any man,” he said.

When the troops were demobilized*, Voytek spent his last days at Edinburgh Zoo. Karolewski went back to see him on a couple of occasions and found he still responded to the Polish language.

“I went to Edinburgh Zoo once or twice when Voytek was there and as soon as I said his name, he would sit on his backside and shake his head wanting a cigarette.”

Garry Paulin, a teacher at Eyemouth High School in Berwickshire, has written a book “Voytek — The Soldier Bear,” which will be published this month.

(SD-Agencies)

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ammunition n. 弹药

station v. 驻扎

prompt v. 促使

deploy v. 部署

enlist v. 征召入伍

billet v. 安置

demobilize v. 遣散