1. She was a large woman with a large purse that had everything in it but hammer and nails. It was about eleven o’clock at night, and she was walking alone, when a boy ran up behind her and tried to snatch her purse. The strap broke with the single tug the boy gave it from behind. But the boy’s weight and the weight of the purse combined caused him to lose his balance so, instead of taking off full blast as he had hoped, the boy fell on his back on the sidewalk, and his legs flew up.
她是个身材高大的女人，带着个大手提包，里面除了锤子和钉子什么都有。大约晚上11点钟，她正独自行走时，一个男孩跑到她身后，试图抢走她的手提包。男孩从后面一拉，手提包的带断了。但男孩自己的体重与手提包的重量叠加在一起，使男孩失去了平衡。于是，男孩没有像他希望的那样溜之大吉，而是双腿腾空，仰面跌倒在人行道上。
2. The large woman simply turned around and kicked him right square in his blue-jeaned sitter. Then she reached down, picked the boy up by his shirt front, and shook him until his teeth rattled. After that the woman said, "Pick up my pocketbook, boy, and give it here." She still held him, while he picked up her purse. Then she said, "Now ain’t you ashamed of yourself?" Firmly gripped by his shirt front, the boy said, "Yes’m." The woman said, "What did you want to do it for?" The boy said, "l didn’t aim to." She said, "You lie!" She did not release him. "l’m very sorry, lady, l’m sorry," whispered the boy.
而那个身材高大的女人，只是转过身来，用脚正正地踢了一下那个穿着牛仔裤的男孩的屁股。然后，她俯下身来，用手抓住男孩的衬衫前襟，将他提了起来，并开始摇动他的身体，直至他的牙齿咯咯作响。随后，那个女人说：“小子，把我的包捡起来，放在这。”当男孩捡起她的手提包时，她仍没有放开他。她又说：“现在，你不对自己感到羞耻吗？”男孩说：“是的，女士。”他的衬衫前襟依旧被牢牢地抓着。女人继续说：“你这么做是为了什么？”男孩回答说：“我不是故意的。”她说：“你撒谎！”此时，她的手依旧抓着他。“我很抱歉，女士，很抱歉。”男孩低声说。
3. "Um-hum! And your face is dirty. I got a great mind to wash your face for you. Ain’t you got nobody home to tell you to wash your face?" "No’m," said the boy. "Then it will get washed this evening," said the large woman starting up the street, dragging the frightened boy behind her.
“呣！你的脸很脏。我很想帮你洗洗你的脸。难道你家没人告诉你要洗脸吗？”“没有，女士。”男孩说。“那今天晚上就把它洗干净。”身材高大的女人开始沿着街道向前走去，后面拖拽着那个受惊的男孩。
4. He looked as if he were fourteen or fifteen, frail, in tennis shoes and blue jeans. "Was I bothering you when I turned that corner?" asked the woman. "No’m." "When I get through with you, sir, you are going to remember Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones." Sweat popped out on the boy’s face and he began to struggle. Mrs. Jones continued to drag him up the street. When she got to her door, she dragged the boy inside, down a hall, and into a large kitchenette-furnished room at the rear of the house. She switched on the light and left the door open.
男孩看上去也就十四五岁的样子，身体虚弱，穿着网球鞋和蓝色牛仔裤。“我刚刚转弯时没让你不舒服吧？”女人问。“没有。”“先生，等我收拾完你，你就会记卢埃拉·贝茨·华盛顿·琼斯这个名字了。”汗水从男孩的脸上冒出，他开始挣扎。琼斯太太继续拖着男孩沿着大街向前走。到达她家门口时，她将男孩拖了进去，沿着门厅进到她家房子后部一间装满厨房用具的大房间。她打开电灯，没关上房门。
5. The woman still had him by the neck in the middle of her room. She said, "What is your name?" "Roger," answered the boy. "Then, Roger, you go to that sink and wash your face," said the woman, whereupon she turned him loose--at last. Roger looked at the door—looked at the woman—looked at the door—and went to the sink.
女人站在房间中间，手中扔抓着男孩的脖子。她说：“你叫什么名字？”“罗杰。”男孩回答。“那好，罗杰，你去那个水槽边洗洗脸。”女人说，此时终于松开了他。罗杰看了看那扇敞开的门，看了看这个女人，又看了看那扇敞开的门，然后朝水槽走去。
6. Let the water run until it gets warm," she said. "Here’s a clean towel." "You gonna take me to jail?" asked the boy, bending over the sink. "Not with that face, I would not take you nowhere," said the woman. "Here I am trying to get home to cook me a bite to eat and you snatch my pocketbook! Maybe, you ain’t been to your supper either, late as it be. Have you?" "There’s nobody home at my house," said the boy. "Then we’ll eat," said the woman.
“让水先流一会儿，等水热了再洗。”她说，“这有一条干净的毛巾。”“你要把我送入监狱吗？”男孩问道，同时朝水槽弯下身子。“脸洗干净了，我就哪也不带你去。”女人说，“我就是想回到家，给自己做口吃的，你却要抢走我的包！或许，你也还没吃晚餐，现在可够晚的了。是还没吃吧？”男孩回答说：“我家里一个人也没有。”“那我们一会儿就吃饭。”女人说。

7. “I wanted a pair of blue suede shoes," said the boy. "Well, you didn’t have to snatch my pocketbook to get some suede shoes," said Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones. "You could of asked me." "M’am?" The water dripping from his face, the boy looked at her. There was a long pause. A very long pause. The door was open. The boy could make a dash for it down the hall. He could run, run, run, run, run! “
我想要一双蓝色绒面革鞋子。”男孩说。“好吧，你想得到绒面革鞋子，也没必要抢我的包啊！” 卢埃拉·贝茨·华盛顿·琼斯太太说，“你完全可以直接问我要啊！”“您说什么？”男孩抬起头来，看着她，脸上还滴着水。一阵漫长的沉寂袭来——非常漫长的沉寂。门是开着的。男孩可以沿着门厅一路冲出去，然后跑啊，跑啊，跑啊，跑啊！
8. "I were young once and I wanted things I could not get." She said. There was another long pause. Silence. "l have done things, too, which l would not tell you, son. So you sit down while I fix us something to eat. You might run that comb through your hair so you will look presentable."
“我也年轻过，我也有过想要却得不到的东西。”她说。又是一阵漫长的沉寂，而且一点儿声响也没有。“小子，我也做过一些事情，但我不会告诉你的。所以，在我给咱俩弄吃的时，你坐下就好。你可以梳一下你的头发，让你看上去更像些样子。”
9. "Do you need somebody to go to the store," asked the boy, "maybe to get some milk or something?" "Don’t believe l do," said the woman, "unless you just want sweet milk yourself. L was going to make cocoa out of this canned milk I got here." "That will be fine," said the boy.
“您需要个人去趟商店吗？”男孩问，“也许您需要买点牛奶什么的？”“我看不用了，”女人说，“除非你自己要喝甜牛奶。我要用家里的灌装牛奶做些可可饮料。” “那也可以，”男孩说。
10. She heated some lima beans and ham, made the cocoa, and set the table. The woman did not ask the boy anything about where he lived, or his folks, or anything else that would embarrass him. Instead, as they ate, she told him about her job in a hotel beauty-shop that stayed open late, what the work was like, and how all kinds of women came in and out, blondes, red-heads, and Spanish. Then she cut him a half of her ten-cent cake. "Eat some more, son," she said.
女人热了一些利马豆和火腿，制作了可可饮料，然后摆好了桌子。她没有问男孩有关他住的地方、他的亲属等会令他难堪的事情，而是在他们吃饭的时候，告诉他了她工作在一家每天营业到很晚的酒店美容院，这份工作是什么样子的，以及各种各样的女人进出这家美容院的方式——有金发的、红发的，还有来自西班牙的。然后，她把自己的那块便宜的蛋糕切开一半，给了男孩。“再吃点儿，小子，”她说。
11. When they were finished eating she got up and said, "Now, here, take this ten dollars and buy yourself some blue suede shoes. And next time, do not make the mistake of latching onto my pocketbook nor nobody else's— I got to get my rest now. But I wish you would behave yourself, son, from now on."
他们吃完饭后，她站起来说：“现在，拿着这十美元，去给你自己买一双蓝色绒面革鞋子去。下次，不要再打我或任何其他人的包的主意了，别再犯这种错误了。现在，我得休息了。不过，小子，我希望你从今往后能好好做人。”
12. She led him down the hall to the front door and opened it. "Goodnight!" Behave yourself, boy!" she said, looking out into the street. The boy wanted to say something else other than "Thank you, ma’am" to Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones, but he couldn’t. In fact, he barely managed to say "Thank you" before she shut the door. And he never saw her again.
她带着他经过门厅走到前门，然后打开了门。“晚安！要好好做人啊，小子！”她说，同时眼睛看向了街道。男孩想对卢埃拉·贝茨·华盛顿·琼斯太太说些别的，而不是简单的“谢谢您，女士”，但他无法做到。事实上，直到她关上门，他连一句 “谢谢”这样的话都几乎没组织好。之后，他再也没见到过她。