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.
她是個身材高大的女人，帶著個大手提包，里面除了錘子和釘子什么都有。大約晚上11點鐘，她正獨自行走時，一個男孩跑到她身后，試圖搶走她的手提包。男孩從后面一拉，手提包的帶斷了。但男孩自己的體重與手提包的重量疊加在一起，使男孩失去了平衡。于是，男孩沒有像他希望的那樣溜之大吉，而是雙腿騰空，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.
而那個身材高大的女人，只是轉過身來，用腳正正地踢了一下那個穿著牛仔褲的男孩的屁股。然后，她俯下身來，用手抓住男孩的襯衫前襟，將他提了起來，并開始搖動他的身體，直至他的牙齒咯咯作響。隨后，那個女人說：“小子，把我的包撿起來，放在這。”當男孩撿起她的手提包時，她仍沒有放開他。她又說：“現在，你不對自己感到羞恥嗎？”男孩說：“是的，女士。”他的襯衫前襟依舊被牢牢地抓著。女人繼續說：“你這么做是為了什么？”男孩回答說：“我不是故意的。”她說：“你撒謊！”此時，她的手依舊抓著他。“我很抱歉，女士，很抱歉。”男孩低聲說。
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！你的臉很臟。我很想幫你洗洗你的臉。難道你家沒人告訴你要洗臉嗎？”“沒有，女士。”男孩說。“那今天晚上就把它洗干凈。”身材高大的女人開始沿著街道向前走去，后面拖拽著那個受驚的男孩。
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歲的樣子，身體虛弱，穿著網球鞋和藍色牛仔褲。“我剛剛轉彎時沒讓你不舒服吧？”女人問。“沒有。”“先生，等我收拾完你，你就會記盧埃拉·貝茨·華盛頓·瓊斯這個名字了。”汗水從男孩的臉上冒出，他開始掙扎。瓊斯太太繼續拖著男孩沿著大街向前走。到達她家門口時，她將男孩拖了進去，沿著門廳進到她家房子后部一間裝滿廚房用具的大房間。她打開電燈，沒關上房門。
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.
女人站在房間中間，手中扔抓著男孩的脖子。她說：“你叫什么名字？”“羅杰。”男孩回答。“那好，羅杰，你去那個水槽邊洗洗臉。”女人說，此時終于松開了他。羅杰看了看那扇敞開的門，看了看這個女人，又看了看那扇敞開的門，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.
“讓水先流一會兒，等水熱了再洗。”她說，“這有一條干凈的毛巾。”“你要把我送入監獄嗎？”男孩問道，同時朝水槽彎下身子。“臉洗干凈了，我就哪也不帶你去。”女人說，“我就是想回到家，給自己做口吃的，你卻要搶走我的包！或許，你也還沒吃晚餐，現在可夠晚的了。是還沒吃吧？”男孩回答說：“我家里一個人也沒有。”“那我們一會兒就吃飯。”女人說。

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! “
我想要一雙藍色絨面革鞋子。”男孩說。“好吧，你想得到絨面革鞋子，也沒必要搶我的包啊！” 盧埃拉·貝茨·華盛頓·瓊斯太太說，“你完全可以直接問我要啊！”“您說什么？”男孩抬起頭來，看著她，臉上還滴著水。一陣漫長的沉寂襲來——非常漫長的沉寂。門是開著的。男孩可以沿著門廳一路沖出去，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."
“我也年輕過，我也有過想要卻得不到的東西。”她說。又是一陣漫長的沉寂，而且一點兒聲響也沒有。“小子，我也做過一些事情，但我不會告訴你的。所以，在我給咱倆弄吃的時，你坐下就好。你可以梳一下你的頭發，讓你看上去更像些樣子。”
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.
“您需要個人去趟商店嗎？”男孩問，“也許您需要買點牛奶什么的？”“我看不用了，”女人說，“除非你自己要喝甜牛奶。我要用家里的灌裝牛奶做些可可飲料。” “那也可以，”男孩說。
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.
女人熱了一些利馬豆和火腿，制作了可可飲料，然后擺好了桌子。她沒有問男孩有關他住的地方、他的親屬等會令他難堪的事情，而是在他們吃飯的時候，告訴他了她工作在一家每天營業到很晚的酒店美容院，這份工作是什么樣子的，以及各種各樣的女人進出這家美容院的方式——有金發的、紅發的，還有來自西班牙的。然后，她把自己的那塊便宜的蛋糕切開一半，給了男孩。“再吃點兒，小子，”她說。
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."
他們吃完飯后，她站起來說：“現在，拿著這十美元，去給你自己買一雙藍色絨面革鞋子去。下次，不要再打我或任何其他人的包的主意了，別再犯這種錯誤了。現在，我得休息了。不過，小子，我希望你從今往后能好好做人。”
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.
她帶著他經過門廳走到前門，然后打開了門。“晚安！要好好做人啊，小子！”她說，同時眼睛看向了街道。男孩想對盧埃拉·貝茨·華盛頓·瓊斯太太說些別的，而不是簡單的“謝謝您，女士”，但他無法做到。事實上，直到她關上門，他連一句 “謝謝”這樣的話都幾乎沒組織好。之后，他再也沒見到過她。