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They feel secure. They know their work clothes will be mended, washed, and ironed on Monday, that their Sunday shirts will billow on hangers from the door jamb, stifly starched and white. Theylook at her hands and know what she will do with biscuit dough; they smell the coffee and the fried ham; see the white, smoky grits with a dollop of butter on top. Her hips assure them that she will bear children easily and painlessly. And they are right.
他們感到安全。他們知道工作服在周一早上會被洗得干干凈凈，縫補熨燙整齊；做禮拜穿的襯衫會掛在門后的衣架上，漿洗得潔白如新。看到她的手就知道她會做點心；聞得見咖啡和煎火腿的香味；看得見玉米面餅子上的一團黃油。她的臀部讓他們確信生孩子既容易又不痛苦。他們往往是對的。
What they do not know is that this plain brown girl will build her nest stick by stick, make it her own inviolable world, and stand guard over its every plant, weed, and doily, even against him. In silence will she return the lamp to where she put it in the first place; remove the dishes from the table as soon as the last bite is taken; wipe the doorknob after a greasy hand has touched it. A sidelong look will be enough to tell him to smoke on the back porch. Children will sense instantly that they cannot come into her yard to retrieve a ball. But the men do not know these things. Nor do they know that she will give him her body sparingly and partially.
然而他們并不知道就是這些貌不驚人的棕色女孩兒會用一根根的樹枝構筑她們的巢穴，使其成為不可侵犯的獨立王國。她們會警覺地看護著每一棵花草，每一件財產，即使得罪他也在所不惜。她會不聲不響地把臺燈放回原先她放燈的位置；人們剛剛吃完最后一口飯，她就會把碗盤撤走；油手接觸過的門把會被立即擦拭干凈。一個斜視足以讓他知道該到后院去抽煙。孩子們本能地感到他們不能進她的院子去撿球。可是男人是不會知道這一切的。他們也不會知道她不會將肉體慷慨大方毫無保留地讓他享受。
Occasionally some living thing will engage her affections. A cat, perhaps, who will love her order, precision, and constancy; who will be as clean and quiet as she is. The cat will settle quietly on the windowsill and caress her with his eyes. She can hold him in her arms, letting his back paws struggle for footing on her breast and his forepaws cling to her shoulder. She can rub the smooth fur and feel the unresisting flesh underneath.
一些小生命會偶然引起她的愛憐之心。比如，一只對她的整潔、嚴謹、堅定已很習慣的小貓，一只和她一樣潔凈安詳的小貓。小貓會不聲不響地坐在窗臺上用眼睛上下打量她。她會用手臂把它抱起，讓它的后爪在她的前胸來冋蹬動，尋找落腳之地，前爪則搭在她的肩膀上。她會輕輕地撫摸平滑的貓毛，感受它全身肌肉的松弛。
