“Aw, Mother,” Joe, who was very fond of his sister, would reply, “I like to play with Josie, and the kids like her. But you know. Mother, when there’s a whole field of boys and not another girl, it makes a fellow feel funny if the girl’s his sister. Sometimes the fellows say things.”
“啊,母親,”喬很喜歡他的妹妹,他會回答說,“我喜歡和喬西一起玩,孩子們也喜歡她。但是你知道。媽媽,當整個領域都是男孩而不是其他女孩時,如果女孩是他的妹妹,這會讓他覺得很滑稽。有時那些家伙會說些什么。”
“I think Joe is right, Josie, and you must come home if the whole ball team is playing. When there are only two or three of Joe’s friends, you may play with them if they want you.”
“我認為喬是對的,喬西,如果整個球隊都在比賽,你必須回家。當喬的朋友只有兩三個時,如果他們需要你,你可以和他們一起玩。”
Josie’s face grew very red, and her curls seemed to bristle like an angry pup’s fur.
喬西的臉漲得通紅,她的卷發似乎像憤怒的小狗的毛一樣豎起來。
“I will make a ball team of my own,” she said. But, alas, for Josie! So many little girls preferred hopscotch and jacks, paper dolls and tag, that she could not form a team. Nevertheless, she managed to find a great many chances to play ball. She found several girls who would play at times, if she bribed them with “suckers” and peanuts. She persuaded Father and Mother to pitch for her, and many an evening she and Joe’s friends spent playing in the vacant lot across the street. She became a fair pitcher, and she was surely a strong batter.
“我要組建自己的球隊,”她說。但是,對喬西來說,天哪!許多小女孩更喜歡跳房子和jack游戲,喜歡紙娃娃和標簽,所以她無法組成一個球隊。盡管如此,她還是設法找到了很多打球的機會。她找到了幾個女孩,如果她用“吸盤”和花生賄賂她們,她們有時會玩。她說服父親和母親為她投球,許多個晚上她和喬的朋友們都在街對面的空地上玩耍。她成為了一名出色的投手,當然也是一名強壯的擊球手。
“Watch out for Josie when she bats,” the boys would laugh. “You may have to run all the way to China to find the ball.”
“喬西擊球時要小心,”男孩們笑道。“你可能要跑到中國才能找到球。”