On Saturday I walk to Grandma’s house to help her do the wash.

Grandma opens her door and kisses my cheek.“How’s your ma？”she asked.

“Our baby’s coming soon.” I say.

星期六那天，我去奶奶家?guī)退匆路?/p>

奶奶打開房門，親了親我的臉頰。“你媽媽還好嗎？”她問。

“小寶寶不久就要降生啦?！蔽艺f。

The kitchen is full of steam from the copper boiler on the stove. There’s a smell of lye soap.

“Are you ready for work， Lizzie girl？”Grandma asks me.“It’s a good day for the drying.”

“Yes， I am.” I set my doll in a kitchen chair and roll up my sleeves.

廚房里爐灶上的銅鍋散發(fā)著水蒸氣，空氣中有一股淡淡的堿皂味。

“小莉茲，你準備好干活了嗎？”奶奶說，“今天是曬衣服的好日子呢。”

“準備好了?！蔽野淹尥薹旁趶N房里的一把椅子上，卷起袖管。

We lift the boiler off the stove. It takes both of us heft it onto the bench.

“Two strong women，”Grandma says.

Before we put the clothes we sort them in piles on the kitchen table. The first one has sheets and other whites； then we make a stack of coloreds and another of britches and rags.

我和奶奶一起把銅鍋子從爐子上端下來，又花了好大的力氣把它抬到了長凳上。

“咱倆真是兩個身強力壯的女人?！蹦棠陶f。

把衣服放進鍋子里之前，我們先在廚房餐桌上把衣服分成了三堆。第一堆是床單和其他白色的衣物。接著，我們整理出一堆有顏色的衣服和另一堆馬褲和破布。

I think about my friend Lucy. She was coming to my house today for our doll tea party. We had a dishcloth over a bale of hay in the barn， and my pink doll tea set was all ready.

“Stop day dreaming， pet.” Grandma says.

I give myself a little shake.

這時，我想起了小伙伴露西。她今天原本要到我家參加玩偶茶會的。我們會在谷倉里的一大捆干草上鋪上一塊布，我的那套粉紅色的玩偶茶具早已經(jīng)準備妥當。

“乖乖，別做白日夢了。”奶奶說道。

我晃了晃身體，讓自己清醒過來。

We examine the whites. These are the Sunday go-to-meeting clothes and must be spotless.

Grandpa’s shirt and Grandma’s chemise and a cotton blouse have to be boiled.

Next the coloreds get washed. “Take the britches and the rags out，” Grandma says.

I fish them out and drop them in the rinse water.

我和奶奶檢查起白色衣物，這些衣服是星期日聚會時穿的，必須一塵不染。

爺爺?shù)囊r衣、奶奶的內(nèi)衣和女式棉布襯衫都得用水煮過才能洗干凈。

接下來清洗那些帶顏色的衣服。“把馬褲和破布挑出來，”奶奶說道，“用掃帚柄?！?/p>

我用掃帚柄把這些衣服撈了出來，丟進水里漂洗。

Then we take turns twisting the handle of the wringer and pulling the clothes through the rollers. The wringer makes them flat as flapjacks. They aren’t anything till you shake them out and then they’re themselves again.

We pin the whites on the line that stretches between the trees and spread the rest on the grass or over the fence.

接下來我們輪流轉(zhuǎn)動衣物絞干機的手柄，另一個人將衣服從滾軸之間拽過去。絞干機讓衣服變得像煎餅一樣平坦。等到你把衣服抖幾下，它們就會變回原來的樣子。

我們在樹木之間拉上晾衣繩，把白色的衣服夾在晾衣繩上，其余的衣服鋪放在草地或籬笆上面。

“You’re a great helper， Lizzie girl，”Grandma says. “I do thank you.”

I smile. “You’re welcome.”

“You deserve a rest，” Grandma tells me.

I sit on the porch with a glass of buttermilk. Inside of me I feel satisfied. Like when I’ve finished my lessons. But the doll tea party drifts into my mind and makes me said again.

“小莉茲，你真是個好幫手?！蹦棠陶f道，“我要謝謝你。”

我笑了笑：“不客氣，奶奶?！?/p>

“你先休息一下?！蹦棠陶f。

我坐在門廊上，手里拿著一杯酪乳，內(nèi)心感到很滿足，就像我做完功課時那樣?？赏媾疾钑@件事又飄入我的腦海，讓我再次悲傷起來。

Long time later， Grandma says to me， “Come in， Lizzie girl. We have company.”

When I go in， there is Lucy with her doll. I am flabbergasted. “How did you get here， Lucy？” I ask.

“Your pa walked the both of them over.”Grandma says. “Sit down now for four of you.”

“Oh， Grandma！ This as good as having our tea party in the barn. I love you， Grandma！”

“進來吧，小莉茲，我們有客人來了。”不知過了多久，奶奶叫道。

我走進屋后，看見露西帶著她的玩偶站在那里。我大吃一驚地問道：“露西，你怎么會來這兒？”

“是你爺爺帶她過來的?！蹦棠探忉尩溃澳銈z和你們的兩個玩偶娃娃，趕緊坐下吧！”

“哦，奶奶！這和我們在谷倉里辦茶會一樣好。奶奶，我愛您?！?/p>