Such girls have bought watermelon and snapbeans from the fruit man's wagon. They have put in the window the cardboard sign that has a pound measure printed on each of three edges—10 lbs., 25 lbs., 50 lbs.—and no ice on the fourth. These particular brown girls from Mobile and Aiken are not like some of their sisters. They are not fretful, nervous, or shrill; they do not have lovely black necks that stretch as though against an invisible collar; their eyes do not bite. These sugar-brown Mobile girls move through the streets without a stir. They are as sweet and plain as buttercake. Slim ankles; long, narrow feet.
这些女孩从果农的大车上买回西瓜和大豆。她们在窗前摆上一块硬纸板。硬纸板的三个角上分别印着十磅、二十五磅、五十磅的字样，第四个角上印着“冰块无货”。这些来自莫比尔和艾肯的棕色女孩儿和她们的姐妹们不一样。她们既不烦躁，也不焦虑；她们也没有漂亮的黑脖子可以在无形的衣领里伸展；她们的眼神并不咄咄逼人。这些红糖肤色的女孩子在街上行走时悄然无声。她们甜蜜朴实得像奶油蛋糕。细细的脚踝，长长的脚板。
They wash themselves with orange-colored Lifebuoy soap, dust themselves with Cashmere Bouquet talc, clean their teeth with salt on a piece of rag, soften their skin with Jergens Lotion. They smell like wood, newspapers, and vanilla. They straighten their hair with Dixie Peach, and part it on the side. At night they curl it in paper from brown bags, tie a print scarf around their heads, and sleep with hands folded across their stomachs. They do not drink, smoke, or swear, and they still call sex "nookey." They sing second soprano in the choir, and although their voices are clear and steady, they are never picked to solo. They are in the second row, white blouses starched, blue skirts almost purple from ironing.
她们用橘黄色“救生圈”香皂洗澡，用“羊绒花束”香粉爽身，用布头沾着细盐刷牙，用“采碎”润肤霜滋润皮肤。她们身上散发出木屑、报纸以及香草气味。她们蘸着“南方甜心”润发油梳直头发，把发路分在一边。晚上用牛皮纸口袋的纸片把头发卷起小卷，用印花头巾把头包上，睡觉时把双手放在胸前。她们不喝酒，不抽烟，不说脏话，避免直接谈论性问题。她们在唱诗班里担任第二女高音。尽管她们的嗓音响亮稳健，她们从未人选担任独唱。她们站在第二排，身着浆过的白衬衫，蓝裙子被熨得几乎成了酱紫色。