The Dumbest of Grammas in the World

世上最笨的奶奶

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When my first granddaughter Lacy was about three or four years old, she was my favorite shopping buddy!1 I could take her for an afternoon of shopping, and unlike a lot of young children, she never asked for anything.

On one of these shopping outings2 in early spring, Lacy and I had been in several stores and now we were in a WalMart.3 As always I had put her in the front of a cart so she could stand and reach all the pretty items.4 We went up and down several aisles5 looking at everything. When we got into the children's section,6 she would reach out,7 take a dress off the rack8 and say, "Oh Gramma, isn't this one pretty?" After we both admired it she would hang it back up. This is always how we shopped: We looked, commented,9 returned the item and moved on. She never asked for those items; she just enjoyed looking at all the pretty things!

We then moved on to the shoe department and as I pushed the cart through the little girls section, she picked up and admired several pairs of shoes. Then she saw a pair of hot pink (pink being her favorite color), high-top suede boots.10 Slowly reaching for them, she picked them up and cradled them in her arms.11 Looking up to me, still holding those boots, she said, "Gramma, please don't make me put them back!"

I was surprised with this sudden pleading12 and asked, "Miss Lacy, what do you need boots for?" After all it was April, winter was over, and it was almost time to start wearing sandals,13 not boots.

She replied so sadly, "Gramma, they're huntin' boots!"14 Trying to conceal my laughter,15 I asked her, "Exactly why do you need huntin' boots?" I knew this dainty, feminine16 little girl had never gone hunting with Daddy.

She looked at me with an expression that implied God had given her the dumbest of grammas in the world17 and she said, "For huntin' Easter eggs!"18

I'm not sure how another gramma would have handled this situation. I do know Miss Lacy proudly left that store carrying the sack that held her new hot pink huntin' boots!

1. buddy: 伙伴，搭档。
2. shopping outing: 外出购物。
3. Walmart: 沃尔玛，美国最大的零售连锁店。
4. cart: （超级市场里的）手推车；item: 商品，货物。
5. aisle: 商店的狭长通道，过道。
6. 儿童用品区。
7. reach out: 伸出手。
8. rack: 货架。
9. comment: 评论。
10. 高帮的绒面革靴子。suede/sweid/: 绒面革的。
11. 抱在怀里。
12. pleading: 请求，恳求。
13. sandal: 凉鞋。
14. huntin' boots: 猎靴。
15. 我强忍着不笑。conceal: 隐藏，掩盖。
16. dainty: 秀丽的，优雅的；feminine: 娇柔的。
17. 她用那样的表情看着我，好像在说上帝给了她世界上最笨的奶奶。
18. “用来找复活节彩蛋呀！”hunt除了有“打猎”的意思，还可以表示“寻找”，显然小Lacy所说的huntin' boots并不是奶奶所理解的“猎靴”，而是指“用来找彩蛋的靴子”。Easter: 复活节，是纪念“耶稣复活”的节日，一般指每年过春分月圆后的第一个星期日，具体时间可能是3月22日到4月25日其间的某一天。复活节彩蛋是用蛋煮熟着色，或用巧克力等制成蛋形，作为复活节的礼物或摆设，大人们还会将彩蛋藏在室内或是草地里让孩子们去寻找，这是复活节的一项重要活动。