Whatever we needed could be found in the depths of Grandma's magical purse.
By Nadia Ali
By my teenage daughters' standards, her purse was huge. Theirs were tiny things that could barely hold a lipstick and compact; they wore them on their shoulders just under their arm. Grandma's handbag, suspended by thick, black leather straps, hung down on her hip. It was big enough to hold everything you could possibly want.
One day we were all in the car when my daughter Shazara spilled some drink on the back seat. "Mom, do you have any napkins?"
"No," I replied.
Suddenly, Grandma reached for her handbag on the car floor near her feet and opened it wide. Her head almost disappeared inside as she rummaged around, pulling out a handful of napkins.
"There you go, sweetheart," she said as she handed them to Shazara. In my rearview mirror I could see my two daughters sitting there with a huge grins on their faces.
"Mom, there's a thread hanging from my T-shirt," Reece called out. Again opening the jaws of her handbag, Grandma rummaged in the darkness of her purse and retrieved a pair of scissors.
"There you go, love, " she said, handing it to the girls in the backseat. They sat with wide grins on their faces that itched with orneriness.
"Mom, I need a knife and fork!" said Shazara, trying hard to sound serious about her request.
Again Grandma opened her bag and her head disappeared into its depths. She handed Shazara a neatly wrapped plastic knife and fork in a white napkin. "Here you are, Shazara."
I could see the girls' faces, looking quite amazed. Surely they weren't going to ask their Grandma for anything else.
"Oh no, my hands are sticky," Reece complained. "Have you got anything that I can wash my hands with, Grandma?"
Again, she delved into the black handbag. I could see the girls waiting in anticipation to see what Grandma was about to produce from her bag this time.
"Here you go," she said, passing a wet tissue in a sealed packet to Reece.
We all laughed out loud when Reece joked, "For a minute, Grandma, I thought you were going to bring out the kitchen sink!"
译文:
除了厨房里的水槽，什么都有
我们需要的任何东西都能在奶奶的神奇手提包中找到。
按照我十多岁的女儿们的标准，她们奶奶的手提包是大的。她们的手提包很小，几乎都容不下唇膏和粉盒；她们背手提包于肩膀上，手臂下。奶奶的手提包有厚厚的黑色皮质背带，包挂于臀部处。包大到几乎可以放下任何你想放的东西。
一天，我们都在车里。我女儿莎扎拉在后座不小心溅了些牛奶。“妈妈，你有餐巾纸吗？”
“没有。”我回答说。
她奶奶突然伸向她脚旁的手提包，就在车的地板上，完全的打开包。她在包里东翻西找，头都差不多伸进去了，然后拿出一把餐巾纸。
“宝贝，给你。”她说，递给莎扎拉餐巾纸。从后视镜中我看到我的两个女儿，坐在那里，露齿大笑。
“妈妈，我的T恤上有条线。”莉丝叫了。她奶奶再次打开手提包，黑暗中翻找着，然后找到一把剪刀。
“宝贝，给你。”她说，把剪刀递给我后座的女儿。她们坐在那儿，吵吵嚷嚷的大笑着。
“妈妈，我需要刀和叉。”莎扎拉说，试着给人感觉是个认真的要求。
再次，她奶奶打开手提包，头伸进去。她递给莎扎拉塑料刀和塑料叉，包装精简，用餐巾纸包着。“莎扎拉，给你。”
“天啊，我的手好粘，”莉丝抱怨着，“奶奶，你有什么可以让我洗手吗？”
“给你。”她说，递给莉丝一封着的湿纸巾。
莉丝玩笑着说：“奶奶，我还以为你要拿出个厨房里的水槽呢！”