Alfred thought his mother would come, rushing in, eyes burning with anger. Maybe she would be crying and would push him away when he tried to explain to her. She would make him feel so small. Yet, he wanted her to come quickly before Mr. Carr called in a policeman. Alfred and Mr. Carr waited, but said nothing. At last they heard someone at the closed door. Mr. Carr opened it and said, “Come in, Mrs. Higgins. "His face was harsh and serious.

艾尔弗雷德想像着他母亲来时一定是急急忙忙，满眼怒火。她也许还会哭着一把将他推开，不容他分辩。她会让他觉得非常渺小。尽管如此，他还是希望她能在卡尔先生叫来警察之前尽快赶来。艾尔弗雷德和卡尔先生都等着，谁也不吭声。他们终于听到有人敲紧闭的房门。卡尔先生打开门说：“请进，希金斯太太。”他的脸绷得紧紧的，非常严肃。 

Alfred’s mother came in with a friendly smile on her face and put out her hand to Mr. Carr, said politely, "I’ m Mrs. Higgins, Alfred’s mother."

艾尔弗雷德的母亲脸上挂着友好的微笑走了进来，并向卡尔先生伸出手，很有礼貌地说：“我是希金斯夫人，艾尔弗雷德的母亲。” 

Mr. Carr was surprised at the way she came in. She was very calm, quiet and friendly. "Is Alfred in trouble?" Mrs. Higgins asked.

她进来时的举止完全出乎卡尔先生所料。她镇定自若，心平气和且很友好。“艾尔弗雷德闯祸了吗？”希金斯夫人问道。
"He is. He has been taking things from the store -- little things, like toothpaste and lipsticks, things he can easily sell," Mrs. Higgns looked at her son and said sadly. "Is it so, Alfred?"

“是的。他不断从店里偷拿东西——一些牙膏以及口红之类的小东西，他可以很容易地将这些东西卖掉。” 希金斯夫人看了看儿子，哀伤地说：“是这样吗，艾尔弗雷德？”

"Yes."

“是的。”

"Why have you been doing it?" she asked.

“你为什么要这么做？”她问道。