4.I told her I had a place where she could come to rest and stay，as long as she might want。I told her it wasn’t fancy and wasn’t but one room，but what was mine was hers。I knew it was clean。I’d cleaned it up the day before when I saw this girl hanging around。
5.She stroked my hair and said my heart was full of love。She said she had to sleep about twelvehours and then she’d go away。I took her home。She slumped downon the bed and cried—told me I was“so very kind”。And then she slept like the dead。I lay down on the floor beside her，where I said I’d stay。In the middle of the nightI woke up on fire，and the room was turning。I couldn’t think。The air turned furry，where I crept up and slid in bed beside her，that girl still completely dressed。She breathed like the sea。I touched her skin，just her skin inside her clothes。She really never woke，just sighed and turned。In the morning when I woke up in the bed，she was gone。
hippy：n。嬉皮士
ragged：adj。粗糙的
curl：v。（使）卷曲
squeaky：adj。吱吱響的
spring：n。彈簧床
sandwich：n。三明治
clipper：n。剪刀
souvenir：n。紀念品
stroke：v。撫摸
slump：v。跌落
fire：n。這裏指“欲火”
creep：v。爬，躡手躡腳
slide：v。（使）滑動
6.I’ve worked here since nineteen fifty three，waiting for the right girl to come along。I guess she did。Some good marriages don’t last long。
評注：第6段說明，本文以“洞房花燭夜”為題，具有一種諷刺意味，因為這並非真正意義的婚姻。對於生活在美國下層的黑人來說，和一個漂亮女人同處一室就已經讓他滿足了。由此可見，在種族歧視嚴重的美國五、六十年代，黑人很難尋得美滿的婚姻，無法享受愛的美好。
Comprehension Exercises：
1.Why does the narrator feel richer than the white robber？
2.What makes the narrator feel that that girl is the right girl？
3.Why does the writer entitle the story“Wedding Night”？
霍金斯（1946—）：美國黑人短篇小說家。他出生並成長於伊利諾斯州的帕克裏奇。他的短篇和超短篇小說集《紙皇冠》（1989）收集了過去10年間發表於權威文學雜誌的一些作品。