Chapter 1 Four Sisters 四姐妹
“Christmas won‘t be Christmas without any presents，” said Jo crossly。
“如果沒有禮物，聖誕節就徒有其名。”瓊生氣地說。
“It’s so awful to be poor！” agreed Meg， looking at her old dress。
“貧窮真是糟糕透了！”麥格邊看著她的舊衣裙邊表示贊同。
“It‘s not right for some girls to have pretty things， and others to have nothing at all，” said little Amy。
“有些女孩子有漂亮的東西，而其他女孩卻什麼都沒有，這是不公平的。”小艾米說。
“We’ve got Father and Mother， and each other，” said Beth gently。
“我們有爸爸和媽媽，還擁有彼此。”白絲溫文爾雅地說道。
The four young faces round the fire cheered up as they thought of this， but then Jo said sadly， “We haven‘t got Father， and we won’t have him for a long time。” She didn‘t say “perhaps never”， but each silently thought it， remembering that he was away at the war in the South。
想起這些，圍在火爐邊的四張年輕的面孔變得快樂起來，可然後瓊悲傷地說：“我們現在沒有爸爸，我們要有很長時間都不會有他在身邊。”她並沒有說出“也許永遠也不會有了”這句話，但想起父親去南方打仗了，每個人都默默地想到了它。
Then Meg said， “Mother says we shouldn’t spend money on presents when our men are fighting a war。”
然後麥格說道：“媽媽說過，當我們的男人在打仗的時候我們不應該把錢花在買禮物上。”
“We can‘t expect anything from Mother or each other，” said Jo， “but we only have a dollar each， and that won’t help the army much。 Let‘s each buy ourselves what we want， and have a little fun。 We work hard to earn it。”
“我們不能期待會從媽媽或彼此那裡得到任何禮物，”瓊說，“可我們每個人都只有一塊錢，這幫不了軍隊什麼忙。咱們每人給自己買些想要的東西高興高興吧。這是咱們努力工作掙來的。”
“I do， teaching those awful children，” said Meg。
“是我掙的，是我教那些糟糕的孩子掙來的。”麥格道。
“What about me？” said Jo。 “I’m shut up all day working for a terrible old lady， who gives me different orders every five seconds！”
“我又怎麼樣？”瓊說，“我一整天一句話都不說，給一個可怕的老太婆幹活，她每五秒鐘就給我下一道不同的命令！”
“I think washing cups and plates and keeping things tidy is the worst work in the world，” said Beth。 “My hands get too tired to play my music。”
“我覺得洗杯子、盤子和整理東西是世界上最壞的工作，”白絲說，“我的雙手累得都彈不了琴了。”
“I have to go to school with girls who laugh at my dresses and say cruel things because my father isn‘t rich，” said Amy。
“我不得不跟那些笑話我穿戴的女孩子們一起去上學，她們常說些難聽的話，因為我的父親不是有錢人。”艾米說。
“I wish we had the money Father lost when we were little， Jo，” said Meg。
“真希望我們能有在我們小時候爸爸失掉的那些錢呀，
瓊
。”麥格道。
“I wish I was a boy，” said Jo。 “Then I could go and fight beside Father！”
“我希望我是個男孩，”瓊說，“那樣我就可以去和爸爸並肩作戰了。”
Meg was sixteen and very pretty， with large eyes and soft brown hair， and white hands。 Fifteen-year-old Jo was very tall and thin。 Her long， dark-red hair was usually pushed up out of the way。 Beth was thirteen， a very shy girl who seemed to live in a happy world of her own。 Amy was the youngest， but thought herself to be the most important。 She had blue eyes， and yellow hair which curled on to her shoulders。
麥格16歲了，長得很漂亮，擁有一雙大眼睛，柔軟的棕色頭髮，以及白皙的雙手。15歲的瓊又高又瘦。她常把深紅色的長髮梳得老高。白絲13歲，她是個很怕羞的女孩，看起來像是生活在她自己的快樂世界裡。艾米最小，可她認為自己最重要。她有一雙藍色的眼睛，還有捲到肩頭的黃色頭髮。
At six o’clock， Beth put a pair of slippers by the fire to warm and Meg lit the lamp。 Amy got out of the comfortable chair without being asked， and Jo forgot how tired she was and held the slippers closer to the fire。
6點鐘，白絲把一雙拖鞋放到火邊烘烤，麥格點亮了燈。並沒有人說什麼，艾米就從那張舒服的椅子上爬起來，瓊已忘記了她的疲憊。她將拖鞋放到離火近的地方。
“These are old，” she said。 “Mother needs a new pair。”
“這太舊了，”她說，“媽媽需要一雙新拖鞋”。
“I‘ll get her some with my dollar，” said Beth。
“我要用我的錢給她買。”白絲道。
“No， I shall！” cried Amy。
“不，我來買！”艾米大喊。
“I’m the oldest—” began Meg。
“我最大——”麥格開口了。
“I‘m the man of the family now Father is away， and I shall buy them，” said Jo。
“現在爸爸不在，我就是家裡的男人，我來買拖鞋。”瓊說。
“Let’s each get her something and not get anything for ourselves，” said Beth。
“咱們每人都給她買些東西吧，什麼都不要給自己買了。”白絲建議道。
“That‘s a kind idea！” said Jo。 “What shall we get？”
“那是個好主意！”瓊說，“那我們買什麼呢？”
Everyone thought for a moment， then Meg said， “I’ll give her a nice pair of gloves。”
每個人都思索了片刻，然後麥格說：“我要給她買一副很好的手套。”
“The best army slippers，” said Jo。
“我要買最好的軍用拖鞋。”瓊說。
“Some handkerchiefs，” said Beth。
“我想買一些手帕。”白絲說。
“A little bottle of perfume，” said Amy。 “It won‘t cost much， so I’ll have some money left to buy something for me。”
“我會買一小瓶香水，”艾米道，“那不會很貴，所以我還會
剩
點錢給自己買些東西。”
“We‘ll let Mother think we’re getting things for ourselves， and then surprise her，” said Jo。
“咱們讓媽媽覺得咱們在給自己買東西，然後讓她大吃一驚。”瓊說。
Mrs March arrived home soon after。 She took off her wet things and put on her warm slippers。 Meg made the tea， Jo brought wood for the fire， Beth was quiet and busy， and Amy gave orders。
馬奇太太不久就回家了。她把溼衣服脫掉，換上暖和的拖鞋。麥格泡了茶，瓊給火爐拿來了木柴，白絲一聲不響地忙碌著，艾米在發號施令。
“I‘ve got a letter from Father！” cried Mrs March。
“我拿到了爸爸的來信！”馬奇太太喊道。
It was a letter to cheer them up， and the special message for the girls came at the end： Give them all my love and a kiss。 I think of them every day。 I know they will be loving children to you， and that when I come back， I will be prouder than ever of my little women。
那是一封叫大家高興起來的信，信尾是特別寫給女孩子們的：“替我向她們轉達我的愛和吻。我每天都在想念她們，我知道她們會成為你的好孩子。我知道等我回家時，我會比以往任何時候都更為我的小婦人們感到驕傲。”
A tear dropped off the end of Jo’s nose。
一滴淚珠從瓊的鼻尖上滑落。
Amy hid her face on her mother‘s shoulder。 “I’m selfish，” she cried， “but I‘ll try to be better。”
艾米將臉藏在母親的臂彎裡。“我很自私自利，”她哭泣著說，“可我會努力變得好些。”
“We all will！” cried Meg。 “I think too much about the way I look， and hate to work， but I won’t anymore。”
“我們都會的，”麥格流著淚道。“我太注重自己的外表，憎恨工作，但我以後不會了。”
“And I‘ll try to be a ’little woman‘，” said Jo， “and not be rough and wild。”
“我會盡力做個‘小婦人’，”瓊說，“不再粗野無禮了。”
Beth said nothing， but she began to work hard at a blue army glove she was making。
白絲什麼也沒說，但她開始賣力地做一副藍色的軍用手套。
So the four girls decided that they would all try very hard to be good。 They would never be cross， or lazy， or selfish—and they would all help each other。 They talked over their plan that evening， while they made sheets for Aunt March。 Then at nine o’clock they stopped to sing a song。 Beth played the old piano， and Meg and her mother led the singing。 Jo always sang in the wrong place， but the girls never got too old to sing together。
於是四個女孩都決心要盡力地做個好女孩，不再濫發脾氣，不再
懶隋
，不再自私，她們將互相幫助。那天晚上，她們在給馬奇姨媽做被單時討論了她們的計劃。9點鐘的時候，她們停下來一起唱了一支歌。白絲彈著那架老鋼琴，麥格和母親一道領唱。瓊總是唱得不對，可女孩子永遠不會因為年歲漸長了而不能一起唱歌。
寒假來臨，推出經典雙語閱讀欄目，13天讀完一本好書，希望我們能每天讀一章，增加知識儲備，豐富假期生活。