004 结识劳里

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After indulging themselves to their hearts' content, the girls concluded the Christmas feast as they always did

尽情享受后，女孩们如往常一样结束了圣诞盛宴

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— with a cup of hot tea and words of affection from Mother

——喝上一杯热茶，听母亲说着充满爱意的话语。

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" This has been a trying year for all of us," Mother said

“今年对我们所有人来说都是艰难的一年，”母亲说。

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" So thank you, my little daughters, for gracefully yet courageously bearing our burdens."

“所以谢谢你们，我的小女儿们，你们优雅而勇敢地承担了我们的重担。”

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Because of everything that had happened that day, the girls had been unable to present their gift to Mother

因为那天发生的事情太多，女孩们没能把礼物送给母亲。

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Therefore they were planning to give it to her now

因此她们打算现在送给她。

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" Mother, we have something for you," said Jo as she signaled Amy with her eyes

“妈妈，我们有东西要给您，”乔一边说，一边向艾米使了个眼色。

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Amy, meanwhile, was tugging and yanking at a knot in her curls

这时，艾米正用力拉扯着自己卷发上的一个结。

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" I shouldn't have allowed those children to touch my hair," Amy complained, recalling the two little Hummel girls who had played with her beloved hair

“我真不该让那些孩子碰我的头发，”艾米抱怨道，想起那两个玩弄她心爱头发的胡梅尔家小女孩。

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" Amy!" Jo barked sharply, as she tilted her head to indicate the box hidden behind her

“艾米！”乔严厉地喝道，歪头示意身后藏着的盒子。

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The girls had agreed that the youngest should bestow the gift

女孩们事先商量好，让最小的妹妹来呈递礼物。

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" Oh!" Amy flushed as she stood to carry out her duty

“哎呀！”艾米红着脸站起身，履行她的职责。

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Mother delicately took out the gifts one by one without uttering a sound, yet her eyes conveyed the depth of love and appreciation she felt for her girls

母亲轻轻地将礼物一件件取出，一言不发，但她的眼神流露出对女儿们深深的爱与感激。

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Clutching each gift tenderly, she simply said: " My little women."

她温柔地攥着每件礼物，只说了句：“我的小妇人们。”

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Bright and early the next morning, Jo slipped upstairs to her sanctuary in the attic

第二天一大早，阳光明媚，乔悄悄溜上楼，躲进她阁楼里的小天地。

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There she had pushed an old oak desk near the oval window, along with a shaky chair and large wicker basket

在那儿，她把一张旧橡木书桌推到椭圆形窗户旁，旁边还放了把摇摇晃晃的椅子和一个大柳条筐。

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That basket housed what Jo the writer called " the dregs."

那个筐子里装着作家乔所谓的“废稿”。

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All her incomplete, meaningless, and undesirable thoughts were discarded there

所有她那些半途而废、毫无意义、不合心意的想法都被丢弃在那里。

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The family knew better than to disturb Jo when she was in her creative mode

家人都知道，当乔进入创作状态时，最好别去打扰她。

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Those foolish or fearless enough might encounter one of Jo's infamous temper tantrums

那些不知好歹或胆子太大的人，很可能会撞上乔出了名的坏脾气。

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Meg, at this moment, chose to take that risk, as she charged in, waving a card in her hand

就在此刻，梅格决定冒这个险，她冲了进来，手里挥舞着一张卡片。

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" Jo! You'll never believe what this is!" Meg cried

“乔！你绝对猜不到这是什么！”梅格喊道。

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Jo crumpled the paper she had been writing on and tossed it into the dregs

乔把自己正在写的那张纸揉成一团，丢进了废纸篓里。

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" If you don't tell me soon, that is going to end up in there!"

“你要是不赶紧说，那张纸也马上会到那里面去！”

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Jo said menacingly as she pointed a threatening finger at the paper in Meg's hand and kicked the wastebasket with her foot

乔吓唬道，她用一根手指威胁地指着梅格手里的那张纸，并用脚踢了踢废纸篓。

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" The Gardiners have invited us to a New Year's ball!" Meg could hardly contain her excitement

“加德纳一家邀请我们去参加新年舞会！”梅格难以抑制她的激动。

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" A ball?" Jo shrieked." Who cares about some stupid ball?"

“舞会？”乔尖叫道，“谁会稀罕什么无聊的舞会？”

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Meg narrowed her eyes and said in a cool tone: " I do. How else are you going to meet your future husband?"

梅格眯起眼睛，语气冷淡地说：“我稀罕。不然你怎么遇见你未来的丈夫？”

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It took all of Jo's might to restrain herself from losing her temper

乔用了全身的力气才克制住自己不发火。

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" There are more important things in life, Meg, than to be married," Jo replied in a calm voice

“梅格，人生中有比结婚更重要的事，”乔用平静的声音回答。

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" Well, I want to go," said Meg, ignoring Jo's growls and grumbles

“嗯，我想去。”梅格说着，不理会乔的抱怨和牢骚。

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" And Mother says I may," she paused," only if we both go."

“妈妈说我可以去，”她顿了顿，“但前提是我们俩一起去。”

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Meg finally looked at Jo with an almost desperate gaze

梅格终于看向乔，眼神近乎绝望。

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Immediately Jo's stubborn heart softened at her sister's silent plea

看到姐姐无声的恳求，乔那颗倔强的心立刻软了下来。

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To Jo's dismay, the day of the ball arrived more quickly than she expected

让乔沮丧的是，舞会的日子比她预想的来得更快。

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Although she was secretly praying for a severe snowstorm or some other incident that would force the ball to be canceled

尽管她暗暗祈祷来一场暴风雪或什么意外，好让舞会不得不取消，

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outwardly Jo put on her happy face and got ready for the event

表面上乔还是装出高兴的样子，为舞会做准备。

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" What gloves will you wear with your dress?"

“你打算配哪双手套穿裙子？”

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Meg glanced at Jo's maroon frock hanging on the door

梅格瞥了一眼挂在门上的乔的栗色连衣裙。

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" I don't have any," was Jo's curt reply

“我一双也没有。”乔简短地回答。

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" You must wear gloves," Meg insisted

"你必须戴手套。"梅格坚持道。

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" Gloves are so... so... silly!" Jo blurted out

"手套真是……真是太傻了！"乔脱口而出。

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" A true lady must wear gloves," Meg said, her voice rising

"一个真正的淑女必须戴手套。"梅格提高了嗓门。

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Jo bit her lips to stop herself from saying something nasty to Meg

乔咬住嘴唇，忍住没对梅格说难听的话。

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Instead, rolling her eyes, Jo said: " Then I'll just have to borrow a pair of yours."

她翻了个白眼，改口道："那我就只好借你的戴了。"

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" Absolutely not," was Meg's curt reply." Look at your big hands. You'll stretch mine out."

"绝对不行。"梅格干脆地回答，"看你这双大手，会把我的手套撑坏的。"

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Like all mothers, Mrs. March had a good sense of timing

和所有母亲一样，马奇太太很会把握时机。

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At that instant, she waltzed in with a pair of her own gloves, preventing another one of Jo's explosions

就在这时，她拿着自己的一双手套走了进来，及时制止了乔的又一次爆发。

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" I thought you might need these." Mother smiled as she handed Jo the gloves

"我想你可能会需要这个。"母亲微笑着把手套递给乔。

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Finally, after more shrill cries and minor mishaps, the girls were ready for the ball

终于，在一阵尖叫声和小意外之后，姑娘们准备好了去参加舞会。

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" You both look beautiful," praised Beth when she saw her sisters in their ball dresses

看到姐姐们穿上舞会礼服，贝丝称赞道：“你们俩真漂亮。”

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" Like two princesses! Just remember to find a handsome prince!" giggled Amy

“像两位公主！记得要找到英俊的王子哦！”艾米咯咯笑着说。

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The Gardiners were a wealthy family who often entertained guests at their mansion

加德纳一家是富裕人家，经常在自家大宅招待宾客。

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Sallie Gardiner was Meg's good friend. The young girls knew each other since childhood and remained close friends even after Meg's father lost his fortune

萨莉·加德纳是梅格的好朋友。她们自幼相识，即便在梅格父亲失去财产后，依然是亲密的朋友。

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" Isn't this sublime, Jo?" Meg called out happily as she and her dancing partner glided past Jo, who sat tugging her tight dress collar

“这难道不美妙吗，乔？”梅格和舞伴滑步经过时开心地喊道，而乔正坐在那里拉扯着紧巴巴的衣领。

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" Lovely," mumbled Jo. She looked longingly outside at a group of young men kicking a ball around

“真好。”乔咕哝道。她渴望地望着窗外一群正在踢球的年轻男子。

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It was so unfair. Jo hated living by rules that told her young women had to look pretty, giggle, and be ladylike

太不公平了。乔讨厌被那些规矩束缚，那些规矩要求年轻女子必须漂亮、咯咯傻笑、举止端庄。

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Meanwhile, boys could do as they please

与此同时，男孩们却可以随心所欲。

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" Why can't I do that?" she said aloud

“为什么我不能那样做？”她大声说道。

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" Do what?" a voice asked from behind

“做什么？”身后一个声音问道。

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Jo whipped her head around and came face to face with the Laurence boy

乔猛地转过头，正好与劳伦斯家男孩面对面。

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" That's very rude of you," she scolded, wagging a finger at him

“你这样很没礼貌。”她朝他晃着一根手指，责备道。

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" What is?" he retorted

“怎么没礼貌了？”他反驳道。

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" Creeping up behind a lady and frightening her out of her wits," Jo said, dramatically placing a gloved hand over her forehead

“悄悄走到一位女士身后，把她的魂都吓飞了。”乔说道，戏剧性地用戴着手套的手捂住额头。

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" I beg your pardon." The young man bowed deeply then continued: " Then I shall leave the lady to her wits."

“请原谅。”年轻男子深深鞠了一躬，然后继续说道：“那我就不打扰这位女士回魂了。”

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" Wait!" Jo called out." You can stay as long as you don't bore me like this party."

“等等！”乔喊道。“只要你别像这场舞会一样让我无聊，你就可以留下。”

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" So you don't like balls?" the Laurence boy asked with a twinkle in his eye

“所以你不喜欢舞会？”劳伦斯家的男孩问道，眼中闪着光。

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" I can't stand them. Look at those silly girls

“我简直受不了。看看那些傻气的女孩们。

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Their dresses are so tight, it's a wonder they're still breathing!" Jo tugged her collar again, reminding herself of her own discomfort

她们裙子那么紧，居然还能呼吸真是奇迹！”乔又拽了拽自己的领口，再次感受到自己的不适。

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" I don't fancy these sorts of things either," replied the young man

“我也不喜欢这类事情。”年轻男子回答道。

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" What are you doing here then?" asked Jo

“那你还在这儿干什么？”乔问。

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" My grandfather made me come," he replied, frowning

“我祖父硬要我来的。”他皱着眉头回答。

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" Oh, which reminds me," Jo exclaimed suddenly

“哦，这倒提醒我了，”乔突然喊道。

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" Thank you for the lovely Christmas meal."

“谢谢你们那顿美味的圣诞大餐。”

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The Laurence boy shrugged and said casually: " Grandfather sent it, not me."

劳伦斯家的男孩耸耸肩，漫不经心地说：“那是我祖父送的，不是我。”

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Jo elbowed him in a very unladylike manner and said: " But I know it was you who told him."

乔很不淑女地用胳膊肘顶了他一下，说道：“但我知道是你告诉他的。”

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" Do you have a name?" he asked, his cheeks flushing

“你有名字吗？”他问道，脸颊泛红。

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" Jo," she replied

“乔。”她回答。

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" That's not a very girlish name," he pointed out

“这名字不太像女孩的。”他指出。

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" It's short for Josephine. But if you call me that, I won't ever speak to you again."

“是约瑟芬的简称。但如果你那样叫我，我就再也不跟你说话了。”

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Laughing, he said: " I'm Laurie."

他笑着说：“我叫劳里。”

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Jo's loud laugh caused many people to glance their way

乔大声的笑引来了许多人侧目。

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" What kind of a name is Laurie Laurence?" she said, struggling to resist bursting out in laughter again

“劳里·劳伦斯是什么名字啊？”她说着，强忍着才没再次大笑出来。

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Laurie pretended to be offended

劳里假装被冒犯了。

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" My real name is Theodore but I prefer to be called Laurie

“我的真名是西奥多，但我更喜欢别人叫我劳里。

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If you have a problem with that," he paused, adding with a wicked glint in his eyes," Josephine, then I won't ever speak to you again either."

如果你对此有意见，”他停顿了一下，眼中闪过一丝狡黠，补充道，“约瑟芬，那我也就再也不跟你说话了。”

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Jo punched him playfully and let out another hearty laugh

乔开玩笑地打了他一拳，又发出了一阵爽朗的笑声。

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Nearby, people shook their heads and commented on that ill-mannered, noisy young woman

附近的人们纷纷摇头，议论着那个举止粗鲁、吵吵闹闹的年轻姑娘。