019 母亲的休息日

旁白 neutral

After a few days, the lazy holidays were turning into a nightmare

过了几天，懒散的假期渐渐变成了一场噩梦。

旁白 neutral

Since the girls were not allowed to do their chores — as part of the experiment — the house soon began to look and smell like a dumpster

因为作为实验的一部分，姑娘们不被允许做家务——房子很快就变得看起来、闻起来都像个垃圾堆。

旁白 neutral

The only tidy, well-kept part of the home was Mother's bedroom and her spot in the living room where she had her chair and reading table

家里唯一整洁、打理得好的地方，是母亲的卧室，还有客厅里她放椅子和读书桌的那个角落。

旁白 neutral

She sat there now, pretending to be interested in a book, but actually observing her girls

此刻她正坐在那里，假装对一本书感兴趣，但实际上却在观察着她的女儿们。

旁白 neutral

Meg, Mother noticed, looked cross and agitated, traits her eldest daughter normally did not display

母亲注意到，梅格看起来又恼火又烦躁，这些情绪她的大女儿平时是不会表现出来的。

旁白 neutral

Her hair was carelessly tied up and her clothes had several stains, even a small hole under the armpit

她的头发随意地扎着，衣服上有好几处污渍，腋下甚至还有一个小洞。

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Jo looked like a volcano ready to erupt as she stomped around, shouting loudly at no one in particular

乔看起来就像一座即将喷发的火山，她跺着脚走来走去，大声嚷嚷着，也不针对谁，

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" Whoever took my book had better hand it over at once!"

“谁拿了我的书，最好马上还给我！”

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Beth, the mildest and gentlest of the four, could be mistaken for a starved child

贝丝，四人中最温柔和顺的一个，可能会被误认为是个挨饿的孩子，

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because she was spending all her time playing the piano and forgetting a fundamental part of her well-being: eating

因为她把所有时间都花在了弹钢琴上，而忘了她健康的基本要素：吃饭。

旁白 neutral

Glancing at Beth's fingers, it was just as Mother suspected: they were swollen, stiff, and raw

瞥了一眼贝丝的手指，正如母亲所料：手指又肿又僵，还磨破了皮。

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Of the four girls, however, Amy was clearly the messiest

然而，在四个姑娘中，艾米显然是最邋遢的。

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Her paints and brushes were scattered everywhere, making it a challenge at times to walk without tripping over her art tools

她的颜料和画笔散落得到处都是，弄得人有时走路都很难不被她的绘画工具绊倒。

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Her usually curly bouncy hair was now oily and sticking to her cheeks like uncooked bacon

她平时卷翘蓬松的头发，现在油腻腻的，像生培根一样粘在脸颊上。

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Specks of paint decorated her hair as if someone had stood over her and sprinkled it generously onto her head

斑斑点点的颜料点缀着她的头发，就好像有人站在她身边，大方地撒了她一头似的。

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" Thank goodness, tomorrow is the last day of this experiment," Mother said to herself

“谢天谢地，明天就是这个实验的最后一天了，”母亲自言自语道。

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The next morning the girls reluctantly went downstairs expecting cold food at the table

第二天早上，姑娘们不情愿地走下楼，以为桌上会是冷掉的食物。

旁白 neutral

During the week of the experiment, by the time the girls had got up, their breakfast was already cold

在那个实验周里，等姑娘们起床时，她们的早餐早就凉了。

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They were grumbling and complaining until Jo, who was leading the pack, stopped, sniffed, and smiled

她们一路嘟囔抱怨着，直到走在前头的乔停下脚步，嗅了嗅，然后笑了。

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" Girls! Can you smell that?" she asked

“姑娘们！你们闻到没有？”她问道。

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" Mmm... smells like sausages!" said Amy, breathing in deeply

“嗯……闻起来像香肠！”艾米说着，深深地吸了一口气。

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Like a pack of famished wolves, the girls tore into the dining room, where they were greeted by Mother, who was just laying out a plate of sausages

如同一群饥饿的狼，姑娘们冲向餐厅，迎接她们的是母亲，她正好端上了一盘香肠。

旁白 neutral

" Good morning, my little daughters. Since the experiment ends today, I thought we'd celebrate with a late breakfast."

“早上好，我的小女儿们。既然实验今天结束，我想我们该吃顿晚一点的早餐来庆祝一下。”

旁白 neutral

Gratefully, the girls sat down to devour their meal while Mother asked their opinions about the experiment

姑娘们感激地坐下来，狼吞虎咽地吃起来，母亲则问起了她们对这次实验的看法。

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" It was fun for one day," Jo said in-between bites

“好玩也就好玩一天，”乔边吃边说。

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" But I got so bored! I actually wanted to clean up my room after a while."

“可我后来就无聊透了！过了一阵之后，我其实是想去打扫自己房间的。”

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Meg nodded and said," I had such an ache to pick up a needle and mend some old clothes."

梅格点点头说：“我特别渴望拿起针线，缝补几件旧衣服。”

旁白 neutral

" Well, I didn't realize how messy I was," cried Amy

“唉，我真没意识到自己这么邋遢，”艾米大声说。

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" My hair, my clothes... I looked frightening!"

“我的头发、我的衣服……看起来太吓人了！”

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" I found that when I played the piano, I forgot about everything else," said Beth, blushing." Sometimes I even forgot to eat."

“我发现弹钢琴的时候，会把其他事全都忘掉，”贝丝红着脸说，“有时连吃饭都忘了。”

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" How lucky that we have you, Mother," said Amy dramatically." Without you, we might have died!"

“有妈妈您真好，”艾米夸张地说，“没有您，我们可能都活不下去了！”

旁白 neutral

Mother was thoughtful for a moment before replying," Well, actually I'm taking the day off tomorrow."

妈妈沉思片刻，回答说：“嗯，其实我打算明天休息一天。”

旁白 neutral

The girls stared at her, stunned

女孩们目瞪口呆地盯着她看。

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" What do you mean?" asked Meg

“您这是什么意思？”梅格问。

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" Since you girls had one week to do as you please, I think I deserve one day all to myself," said Mother

“你们几个随心所欲过了一周，我觉得自己也该有一天彻底属于自己的时间，”妈妈说。

旁白 neutral

The girls looked at each other, at a loss for words, until Jo finally said," Of course, Mother should have the day off

女孩们面面相觑，说不出话来，终于乔开口道：“当然，妈妈应该休息一天。

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Don't worry, Mother, we'll manage fine on our own."

别担心，妈妈，我们自己会处理好的。”

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" Thank you, darling," said Mother with a smile, then added," and by the way, Hannah is taking the day off too."

"谢谢你，亲爱的，"妈妈微笑着说，然后补充道，"顺便说一下，汉娜今天也休假。"

旁白 neutral

With that Mother got up and left her daughters contemplating how to deal with the situation

说着，妈妈站起身，留下女儿们思考如何应对这个情况。

旁白 neutral

That day was a busy one for the March sisters

那天，马奇姐妹们忙碌了一整天。

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After they happily and eagerly performed their chores, they discussed how to divide Mother and Hannah's workload between them

她们兴高采烈、迫不及待地做完自己的家务活后，讨论了如何在她们之间分担妈妈和汉娜的工作。

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" Since Jo and I get up early, we'll make breakfast," said Meg

"既然乔和我起得早，我们就负责做早餐，"梅格说。

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" I can go to the grocer's to buy our fruit and vegetables," offered Beth

"我可以去杂货店买水果和蔬菜，"贝丝主动说。

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" I'll do the wash and hang it outside to dry," said Amy

"我来洗衣服，然后挂到外面晾干，"艾米说。

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" What else does Mother do?" Jo asked, tapping the pencil on her lips

"妈妈还做什么？"乔问道，用铅笔轻敲着嘴唇。

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" Who's going to make lunch and dinner?" Amy asked

"谁来做午饭和晚饭？"艾米问。

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" Amy and I can make lunch if Jo and Beth take care of dinner," suggested Meg

"如果乔和贝丝负责晚饭，艾米和我可以做午饭，"梅格建议道。

旁白 neutral

With everyone happy, Jo sat back with her hands folded behind her head and said in a relaxed, confident way," Mother has nothing to worry about."

大家都很满意，乔往椅背一靠，双手交叉枕在脑后，轻松而自信地说："妈妈没什么可担心的。"

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It was strange not to see Mother or Hannah in the kitchen the next morning, but Meg and Jo quickly got busy making breakfast

第二天早上，厨房里不见妈妈或汉娜的身影，感觉怪怪的，但梅格和乔很快就开始忙着做早餐。

旁白 neutral

They decided on ham and eggs with fresh bread, since Mother always baked her breads early in the morning

她们决定做火腿鸡蛋配新鲜面包，因为妈妈总是一大早就烤面包。

旁白 neutral

" Jo!" Meg cried, looking around," we forgot to set the dough out last night for the bread!"

"乔！"梅格环顾四周，叫道，"我们昨晚忘了把面团拿出来发面了！"

旁白 neutral

The girls had often watched Mother kneading the dough and setting it out to rise the night before so that she could bake it first thing in the morning

女孩们经常看妈妈在前一天晚上揉好面团，放出来发酵，这样第二天一早就能烤。

旁白 neutral

Enjoying a slice of warm fresh bread might not seem like much, but it brought great pleasure and comfort to the girls at the start of the day

享用一片温热的新鲜面包也许不算什么，但每天一开始这能给女孩们带来极大的快乐和安慰。

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Today, sadly, they would have to do without that morning ritual

可惜今天，她们不得不舍弃这项早晨的惯例。

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" Where are the eggs?" Jo asked, looking in the baskets and the pantry

"鸡蛋在哪儿？"乔在篮子和储物间里找着，问道。

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" Something's burning on the stove!" Meg pointed to the smoke coming from a pan

"炉子上有东西烧焦了！"梅格指向平底锅里冒出的烟。

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" Oh, the ham!" exclaimed Jo. Forgetting how hot the pan was, she grabbed the scorching handle then dropped the pan and its contents

"哦，火腿！"乔喊道。她忘了锅有多烫，一把抓住滚烫的锅柄，结果把锅连同里面的东西一起掉在地上

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( four thick pieces of burnt ham ) onto the floor

（四片厚厚的烧焦的火腿）掉到了地板上。

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The girls ended up having fruit and milk for breakfast

女孩们早餐最后只吃了水果和牛奶。

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Just before setting out for the grocer's, Beth realized she didn't know what to buy, so she went to Mother, who was sitting in her chair reading

就在出门去杂货店前，贝丝意识到自己不知道要买什么，于是去找妈妈，妈妈正坐在椅子上看书。

旁白 neutral

" Darling," Mother interrupted, holding up her hand when Beth started speaking," today is my day off

“亲爱的，”妈妈打断了她，在贝丝刚要开口时举起手，“今天是我的休息日。”

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You must figure it out on your own."

你得自己想办法。”

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A little while later, Amy also approached Mother for advice on what she should wash first

过了一会儿，艾米也来找妈妈，问她应该先洗什么。

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Mother simply repeated what she had told Beth and returned to her book

妈妈只是重复了对贝丝说的话，又继续看她的书。

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The girls did not realize how dependent they were on Mother and Hannah

女孩们没有意识到自己是多么依赖妈妈和汉娜。

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Sitting together for their dinner — a simple meal of meatloaf and bread — the girls talked about their day

她们坐在一起吃晚饭——一顿简单的肉饼和面包——女孩们聊着这一天。

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" I didn't realize how much Mother and Hannah did for us," said Meg, resting her weary head on her hands

“我以前没意识到妈妈和汉娜为我们做了多少事，”梅格说，疲惫地把头靠在手上。

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" My hands are still hurting from doing the laundry," complained Amy

“我洗衣服洗得手到现在还疼，”艾米抱怨道。

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" It was so hard to choose what to buy," said Beth

“要决定买什么实在太难了，”贝丝说。

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" I wonder if Mother plans to take days off regularly," wondered Amy

“不知道妈妈是不是打算定期休息，”艾米琢磨着。

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" I think Mother wanted to teach us a lesson," said Jo

“我觉得妈妈是想给我们一个教训，”乔说。

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Nodding, Meg agreed." Our experiment taught us to appreciate work."

梅格点头同意。“我们的实验教会我们要珍惜劳动。”

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" And Mother wanted us to see the importance of taking care of ourselves," added Jo

“而且妈妈想让我们明白照顾好自己有多重要，”乔补充道。

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" And of helping each other," said Beth

“还有要互相帮助，”贝丝说。

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" And supporting each other," said Meg as she tried to swallow a bite of dry salty meatloaf

“还有要互相扶持，”梅格一边说，一边努力咽下一口干巴巴的咸肉饼。

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" And loving each other," smiled Amy, pushing her plate away

“还有要彼此相爱，”艾米微笑着说，推开了她的盘子。