1
Four Sisters
“Christmas won't be Christmas Without any
presents”, said Jo crossly.
It's so awful to be poor!" agreed Meg,
looking at her
old dress.
"It's not right for some girls to have
pretty things, and
others to have nothing at all," said little
Amy.
We've got Father and Mother, and each
other," said
Beth gently.
The four young faces around 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.
Then Meg said, "Mother says we shouldn't
spend money on presents when our men are fighting a war."
“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."
“I do, teaching those awful children,"
said Meg.
“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!”
“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."
“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.
“I wish we had the money Father lost when we
were
little, Jo," said Meg.
"I wish I were a boy," said Jo.
"Then l could go and fight beside Father!"
Meg was sixteen and very pretty, with large
eyes, 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 that she was the most
important. She had blue eyes, and yellow hair
which curled on to her shoulders.
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.
"These are old," she said.
"Mother needs a new pair."
“I’ll get her some with my dollar," said
Beth.
"No, I shall!" cried Amy.
"I’m the oldest –” began Meg.
"I’m the man of the family now Father is
away, and I shall buy them," said Jo.
"Let's each get her something and not get
anything for ourselves," said Beth.
“That's a kind idea!" said Jo. "What
shall we get?”
Everyone thought for a moment, then Meg said, I’ll
give her a nice pair of gloves”.
"The best army slippers," said Jo.
"Some handkerchiefs," said Beth.
"A little bottle of perfume," said
Amy. "It won't cost much, so I’ll have some money left to buy something
for me.
“We'll let Mother think we're getting things
for ourselves, and then surprise her," said Jo.
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.
"I've got a letter from Father!"
cried Mrs. March.
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.
A tear dropped off the end of Jo's nose.
Amy hid her face on her mother's shoulder.
"I'm selfish," she cried, "but I'll try to be better."
“We all will!” cried Meg. "I think too
much about the way I look, and hate to work, but I won't any more."
“And I'll try to be a 'little woman',"
said Jo, "and not be rough and wild.”
Beth said nothing, but she began to work hard
at a blue army glove she was making.
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 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.
2
A happy Christmas
Jo was the first to wake up on Christmas
morning, but soon they were all awake and they went downstairs.
“Where's Mother?" asked Meg.
"I don't know," said old Hannah. She
had lived with the family since Meg was born, and was more like a fiend than a
servant. "Some poor woman came to the door and your mother went off to see
what was needed.”
"She'll be back soon," said Meg. She
looked at the presents for her mother, which were in a basket under a chair,
ready to bring out at the right time. "Where is Amy's
bottle of perfume?"
She went to put some pretty paper around it, I
think", said Jo.
Suddenly, they heard the outside door close.
“Here's Mother! Hide the basket, quick!"
said Jo.
But it was Amy. She came in quickly.
“Where have you been, and what's that behind
you?" asked Meg.
"I ran to the shop and changed the little
bottle of perfume for a big one," said Amy. "I spent all my money to
get it, and I'm not going to be selfish any more!"
Meg smiled proudly and put her arms around her
sister.
Then there was another bang from the outside
door, and the basket was pushed back under the chair. The girls ran to the
table, ready for their breakfast.
"Happy Christmas, Mother!" they
shouted.
Happy Christmas, little daughters!" said
Mrs. March.
Then the smile disappeared from her face.
"Girls, listen.
Not far away is a poor woman, Mrs. Hummel,
with a new baby. Her six children are in one bed, trying to keep warm, as they
have no wood for a fire. There is nothing to eat,
and they are hungry and cold. Will you give
them your breakfast as a Christmas present?”
For a minute no one spoke. Then Jo said,
"Mother, I'm so glad you came back before we began to eat!" And the girls
quickly began to put their breakfast in a basket.
“I knew you would do it," said Mrs.
March, smiling.
She took the girls and Hannah to a cold,
miserable little room in an old building, where they found a sick mother, a
crying baby, and a group of children with white, frightened faces. The children
were on the bed under a blanket, trying to keep warm.
The woman almost cried with happiness when she
saw the girls. Hannah, who had brought wood, made a fire. Mrs. March gave the
mother tea and hot food, then she
dressed the little baby gently. The girls put
the children around the fire and fed them like hungry birds.
It was a very happy meal, although the girls
ate none of lt. But no one was happier than those hungry young ladies who gave
away their breakfast on Christmas morning.
Mrs. March was surprised and pleased when she saw her presents
later. There was a lot of laughing and kissing and explaining. Then, for the
rest of the day, the girls were busy. Jo liked to write plays, and the four of
them were going to act one that evening. They had learned their words, and had
worked hard to make strange and wonderful clothes for all the different
characters in the play.
On Christmas night, some other girls came to watch. At first,
there was a lot of whispering and laughing from the four sisters behind the
curtains. Then the curtains were opened, and the play began.
It was an exciting story about Hugo (acted by Jo wearing a black
beard!), beautiful Zara, and brave Roderigo. There were also two ghosts, a
cruel king, and a tall castle made of paper and wood -- which unfortunately
fell down just as Roderigo and Zara were escaping from it. There were screams
of laughter from everyone, but the actors picked
themselves up and carried on through more dangers
and mysteries until the happy ending was reached.
All the visitors loved the play, and after the
excitement and fun came a surprise for everyone.
"Would the young ladies like to stay for
supper?" asked Hannah.
And when the girls saw the supper table, they
could not
believe their eyes! There was ice-cream, cake,
fruit, and
French chocolate! And in the middle of the
table were flowers for each of the four actors.
"Where did it all come from?" asked
Amy.
"From Father Christmas, perhaps? said
Beth.
"Mother did it," said Meg.
“Aunt March sent it," said Jo.
"You're all wrong," laughed Mrs.
March. "Old Mr. Laurence sent it!"
"The Laurence boy's grandfather? said
Meg. "But we don't know him".
"Hannah told his servant about your
breakfast party, and that pleased him," said Mrs. March. "He knew my father
many years ago, and he sent me a note this
afternoon, asking if he could send my children
a few small
Christmas presents.”
“The idea came from that boy, I know it
did!" said Jo.
“I’m sure he wants to know us, but he's shy,
and Meg won't let me speak to him when we pass him in the street. She says that
it's not at all polite for young ladies to
introduce themselves to strangers."
“You mean the people who live in the big house
next door, don't you?" said one of the other girls. "My mother knows
old Mr. Laurence. She says he keeps his grandson
in the house when the boy isn't riding or
walking with his tutor, and makes him study very hard. We invited the boy to
our party but he didn't come."
"That boy needs to have some fun,"
said Jo.
3
The Laurence Boy
"Look!" said Meg, excitedly a day or
two later. She waved a piece of paper at Jo. "An invitation to a New
Year's party at Sallie Gardiner's house, and it's for both of us. Mother says
we can go, but what shall we wear?"
"Our best cotton dresses," said Jo,
"because we don't have anything else. Yours is as good as new, but mine
has a burn and a hole in the back"
“Then you should keep your back out of
sight," said Meg. "I’ll have a new ribbon for my hair, and my new slippers.
And my gloves are all right."
“Mine are stained, so I'll have to go
without."
“You must wear gloves to a dance, Jo!"
cried Meg.
“Then we'll each wear one good one and carry a
bad one," said Jo.
Meg looked worried. "All right, but you
will behave nicely, won't you? Don't stare, or put your hands behind your
back."
On New Year's Eve, the two younger sisters
watched the two older girls get ready for the party. There was a lot of running
up and down, and laughing and talking. Meg
wanted some curls around her face, so Jo began
to work on the papered ends of Meg's hair with a pair of hot tongs.
"Should they smoke like that?" asked
Beth.
"It's the wetness drying," said Jo.
"What a strange burning smell! said Amy.
"I’ll take the papers off now," said
Jo, "and you'll see lots of little curls.
"She took the papers off-and, to her
horror, the burned hair came off with them!
"Oh, oh! What have you done to my
hair!" cried Meg.
"l always get things wrong," said Jo
unhappily. "I’m so sorry. I suppose the tongs were too hot."
"Don't worry," Amy told Meg, who was
crying. "Just tie your ribbon so that the ends come on to your forehead a
little, and it will look quite fashionable."
At last, Meg and Jo were ready and went off to
the Gardiners’ house, where Mrs. Gardiner welcomed them kindly. Meg immediately
began to enjoy herself with Sallie,
|
but Jo wasn't interested in girlish talk and
stood with her hack carefully against the wall, watching the dancing. Soon Meg was asked to dance.
When Jo saw a big red-haired boy coming towards her, she quickly went
through a door into a small room. Unfortunately, another shy person was already hiding there and she
found herself looking at the “Laurence boy." Oh dear, I didn't know anyone was
here!" Jo said. The boy laughed. "Don't go. I came in
here because I don't know any people, but I think I've seen you before," he said. "You live
near us, don't you?" "Next door," said Jo. "We
enjoyed your nice Christmas present.” "My grandfather sent it, Miss March."
"But you gave your grandfather the
idea, didn't you, Mr. Laurence? "I’m not Mr. Laurence, only
Laurie," he said. "And I'm not Miss March, only Jo,"
she said. "Do you like parties? "Sometimes," he answered. "I’ve
been abroad a lot recently, and I don't know how you do things here." "Abroad!" said Jo. "Oh, did
you go to Paris? "We went there last winter. “Can you speak French?" she asked. He said something in French, and Jo listened
carefully. “You asked, 'Who is the young lady in the
pretty slippers?’ It’s my sister, Meg, and you knew it was! Do
you think she's pretty? "Yes," he said. "She looks so
fresh and quiet.” This pleased Jo very much, and soon the two
of them were talking easily, like old friends. "I hear you're always studying hard," said Jo.
"Are you going to college soon? "Not for a year or two, he said.
"Tm sixteen next month, and I won't go before I'm seventeen." I wish I were going to college," said
Jo. "I hate even the idea of it!" said
Laurie. Jo wanted to know why, but he looked so
serious that instead of asking she said, "Why don't you go and dance?” “I will if you'll come too," he
answered. “I can't because -- Jo stopped. “Because what?" "You won't tell?" "Never!" "I have a bad habit of standing near a
fire, and I burn my dresses," said Jo. "I have to keep still so that no one will see the burn on this
one. Laugh if you like." But Laurie didn't laugh. "Never mind
that," he said gently. "Please come." Jo smiled. "All right," she said.
"Thank you." When the music stopped, they sat down and
began to talk, but Jo saw Meg waving at her. She went over and followed her sister into a
side room. "I've turned my foot over and hurt my
ankle," said Meg. "I can't walk on it, and l don't know how I'm going to get home." "I’m not surprised you turned your toot
over in those stupid high shoes," said Jo. "You'll have to get a carriage or stay here all night." “A carriage will cost a lot," said Meg,
"and I can't stay here for the night because the house is full. I'll just rest until Hannah comes to
fetch us, then do the best I can." “They're going in for supper now," said
Jo. "I’ll stay with you. “No, run and bring me some coffee,"
said Meg. Jo found the coffee, but immediately dropped
some down the front of her dress. She was cleaning it off with Meg's glove when a
friendly voice spoke to her. "Can I help?" said Laurie. He had
a cup of coffee in one hand and a plate with a cake on it in the
other. "I was trying to get something for
Meg," said Jo. “And I was looking for someone to give this
to,” he said. He fetched more coffee and a cake for Jo.
Then the three of them had a happy time talking together until Hannah arrived. Meg
completely forgot about her foot and stood up quickly. She cried out with pain, and when Laurie saw that
she could not walk, he immediately offered to take them home in his grandfather's carriage. “But you can't want to go home yet,"
said Jo. “I always go early," said Laurie. He sat with the driver, and the two girls
sat with Hannah inside the carriage and talked excitedly about the party. “I had a wonderful time. Did you?" said
Jo. "Yes, until I hurt myself," said
Meg. "Sallie's friend, Annie Moffat, has asked me to go and stay with her for a week in the spring, when
Sallie does." Jo told Meg her adventures, and then they
were home. They thanked Laurie and went quietly into the house, hoping to wake no one up.
But as soon as they opened their bedroom door, two little voices cried out: " Tell us
about the party! Tell us about the party!” |