路易莎·梅·奥尔科特 （1832—1888）是一位美国女作家。她在做一家少年杂志社的编辑时，写下了自传体小说《小妇人》。这部小说以家庭生活为描写对象，以家庭成员的感情纠葛为线索，描写了马奇一家的天伦之爱。本文节选自《小妇人》第一章。

“Christmas wont be Christmas without any presents，” grumbled Jo， lying on the rug.

“Its so dreadful to be poor！” sighed Meg， looking down at her old dress.

“I dont think its fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things， and other girls nothing at all，” added little Amy， with an injured sniff.

“Weve got Father and Mother， and each other，” said Beth contentedly from her corner.

The four young faces on which the firelight shone brightened at the cheerful words， but darkened again as Jo said sadly， “We havent got Father， and shall not have him for a long time.” She didnt say “perhaps never”， but each silently added it， thinking of Father far away， where the fighting was.

Nobody spoke for a minute; then Meg said in an altered tone， “You know the reason Mother proposed not having any presents this Christmas was because it is going to be a hard winter for everyone; and she thinks we ought not to spend money for pleasure， when our men are suffering so in the army. We cant do much， but we can make our little sacrifices， and ought to do it gladly. But I am afraid I dont，” and Meg shook her head， as she thought regretfully of all the pretty things she wanted.

“But I dont think the little we should spend would do any good. Weve each got a dollar， and the army wouldnt be much helped by our giving that. I agree not to expect anything from Mother or you， but I do want to buy Undine and Sintran for myself. Ive wanted it so long，” said Jo， who was a bookworm.

“I planned to spend mine in new music，” said Beth， with a little sigh， which no one heard but the hearth brush and kettle-holder.

“I shall get a nice box of Fabers drawing pencils; I really need them，” said Amy decidedly.

“Mother didnt say anything about our money， and she wont wish us to give up everything. Lets each buy what we want， and have a little fun; Im sure we work hard enough to earn it，” cried Jo， examining the heels of her shoes in a gentlemanly manner.

“I know I do—teaching those tiresome children nearly all day， when Im longing to enjoy myself at home，” began Meg， in the complaining tone again.

“沒有礼物圣诞节怎么过？”乔躺在小地毯上咕哝。

“贫穷真可怕！”梅格发出一声叹息，低头望着身上的旧裙子。

“有些女孩子拥有荣华富贵，有些却一无所有，我认为这不公平。”小艾美委屈地哼着鼻子，加了一句。

“但我们有父母和彼此呀。”坐在一角的贝思心满意足地说。

这句令人愉快的话使炉火映照下的四张年轻的脸庞明亮起来。“我们没有父亲，很长一段时间都将没有。”乔伤心地说。听到这句话，大家的神情又暗淡下去。她虽没说“可能永远没有”，但每个人心里都把这句话悄悄说了一遍，同时想起远在战场的父亲。

大家一时无言。后来梅格换了个腔调说：“妈妈提出，今年圣诞不送礼，你们知道理由的，今年冬天对谁来说都难熬。现在男人们在军营里受煎熬，她觉得我们不应该花钱找乐。虽然我们能力有限，但可以在这方面做出一点小小的牺牲，而且应该心甘情愿地这样做。不过我可并不高兴。”梅格摇摇脑袋。想到那些梦寐以求的漂亮礼物，她感到遗憾不已。

“我看我们那丁点儿钱也帮不上什么忙。我们每人只有一元钱，捐给部队也没多大用处。我不指望妈妈给什么，你们也不会送，不过我真的很想买一本《水精灵》，那本书我早就想买了。”乔说。她是个“书虫”。

“我本来打算买些新乐谱。”贝思轻轻叹了口气说，声音轻得除了壁炉刷和水壶架谁也没听到。

“我要买一盒上好的费伯牌绘图铅笔。我真的很需要这些铅笔。”艾美干脆地说。

“妈妈并没有规定这钱该怎么花，她不会希望我们什么都不要。我们倒不如各自买点自己喜欢的东西高兴高兴。为挣这些钱，我们够卖力的了。”乔大声说道，蛮有绅士风度地审视着自己的鞋跟。

“可不是嘛——差不多一天到晚都在教那些讨厌的孩子，本来倒希望回家轻松一下的。”梅格又开始抱怨了。

Vocabulary

grumble v. 咕哝;嘟囔;发牢骚

contentedly adv.惬意地，满足地

tone n. 语气;腔调

propose v. 提议;建议

suffer v. 受苦，受难，受折磨

earn v. 挣得;赚得;挣钱

longing adj. 渴望的;热望的