于洋

“I want some money，” Amy said one day. “Its important.”

“Why， Amy？” Meg asked.

“Every day my friends take candy to school. I eat their candy， but I cant buy it for them.”

“Heres a little money for you，” Meg said. “But please dont ask again. We dont have a lot of money， you know.”

“Oh， thank you， Meg，” Amy said.

In the morning， at school， Amy had the candy in her bag. Now every girl wanted to be Amys friend.

Katy Brown said， “Please come to my party.”

Then Jenny Snow said， “Can I have some candy？ I can help you with your schoolwork.”

“No， you cant have any candy，” Amy said. “Yesterday you said， ‘Amy March is fat！”

She walked away.

Jenny Snow was angry， and she went to the teacher.

“Mr Davis，” she said. “Amy March has some candy in her school bag.”

Mr Davis was angry too. He didnt like candy at school.

“Amy March，” he said. “Come here. Bring me your candy.”

Amy walked to Mr Daviss table at the front of the room.

He said， “Never bring candy to school

again！Do you hear me？”

“Yes， Mr Davis，” Amy said.

Then he said， “Your hand， Miss March.”

Amy closed her eyes， and Mr Davis hit her hand.

“Now stand here at my table，” he said. “Dont move.”

Amys face was red and she was very unhappy.

Later， the teacher said， “You can sit down now， Miss March.”

But Amy didnt sit down. She didnt talk to Mr Davis or the girls. She was angry and unhappy. She went home.

“Amy， whats wrong？” Mrs March asked. “Why are you home from school early？”

Amy said， “Mr Davis hit me because I had candy at school.”

Mrs March was angry now.

“Mr Davis hit you！” she said. “Thats not right， and Im going to write a letter to the school. You can stay at home. Beths teacher can teach you too.”

“Good！” Amy said.

“But Amy，” Mrs March said， “you were bad. Mr Davis doesnt like candy at school， and you know that.”

Amy thought about that. Then she said， “Yes， I wasnt very good. I wanted to be impor

tant， and that was wrong. Im sorry.”

Amys mother and her sisters looked at her and smiled.

“Meg， Jo， where are you going？” Amy asked one Saturday afternoon.

“You cant come， Amy！” Jo said.

“I know！” Amy said. “Youre going to the theatre with Laurie. Im coming， too！I have a little money.”

“It isnt for little girls，” Jo said. “And Laurie asked us.”

Amy was very angry.

“Youre going to be sorry， Jo March，” she said.

Then Laurie arrived， and Meg and Jo went to the theatre with him.

In the morning， Jo asked， “Wheres my book？”

Jo liked writing stories， and she was a good writer. There was many years work in that book.

Meg and Beth said， “We dont know.”

Amy was quiet.

“Do you have it， Amy？” Jo asked.

“No， I dont，” Amy said.

“Amy...！” Jo said. “Where is it？”

“I burned it！” Amy answered.

“You burned my book！” said Jo， “My stories were in it！You bad girl！”

She hit Amy and walked away.

Later， Jo came down again.

“Im very， very sorry， Jo！” Amy said.

But Jo didnt look at her.

In the evening， Mrs March talked to Jo.

“Amy did a very bad thing，” she said. She kissed her daughter. “But please be friends with her. Dont be angry now.”

“I dont like her， and I dont want to be friends，” Jo answered， and she went to bed.

The morning after that， Jo thought， “I want to be happy today. Im going to go ice skating with Laurie.”

She and Laurie walked down the road with their skates. Amy watched them. She wanted to go too.

Meg said to her， “Go after them. Kiss Jo， and say ‘sorry again.”

Amy walked to the river behind Jo and Laurie. Then Jo and Laurie started to skate， and Amy skated too. Jo didnt look at her and Laurie didnt see her.

Then Amy moved away from them. The ice was thin there and suddenly—CRACK！She went down into the cold water.

“Help！Help me！” Amy called.

Jo looked now.

“Oh， no！Amy！” she said. “Were coming， Amy！”

Jo and Laurie quickly helped Amy out of the water. She was very cold. Her face and hands were blue.

They went home quickly， and Hannah went to Amys bedroom with her.

Later， Jo was in Amys room with her mother. They talked quietly.

“Is Amy going to get well？” Jo asked.

“Yes，” Mrs March said. “You came home very quickly. You helped her.”

Jo said， “I was very angry with Amy， but now Im sorry. Im often angry. What can I do？”

She looked at her sister. She was beautiful with her yellow hair. Amy opened her eyes and looked at Jo. They kissed， and they were friends again.

“Jo，” said Mother， “you are very angry sometimes. You can stop that. Please try！But youre a good girl， and I love you.”

Jo kissed her mother.

（To be continued）