作者：Louisa May Alcott
简介：小妇人是美国女作家路易莎·梅·奥尔柯特的代表作，以19世纪末期的美国家庭生活为背景，描写了马奇一家四姐妹的成长经历。

Chapter Five Being Neighborly

"Don't mind me. I'm quite happy here with all these books," answered Jo-
Laurie went away, and his guest amused herself in her own way. She was standing in front of a painting of old Mr. Laurence when the door was opened again, and without turning, she said, " I'm sure now that I shouldn't be afraid of him, for he's got kind eyes. He isn't as handsome as my grandfather, but I like him."
"Thank you, Miss," said an old voice behind her, and there stood old Mr. Laurence.
Jo was speechless with embarrassment, but she decided she would not run away.
"So you're not afraid of me?" asked the old man.
"Not much, sir."
"And you don't think me as handsome as your grandfather?"
"Not quite, sir."
"But you like me still?"
"Yes, I do, sir."
That answer pleased the old gentleman. He gave a short laugh, and shook hands with her, saying, "You've certainly got your grandfather's spirit. He was a fine man, but what is better he was also brave and honest, and I was proud to be his friend,"
"Thank you, sir." And Jo was quite comfortable after that, for it suited her exactly.
"Now," said the old man, "won't you have tea with us?"
"Yes, I'd love to."
Laurie then returned to the room, astonished to see his grandfather and new friend smiling and laughing together.
The old gentleman did not say much as he drank his four cups of tea, but he watched the young people, who soon chatted away like old friends, and he observed quite a change in his grandson.
"The boy is lonely. I'll see what these little girls can do for him," thought Mr. Laurence, as he looked and listened. He liked Jo, for her strange but honest ways suited him, and she seemed to understand the boy almost as well as if she had been one herself.
After they finished the tea, Jo planned to leave, but Laurie insisted that she see the indoor garden. As they entered the well-lighted room, she saw brightly-colored flowers and wonderful trees all around. While she looked around in amazement, Laurie was busy cutting the finest flowers till his hands were full. Then he tied them up, saying, with a happy look, "Please give these to your mother, and tell her I like the medicine she sent me very much."
They found Mr. Laurence standing before the fire in the great sitting room, but Jo's attention was on the grand piano which stood open.
"Do you play?" she asked, turning to Laurie.
"Sometimes," he answered modestly.
"Please do now. I want to hear it, so I can tell Beth."
So Laurie played and Jo listened, and her respect for the "Laurence boy" increased very much, as he played remarkably well. She wished Beth could hear him, but she did not say so, and only praised him till he was red with embarrassment.
“That will do, young lady," said the grandfather. "His music isn 't bad, but I hope he will do as well in more important things. Are you leaving? Well, I'm so glad you could come, and I hope you'll visit us again. Say hello to your mother. Good night, Doctor Jo."
When he said goodbye, he looked rather upset, and when she and Laurie went into the hall, she asked if she had upset the old man.
"No, it was me. He doesn't like to hear me play."
"Why not?"
"I'll tell you some day. Will you come again, I hope?"
"If you promise to come and see us after you are well."
"I will."
"Good night, Laurie!"
"Good night, Jo, good night!"
When all the afternoon's adventures had been told, the family felt they should all go visit. Mrs. March wished to talk of her father with the old man who had not forgotten him, Meg hoped to walk through the indoor garden, Beth wanted to see the grand piano, and Amy was eager to see the fine pictures.
"Mother, why didn't Mr. Laurence like to have Laurie play?" asked Jo.
"I am not sure, but I think it was because his son, Laurie's father, married an Italian lady, a musician, which displeased the old man, who is very proud. The lady was good and lovely, but he did not like her, and never saw his son after he married. They both died when Laurie was a little child, and then his grandfather took him home. I suppose the boy, who was born in Italy, is not very strong, and the old man is afraid of losing him, which makes him so careful. Laurie loves music just as his mother did, and I believe his grandfather fears that he may Want to be a musician. Perhaps the grandson's skill reminds him of the woman he did not like."
"Dear me, how romantic" exclaimed Meg-
"How silly!" said Jo. "Let him be a musician if he wants to, and not send him to college when he hates to go."
"That's why he has such handsome black eyes and good manners, I suppose. Italians are always nice," said Meg,
"Well, we'll all be good to the Laurence boy because he hasn't got any mother, and he may come over and see us, right, Marmee?"
"Yes, Jo, your litde friend is very welcome anytime," responded her mother.

第五章 友邻睦居
“不用管我。我和这些书在一起就很开心了。”乔回答他。
劳里离开了，他的客人用自己的方式自己取乐。当门再次打开时，她站在一副老劳伦斯先生的画像前。她没有转身，说，”我现在确定我不应该害怕他，因为他有一双善良的眼睛。他虽然不如爷爷英俊，但是我喜欢他。”
“谢谢你，小姐。”一个苍老的声音在她身后响起，那里站着的正是老劳伦斯先生。
乔尴尬到有些失语，但是她下定决心不能逃跑。
“所以你现在不怕我了？”老人问道。
“没那么怕了，先生。”
“你觉得我不如你爷爷帅吗？”
“不太，先生。”
“但是你仍然喜欢我？”
“是的，先生。”
这个回答让老绅士很高兴。他浅笑了一下，和她握手，“我身上有你爷爷的精神。他是个好人，但更好的是他还很勇敢、诚实，身为他的朋友我很骄傲。”
“谢谢你，先生” 乔听到这些感觉很舒服，这些话确实符合她。
“现在，”老人开口了，“你要不要和我们一起喝茶呢？”
“当然，非常乐意。”
劳里返回房间，震惊于爷爷和新朋友在一起有说有笑。
这位老绅士在喝茶的时候没有说很多话，他静静的看着两个年轻人，他们像老朋友一样相谈甚欢，他观察到孙子身上的变化。
“这孩子有些孤独。看看这些小姑娘能给他带来什么。”劳伦斯先生这样想着，在他听着看着他们时。他喜欢乔，她奇怪但诚实的性格很合他口味，并且她像懂自己一样理解小劳伦斯。
在他们饮完茶后，乔准备离开，但是劳里坚持邀请她欣赏家里的花园。当他们进入光线充足的房间时，她看见到处都是色彩艳丽的鲜花和茁壮的数目。
当她惊喜的环顾四周时，劳里忙着摘最漂亮的花，直到手都拿不下了。然后他将这些话绑起来，满脸幸福地说，“请把它们送给你的妈妈，转告她她送来的那些药很有效。”
他们发现劳伦斯先生站在大起居室的火炉前，但是乔的注意力全在那架还未合上的大钢琴上。
“您弹钢琴吗？”她转向劳里，开口问道。
“有时候。”他谦虚地回答。
“请现在弹奏它。我想听，这样我就可以告诉贝丝了。”
于是劳里开始弹钢琴，乔在停，劳里长进了很多，他弹得非常好，乔对他十分倾佩。她希望贝丝可以听到，但是他没有这么说，只是一直赞美她，直到他都尴尬的有些脸红了。
“这也不错，小姐。”祖父出声，“他的音乐不错。但是我希望他在其他更重要的事情上也能做好。你现在要离开吗？我很高兴你能来，我希望你还会再来看望我们。向你的母亲问好。晚安，乔“医生”.”
当他说再见时，他看起来有些失落。当她和劳里走进大厅，她问她是否惹恼了老人。
“不，那是因为我。他不喜欢听我弹钢琴。”
“为什么呢？”
“有一天我会告诉你的。你还会再来吗？我希望你来。”
“如果你承诺等你好了，也会来拜访我们的话。”
“我会的。”
“晚安，劳里！”
“晚安，乔，晚安！”
当她说出所有这一下午的经历，家里人觉得她们都应该去探望他们。马奇太太希望和老先生聊聊自己的父亲，梅格想要去看看室内花园，贝丝想去看一眼大钢琴，艾米想去看那些精美的照片。
“妈妈，为什么劳伦斯先生不喜欢劳里弹钢琴呢？”乔问。
“我也不确定。但我想应该是因为他的儿子，劳里的父亲，他娶了一位意大利女人，一个音乐家，她非常骄傲让老人有些不高兴。这位夫人人很好很可爱，但是他并不喜欢他，自从他儿子结婚后就再也没去见过他。在劳里小时候，他们都去世了，之后祖父将他带回了家。我想这男孩，出生在意大利，不是特别强壮，老人害怕失去他，这让他很忧心。劳里和他母亲一样酷爱音乐，我相信他祖父担心他也想成为一位音乐家。也许孙子的能力让他想起了那个他不喜欢的女人。”
“天呐，多么浪漫”梅格惊呼。
“这真愚蠢！”乔说，“如果他想的话就让他成为音乐家，而不是送他去他不喜欢的大学。”
“我想，这也是为什么他有如此漂亮的黑眼珠和绅士的言行。意大利人大都很好。”梅格说。
“我们应该对劳里好些，因为他没有母亲。他或许回来看我们，是吗？妈妈。”
“是的，乔。随时欢迎你的朋友来。”妈妈回复她。

翻译by 枯木v-自己翻着玩，如有雷同，不胜荣幸