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 Three The Laurence Boy

"Jo! Jo! Where are you?" cried Meg, at the bottom of the stairs,
"Here!" answered her sister from above. Meg found her eating apples and crying over the latest novel she was reading. "Such fun! You and I have received an invitation from Mrs. Gardiner for a dance she's having tomorrow night to celebrate New Year's Eve! Oh, now what shall we wear?" cried Meg.
"Your dress looks new, but I forgot the burn and tear in mine. What shall I do? The burn shows badly."
"You must sit still to make sure no one sees the back of
your dress," instructed Meg.
As they walked along to the dance the next evening, both
felt a bit anxious, as they seldom went to parties. Though this gathering was rather informal, it was an event to them. Upon arriving, Meg immediately went off with a few of the older girls, whispering and laughing as she went. Jo, however, did not care much for girls, and remained away from the crowd, with her back carefully against the wall. No one came to talk to her, and soon she was left alone. She could not walk around and amuse herself as the burn on her dress would show. When the dancing began, Meg was asked immediately. Jo saw a young man approaching her, and fearing he meant to ask her to dance, she went to hide in a dark room nearby, hoping to enjoy herself quietly. Unfortunately, another shy person had gone there as well, and she soon discovered the "Laurence boy" hiding.
" I'm sorry, I didn't know anyone was here!" she exclaimed in embarrassment.
"Please, stay if you'd like," he said with a laugh.
"I won't disturb you?"
"Not a bit. I only came here because I don't know many
people and felt rather strange at first."
"So did I."
"I think I've seen you before, haven't I? You are a neighbor of Grandpa's." said the boy, sitting down near Jo.
"Yes, we did have such a good time over your nice Christmas present,"
"Grandpa sent it, Miss March."
"But you gave him the idea, didn't you, now? And, I am not Miss March, I'm only Jo."
" I'm not Mr, Laurence. I ' m only Laurie."
"Laurie Laurence — what an odd name!"
"My first name is Theodore, but I don't like it, so I make
people call me Laurie instead."
"I hate my name, too! I wish everyone would say Jo instead
of Josephine."
"Don't you like to dance, Miss Jo?" asked Laurie.
"I like to when there aren't too many people. Don't you dance?"
"Sometimes. I've been abroad for many years, and don't know how the dancing is done here."
"Abroad ! "cried Jo- "Oh, tell me about it! I love to hear people describe their travels."
Laurie then told her about his days in Switzerland schools and travels around France, Italy and Germany, among other places. The two chatted till they felt like old friends. Jo liked the "Laurence boy" more than ever and took several good looks at him, so she could describe him to the girls, for they had no brothers, and boys were almost unknown to the young girls.
"I suppose you are going to college soon?" Jo asked, feeling quite a bit more comfortable with the boy now.
"No, not for a year or two; I won't go before seventeen, anyway."
"Aren't you fifteen?" asked Jo, looking at the tall boy, whom she had thought to be seventeen already.
"Sixteen, next month."
"I wish I was going to college! You don't seem as if you would like going to college,"
"I know I'll hate it! Nothing but studying. And I don't like the boys in this country,"
"That's a splendid song! Why don't you go and dance?" Jo asked, changing the subject.
"If you will come too," he answered, with a smile.
"I can't. I told Meg I wouldn't because —"
"Because what?" asked Laurie curiously.
"You won't tell?"
"Never!"
"Well, I like standing by the fire, and so I sometimes burn my dresses. This one has a terrible burn on the backside, and though it's been nicely mended, the bum still shows, and Meg told me to stay near the wall so no one sees it- You may laugh if you want to. It is funny, I know,"
But Laurie didn't laugh, and spoke very gently.
"Never mind that. There's a long hall out there where we can dance, and no one will see us. Please come."
Jo thanked him and gladly went. The hall was empty, and both were delighted with the other's dancing. When the music stopped, they sat down on the stairs to rest when Jo heard Meg calling for her. Jo found her in one of the side rooms sitting on the sofa, holding her foot.
"I've hurt my foot dancing. It aches terribly, and I can hardly stand. I don't know how I'm ever going to get home," she said, looking pale with pain.
"I knew you'd hurt your feet with those silly shoes. I'm sorry, but I don't know what else we can do besides rent a carriage or stay here all night," answered lo.
'I can't stay here, for the house is full. Sallie has some girls staying with her, and renting a carriage would be quite expensive. I'll rest till Hannah comes, and then I'll try to walk."
" I'll ask Laurie; he will go," said Jo.
"Dear no! Don't ask or tell anyone. Now, watch for Hannah and tell me the minute she comes."
"The other guests are going to dinner now, I'll stay with you; I’d
rather."
“No, dear, bring me some coffee. I'm awfully tired."
So Meg waited on the sofa, and Jo went to the dining room.
"Can I help you?" said a friendly voice. And there was Laurie,
with a full cup of coffee in his hand.
"I was trying to get something for Meg, who is very tired."
"I was looking for someone to give this to. May I take it to your sister?"
"Oh, thank you! I'll show you where she is."
As if used to waiting on ladies, Laurie brought up a little
table, and soon went for another cup of coffee for Jo, and was so polite that Meg soon declared him to be a "nice boy." They had a wonderful time drinking coffee and eating candies before Hannah arrived to take them home. Meg forgot her foot, and began to stand up, but fell to the floor with a cry of pain.
"Don't say anything," she whispered to her sister. "It's nothing. I turned my foot a little, that's all," she explained to Hannah, as she went upstairs to fetch her things.
While Meg was upstairs crying in pain, Jo decided she must help, and ran downstairs to find Laurie. She explained her situation, and Laurie immediately offered his grandfather's carriage. Jo gratefully accepted the offer, and returned to her sister to deliver the news.
"I had a wonderful time. Did you?" asked Jo after their return home.
"Yes, till I hurt myself- Sallie's friend, Annie Moffat, was quite fond of me, and asked me to come and spend a week with her when Sallie does. She is going in the spring, and it will be splendid if Mother lets me go," answered Meg cheerfully.
"I don't believe fine young ladies enjoy themselves a bit more than we do, though we have no carriages of our own or fancy dresses." And I think Jo was quite right.

第三章 劳伦斯家的男孩
“乔！乔！你在哪？”梅格在楼梯底下哭喊着。
“我在这儿！”乔在楼上回应了她的姐妹。梅格发现她一边吃苹果，一边为正在读的新小说哭泣。“真好！你和我收到了加德纳夫人的邀请，去参加她明晚举行的新年舞会！我们该穿什么去呢？”梅格还在哭。
“你的裙子看起来很新，但我忘了我的裙子上被烫坏了还有裂口。我该怎么办？这个烫痕看起来有点糟。”
“你必须静坐着，保证没人可以看到你裙子的背面，”梅格建议。
第二天下午，当她们去参加舞会时，都感到些许紧张，因为她们很少参加派对。尽管这次聚会并不正式，但这对她们来说是件大事。到达后，梅格立刻和几个大姑娘走在一起，她们一边走一边笑着轻语。乔，就没有那么关心女孩子了，远离人群，小心翼翼地背对着墙。没有人来找她说话，很快她就剩一个人了。她不能随处走动，自娱自乐，那样她裙子背面的烫痕会露出来。当舞蹈开始时，梅格立刻收到了邀请。乔看见一位年轻男士走向她，担心他会邀请她去跳舞，她躲进了旁边漆黑的房间里，希望安静地享受自己。不幸的是，另一个害羞的人也躲进了那里，她很快发现了那是劳伦斯家的男孩。
“抱歉，我不知道有人在这！”她有些尴尬的惊呼。
“如果你想的话，请留下。”他笑着说。
“我不会打搅你吗？”
“一点也不会。我到这儿来只是因为很多人我都不认识，感觉有些奇怪。”
“我也是。”
“我想我以前在哪见过你，是吗？你是爷爷的邻居。”男孩坐在了乔附近，说道。
“是的，多亏你的圣诞礼物，我们度过了一个美好的时光。”
“那是爷爷送的，马奇小姐。”
“但是你给他的建议，不是吗？另外，我不是马奇小姐，我只是乔。”
“我也不是劳伦斯先生，我叫劳里。”
“劳里 劳伦斯，真是个奇怪的名字！”
“我的名字是西奥多，但不我喜欢它，所以我让人们叫我劳里。”
“我也不喜欢我的名字！我希望每个人都喊我乔而不是约瑟芬。”
“你不喜欢跳舞吗？乔小姐？”劳里问道。
“只有没那么多人的时候我才喜欢。你呢？不跳舞吗？”
“有时。我在国外呆了很多年，不了解这里的舞蹈是什么样的。”
“国外！”乔尖叫，“跟我说说！我喜欢听人们描述他们的旅行经历。”
劳里随后告诉了乔自己在瑞士上学的日子，以及他在法国、意大利、德国各地游玩的经历。他们俩聊了很久，就好像他们已经认识了很久。乔比以往任何时候都更喜欢“劳伦斯男孩”，还好好地看了他几眼，以便向她的姐妹们描述他，他们没有任何兄弟，男孩子对于这些小姑娘来说充满了未知。
“我猜你很快就要去上大学了？”乔问道，现在她和这个男孩呆在一起她感到更舒服了。
“不会，一两年内都不会；无论如何，我17岁之前不会去的。”
“你不是15岁吗？”乔看着这个高高的男孩，问道。她以为他已经17岁了。
“下个月就16了。”
“我真想去大学！你似乎不是很想去大学，”
“我知道我会讨厌它！除了学习就是学习。而且我不喜欢这里的男孩子们。”
“那是首很棒的歌曲！你为什么不去跳舞呢？”乔换了个话题。
“如果你也来的话，”他笑着回答。
“我不能去。我跟梅格说了不回去，因为…”
“因为什么？”劳里好奇地问道。
“你不会告诉别人？”
“永远不会！”
“我喜欢站在火遍，所以有时候会烧到我的裙子。这条裙子的背面被烧得有点糟糕，虽然已经被修补得很好，但还是看得出来。梅格告诉我呆在墙壁附近，这样就没人看得到了。你要是想笑的话就笑吧。我知道这很好笑。”
但是劳里没有笑，他很温柔地开口。
“不用在意这个。这里有个长厅，我们可以在那跳舞，不会有人看到我们的。请来。”
乔感谢他并欣然前往。这个大厅是空的，对彼此的舞蹈感到高兴。当音乐停止时，他们走在楼梯上休息。这时乔听见了梅格在呼唤她。乔找到她时，她正坐在一间侧室地沙发上，抱着自己的脚。
“我跳舞时弄伤了自己的脚。非常痛，我几乎不能忍受了。我不知道该怎么回家，”她说着，看起来很痛苦，脸色有些苍白。
“我就知道穿着这些蠢鞋子你会伤到自己的脚。抱歉，除了租一辆马车或是留在这过夜，我不知道我们还能怎么办。”乔回答她。
“我不能留在这儿，屋子已经满了。萨利留了些女孩，租一辆马场会相当贵。我会在这休息，等到汉娜来，我会试着走路。”
“我去问劳里；他会去的，”乔说。
“不，亲爱的！不要问或者告诉任何人。现在，看着汉娜，她一来就告诉我。”
“其他客人正准备去用晚饭，我会在这陪着你，我想在这。”
“不用，亲爱的，给我带些咖啡。我现在很疲惫。”
所以梅格坐在沙发上等待，乔去了餐厅。
“我可以帮你什么吗？”一个友好的声音响起。是劳里，手里拿着一杯咖啡。
“我在给梅格拿些东西，她现在很累。”
“我正在找人把这个给他。我可以把它带给你的姐妹吗？”
“谢谢，我告诉你她在哪。”
仿佛习惯了等待女士，劳里带了一张小桌子，很快又去为乔准备了一杯咖啡。他是如此礼貌，梅格很快就认定他是个好男孩。在汉娜来接他们回家前，他们喝着咖啡，吃着蛋糕，度过了一段美好的时光。梅格忘记了她的脚伤，站了起来，但是跌在了地板上，疼哭了。
“不要说任何话，”她向自己的姐妹轻声说。“这没什么，我转了下脚，仅此而已。”她向汉娜解释道，当她上楼拿她们的行李时。
当梅格在楼上痛苦地哭泣时，乔决定她必须提供帮助。她跑下楼，找到了劳里。她解释了她的情况，劳里立刻提供了他爷爷的马车。乔感激地接受了他的帮助，并回到姐姐那告诉了她这个好消息。
“我度过了一段美好的时光，你呢？”在她们回家后，乔问道。
“我也是，直到我弄伤了自己。萨利的朋友，安妮·莫法特，她很喜欢我，邀请我在萨利来的时候和她一起度过一周。她将在春天去，如果妈妈让我去的话，这一定很棒。”梅格兴奋地回答着乔。
“尽管我们没有自己的马车和华丽的裙子，但我并不觉得那些优秀的年轻女士比我们更享受。”我认为乔说得很对。

翻译by 枯木v-自己翻着玩，如有雷同，不胜荣幸