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 One Christmas Gift

"Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents," complained Jo.
"It's so terrible to be poor!" cried Meg, looking down at her old dress.
"I don't think it's fair for some girls to have pretty things, while other girls nothing at all," added little Amy.
"We've got Father and Mother and each other," said Beth, sounding content,
"But we haven't got Father He's still away fighting in the war, and he
won't be home for a long time," said Jo sadly.
Nobody spoke for a minute, each thinking of their father, far away where the fighting was; then Meg spoke with more cheerfulness,
"You know the reason why Mother suggested we not have any presents this Christmas was that it is going to be a difficult winter for everyone, and we shouldn't spend money for pleasure when our men are suffering in the army-"
"But Mother gave us each a dollar to spend to ourselves. I don't think the army would be much helped by our giving that. I agreed not to expect any presents from Mother or you, but I do want to buy a few books I' ve been wishing for- Mother didn't say anything about our money, and she won't wish us to give up everything. Let's each buy what we want, and have a little fun. I'm sure we work hard enough to earn it," cried Jo.

第一章 圣诞礼物
“没有礼物的圣诞节算不上圣诞节，” 乔抱怨道。
“贫穷真是糟糕！”梅格看着她的旧裙子，哭道。
“我认为这不公平，有些女孩拥有漂亮的东西，而有些女孩什么也没有。”小艾米补充道。
“我们有爸爸妈妈还有彼此，”贝丝说到，听起来很满足。
“但是我们此刻并没有爸爸，他还在远方的战场作战，并且他很长时间都不会归家。”乔悲伤地说道。
一段时间没人说话了，她们都在思念远在战场的父亲；这时梅格鼓舞地说道，
“你们知道为什么妈妈建议我们这个圣诞节不买任何礼物吗？那是因为这对于每个人来说都将是个难熬的冬天，当我们的士兵在军队受苦时，我们更不应该花钱取乐-”
“但是妈妈给了我们每个人1刀，让我们自己花。我不认为我们捐出这些能给军队多大的帮助。我同意不期望从妈妈和你们那获得礼物，但是我真的像买一些我渴望已久的书。关于我们的钱妈妈没有说什么，她也不希望我们放弃一切。让我们每个人买自己想要的东西吧，享受一点点快乐。我确信这是我们努力工作赚来的，”乔哭道。

翻译by 枯木v-勉强能看，欢迎指正