一本寫給女孩子的書

Coocoo

原作節(jié)選

Mrs. March came home and heard the story.

“Oh， how could you do that， Amy？”she said.“That was Jos book of stories. She wrote them all herself， and was hoping to make them good enough to print. ”

Slowly， Amy began to understand the terrible thing she had done， and started to cry. Later， when Jo appeared for tea， Amy begged1 her sister to forgive2 her.

“I shall never forgive you，” Jo answered.

It was not a happy evening， and when singing time came， Jo remained silent. Afterwards， she kissed her mother and said “Goodnight”.

“My dear， dont go to bed feeling so angry with your sister，” whispered3 Mrs. March.

“Im sorry， Mother， I cant forgive her，” replied Jo.

Next day， Jo wanted to get out of the house， so she picked up her skates and went next door to ask Laurie to take her skating.

Amy heard them going. “Jo promised4 to take me with her next time！” she complained.

“Its hard for her to forgive you， Amy， ”said Meg. “Go after5 them and wait until Jo is enjoying herself， then give her a kiss or do something kind. ”

It was not far to the river， but Jo and Laurie were already skating when Amy arrived. Jo saw Amy but turned away. Laurie was carefully skating along the edge6 of the ice and didnt see the younger girl.

Amy put her skates on and stood on the ice.

“Keep near the edge. The ice isnt safe in the middle，” Laurie called to Jo， then he disappeared round the first bend7 in the river.

Jo heard， but Amy did not. Jo realized8 that Amy probably hadnt heard， but she said nothing and skated after Laurie. “Let Amy look after herself！” Jo thought.

Amy skated out towards the smoother ice in the middle of the river. Jo reached the bend， and for a moment she stood still， a strange feeling in her heart. Something made her turn round—just in time to see Amy throw up her hands and go crashing through the ice into the cold water！ Amy gave a cry that make Jos heart stop with fear. She tried to call Laurie， but her voice was gone， and for a second she could only stand and stare at the little blue hood of Amys coat above the black water.

Suddenly， Laurie skated past her and shouted，“Bring a piece of wood from the side of the river， quickly！”

Wild with fear， Jo fetched some wood and pulled it across the ice， while Laurie held Amys head above the water. Together， they got her out.

She was more frightened than hurt， and was quickly taken home. They covered her in blankets and tried to calm her， and after a little while she fell asleep in front of the warm fire. Later， when everything was quiet， Jo asked her mother， “Are you sure she is safe？”

“Quite safe， dear. It was sensible9 to get her home as quickly as you did.”

“Laurie did it all，” said Jo. “Mother， if she should die， it will be my fault10. I get angry so quickly. Oh， why cant I be more like you？”

“I get angry nearly every day of my life， Jo，”said Mrs. March， “but Ive learned not to show it. Ive learned to stop myself saying the angry words that come to my lips， and you must try to do the same， my dear.”

Amy moved in her sleep and Jo looked at her. Then Amy opened her eyes and held out her arms， with a smile that went straight to Jos heart. Neither of them said a word， but they held each other close， and everything was forgiven and forgotten.

馬奇太太回到家里聽說了這件事。

“哦，你怎么能那樣做呢，艾米？”她說，“那是瓊的故事書。那些都是她自己寫的，她期望有一天把它們修改好了能夠發(fā)表?！?/p>

慢慢地，艾米開始意識到她所做的事情有多糟，她開始哭起來。后來，當(dāng)瓊來喝茶時，艾米請求她姐姐原諒她。

“我永遠也不會原諒你?！杯偦卮?。

那天晚上很不愉快。當(dāng)唱歌時間到了的時候，瓊默不作聲。后來，她吻了吻母親：“晚安！”

“我親愛的，別帶著對你妹妹的怨氣上床?！瘪R奇太太小聲說。

“抱歉，媽媽，我不能原諒她。”瓊回答。

第二天，瓊想要出門，于是她拿起她的溜冰鞋到隔壁去叫羅瑞帶她去滑冰。

艾米聽見他們出去了?！碍偞饝?yīng)過我下次帶我去的！”她抱怨說。

“她很難原諒你，艾米，”麥格說，“你跟著他們。等瓊高興的時候就給她一個吻或做點其他什么友好的事?！?/p>

到河邊的路并不遠，可當(dāng)艾米到那兒的時候，瓊和羅瑞已經(jīng)在滑冰了。瓊看見了艾米，可她背過身去。羅瑞正沿著冰的邊緣專心致志地滑，沒有看到這個小一點的女孩。

艾米換上溜冰鞋站到了冰面上。

“在邊上滑，中間的冰不安全?！绷_瑞朝瓊喊。然后，他就消失在河的第一個拐角那邊。

瓊聽見了，可艾米沒聽見。瓊意識到艾米可能沒聽見，可她什么也沒說，跟著羅瑞滑過去?！白尠鬃约赫疹欁约喊?！”她想。

艾米向河中心冰面光滑的地方滑去。瓊滑到了拐彎的地方，片刻她站定了，心里有種奇怪的感覺。有什么事使她轉(zhuǎn)過身——正好看到艾米舉起雙手滑過冰面，掉進了冰冷的河水里！艾米喊叫了一聲，使瓊的心嚇得幾乎停止了跳動。她想喊羅瑞，可她的聲音怎么也發(fā)不出來。有一陣她只得站在那兒盯著艾米那藍色外衣的帽子漂在黑色的水面上。

突然，羅瑞滑過她身邊，對她喊：“到岸邊拿塊木頭來，快！”

瓊嚇瘋了，她去拿了木頭，把它拖過冰面。此時羅瑞將艾米的頭托出水面。他們一起把她從水中撈了出來。

她沒受什么傷，更多的是受了驚嚇，很快被送回了家。他們用毛毯蓋住她，并試圖安慰她。過了一會兒，她就在溫暖的爐火前睡著了。然后，當(dāng)一切安靜下來，瓊問母親：“你能肯定她沒事嗎？”

“肯定沒事，親愛的，你很明智，很快就把她送回家來?！?/p>

“都是羅瑞做的，”瓊說，“媽媽，如果她死了，那都是我的錯。我太愛生氣了。哦，我為什么就不能像你呢？”

“我每天都會生氣，瓊，”馬奇太太說，“但我學(xué)會了不表現(xiàn)出來。我學(xué)會了生氣的話就要到嘴邊時住口。你也要盡力這樣做，親愛的?！?/p>

艾米在睡夢中動了一下，瓊看了看她。艾米睜開了雙眼，伸出她的雙臂，面帶微笑，那微笑一直走進了瓊的心里。她們誰也沒說話，但她們緊緊擁抱在一起，一切都已被原諒和遺忘了。

“成長”是文學(xué)作品中反復(fù)出現(xiàn)的一個主題，而“成長小說”（coming-of-age novels）一直占據(jù)著西方文學(xué)史上重要的地位。從我們熟知的《霧都孤兒》（Oliver Twist）、《麥田里的守望者》（The Catcher in the Rye）以及之前欄目中介紹過的《殺死一只知更鳥》（To Kill a Mockingbird），到當(dāng)今風(fēng)靡全球的《哈利·波特》（Harry Potter）系列都是其中的代表作。此類作品往往跟隨主人公的成長，見證其世界觀、人生觀或愛情觀的逐步形成，從而折射出整個社會的現(xiàn)狀與時代風(fēng)貌?！缎D人》（Little Women）正是一部描繪女性成長的經(jīng)典之作。作者路易莎·梅·奧爾科特（Louisa May Alcott）是19世紀(jì)美國最具影響力的女作家之一。家庭的清貧使得奧爾科特小小年紀(jì)就擔(dān)負起養(yǎng)家的重擔(dān)。她做過裁縫、家庭教師，甚至傭人，豐富的生活閱歷為她后來的寫作提供了一手素材。她作品中的女性形象往往崇尚獨立、追求自由?！缎D人》是奧爾科特的代表作，以其真實的家庭生活為原型，講述了馬奇家四姐妹的成長故事。老大麥格（Meg）俏麗端莊，但有些愛慕虛榮；老二瓊（Jo）是個活脫脫的假小子，立志成為作家；老三白絲（Beth）善良害羞，彈得一手好鋼琴；小女兒艾米（Amy）有些嬌慣，但很有藝術(shù)天賦。四姐妹性格迥異，像各家姐妹一樣，有過爭執(zhí)與別扭，一起經(jīng)歷了成長中的各種矛盾與痛苦：貧窮與富有的矛盾、理想與現(xiàn)實的差距、無法逃脫的疾病與死亡，還有情竇初開的甜蜜與煩惱。四姐妹互愛互助，逐漸克服了各自的缺點，不斷完善自我，最終成長為富有人格魅力的“小婦人”。

毫無疑問，二女兒瓊是小說的靈魂人物，也是四個女孩中給人印象最深的一個。她一出場便顯得與眾不同：四肢瘦長、皮膚黝黑、衣服寬松，犀利的眼睛和抿緊的嘴角都暗示著她的獨立與不安分。父親不在的時候，她充當(dāng)起家里男人的角色；喜歡男孩子的運動與游戲，不屑于上流社會的浮華與矯情；與鄰居富家男孩羅瑞（Laurie）打成一片，坦率真誠、不拘小節(jié)；她又是個不折不扣的書蟲，利用一切可以接觸到書本的機會汲取養(yǎng)分；在確定了寫作夢想之后，一直堅持不懈、勇敢投稿，直至作品發(fā)表。

本期節(jié)選的“溺水事件”源于瓊與艾米的一次斗氣。艾米不滿兩個姐姐不帶她去劇院，賭氣之下燒了瓊最珍愛的小說手稿。瓊氣得跳腳，即使小艾米主動認(rèn)錯也不肯原諒她。第二天，瓊與羅瑞去湖上滑冰，小艾米一路跟隨，仍在氣頭上的瓊卻視而不見，結(jié)果差一點釀成災(zāi)難。文字描繪出的這些生動的小情緒，一定會讓你有種似曾相識的感覺，因為誰不曾與好友、家人拌過嘴呢？希望你也能從馬奇太太給瓊上的那一節(jié)“學(xué)會自我克制”的課和最后姐妹倆的擁抱中，獲得些許啟發(fā)。