Happier Days 快樂的日子

《小婦人》是由美國女作家露易莎·梅·奧爾科特創(chuàng)作的長篇小說，首次出版于1868年。

該作是一部以美國南北戰(zhàn)爭為背景，以19世紀美國新英格蘭地區(qū)的一個普通家庭四個姐妹之間的生活瑣事為藍本的帶有自傳色彩的家庭倫理小說。小說受到當時的大思想家愛默生的影響，強調(diào)了個人尊嚴與自立自律的觀念;內(nèi)容平實卻細膩，結(jié)構(gòu)單純而寓意深遠，富有強烈的感染力。

《小婦人》是一本以女性角色為主，強調(diào)女權(quán)意識的半自傳體小說。文中注重表現(xiàn)女性意識，宣揚美好品質(zhì)。

本文節(jié)選自《小婦人》第十四章。

Christmas Day was very different that year.Beth felt much better and was carried to the window to see the snowman which Jo and Laurie had made.It had a basket of fruit and flowers in one hand and a new piece of music in the other.Laurie ran up and down，bringing in the presents， and Jo sang a funny song.

“I’m so happy！”laughed Beth，as Jo carried her back to the other room to rest after the fun.“Oh，I do wish that Father was here too！”

Half an hour later，Laurie came to the house and opened the door quietly.“Here’s another Christmas present for the March family！”he called out.

He moved away，and in his place appeared a tall man holding the arm of another tall man，who tried to say something but couldn’t.

“Father！”cried Meg and Jo together — and Mr March disappeared under lots of loving arms and kisses.Mr Brooke kissed Meg — by mistake，as he tried to explain.

Suddenly， the door to the other room opened， and there was Beth， running straight into her father’s arms.There were tears of happiness on many faces before all the excitement died down.Then Mrs March thanked Mr Brooke for taking care ofher husband，and he and Laurie left the family to themselves.

Mr March and Beth sat in one big armchair， and the others sat around them.“I wanted to surprise you all，and the doctor let Mr Brooke bring me home，”said Mr March.“John has been so good to me.He is an excellent young man.”Mr March looked at Meg， who was staring at the fire， then he smiled at his wife.She smiled back.Jo understood exactly what the smiles were saying， and went out to the kitchen complaining to herself about “excellent young men with brown eyes！”

There never was a Christmas dinner like the one they had that day. Mr Laurence and his grandson ate with them， and so did Mr Brooke.Jo gave the tutor many black looks and would not speak to him， which amused Laurie.

The guests left early and the happy family sat together around the fire.

“A year ago we were complaining about the awful Christmas we expected to have，do you remember？”said Jo.

“It’s been quite a good year，”said Meg， thinking about Mr Brooke.

“I think it’s been a hard one，”said Amy.

“I’m glad it’s over， because we’ve got Father back，”whispered Beth，who was sitting on his knee.

“I’ve discovered several things about you young ladies today，”said Mr March.

“Oh，tell us what they are！”cried Meg.

“Here’s one，”he said， taking her hand. It had a small burnon the back and two or three little hard places on the front.“I remember when this hand was white and smooth.It was pretty then， but to me it’s much prettier now.I’m proud of this hard-working hand，Meg.”

“What about Jo？”whispered Beth.“She’s tried so hard，and has been very， very good to me.”

He smiled and looked at Jo sitting opposite.“Her hair maybe short，but I see a young lady now. Her face is thin and white from worrying， but it has grown gentler.Perhaps I’ll miss my wild girl，but I’m sure I’ll love the warm-hearted woman who has taken her place.”

Jo’s face was red in the firelight as she listened.

“Now Beth，”said Amy.

“She’s not as shy as she used to be，”said her father lovingly，and he held Beth close when he remembered how near they had come to losing her. Then he looked down at Amy by his feet.“I’ve noticed today that Amy has helped everyone patiently and with a smile.She’s learned to think more about other people，and less about herself.”

Beth moved out of her father’s arms and went to the piano.She touched the keys softly and began to sing.Soon， the others joined her in a happy Christmas song.

The next afternoon，Jo and Meg were sitting at the window when Laurie went by. When he saw Meg， he fell on one knee in the snow， beat his chest， and put out his arms towards her.When Meg told him to go away，he pretended to cry before walking away looking miserable.

Meg laughed.“What was he doing？”she said.

“He was showing you how your John will act，”answered Jo，crossly.

“Don’t say my John，it isn’t right.”But Meg said the words again silently inside her head.

“If he asks yon to marry him，you’ll cry or look stupid，instead of saying a loud No，”said Jo.

“No，I won’t，”said Meg.“I’ll say，‘Thank you，Mr Brooke，you are very kind，but I am too young to marry you.Please let us be friends，as we were.’”

“I don’t believe it，”said Jo.

“It’s true.Then I’ll walk out of the room with my head high.”Meg got up and pretended to do it — but ran back to her seat when she heard someone knock on the door.

Jo opened it with an angry look.

“Good afternoon，”said Mr Brooke.“I came to get my umbrella，which I left behind yesterday.”

“I’ll get it，”said Jo，pushing past him.“Now Meg can tell him，”she thought.

But Meg was moving to the door.“I expect Mother will want to see you，”she said.“I’ll call her.”

“Don’t go，”he said.“Are you afraid of me，Meg？”“How can I be afraid when you’ve been so kind to Father”，said Meg.“I wish I could thank you for it.”“You can，”he said. And he took Meg’s small hand in his and looked at her lovingly.

“Oh，please don’t，”she said，looking frightened.

“I only want to know if you love me a little，Meg，”he said gently.“I love you so much.”

This was the moment to repeat the words she had told Jo，but Meg forgot them all.“I don’t know，”she said，so softly that John had to move closer to hear her reply.

He smiled gratefully.“Will you try to find out？”

“I’m too young，”she said， hesitating but feeling her heart beating rather fast.

“I’ll wait while you learn to like me，”he said.“Will it be very difficult？”

“Not if I choose to learn，”she said.

“Please choose，Meg.I love to teach，and this is easier than German，”said John， taking her other hand.

She looked at him and saw that he was smiling.He seemed so sure of success that Meg became a little annoyed.She felt excited and strange，and taking her hands away from his， she said，“I don’t choose.Please go away！”

Poor Mr Brooke looked shocked.“Do you mean that？”

“Yes，”she said，rather enjoying the game she was playing.“I don’t want to think about these things. It’s to soon.”“I’ll wait until you’ve had more time，”he said，and looked so unhappy that Meg began to feel sorry for him.

It was at this moment that Aunt March came in.She hadcome to see Mr March and was hoping to surprise the family.She did surprise two of them.Meg，with her face bright red，just stared at her aunt，while Mr Brooke hurried into another room.

“Goodness me， what’s all this？”cried Aunt March.“It’s Father’s friend，”said Meg hurriedly.“I’m so surprised to see you，Aunt March.”

“I can see that，”said Aunt March，sitting down.“What has he said to make your face turn pink？”

“Mr Brooke and I were just…talking，”said Meg.

“Brooke？The boy’s tutor？I understand now.I know all about it because I made Jo tell me.You haven’t promised to marry him，have you，Meg？If you have，you won’t get one bit of my money，do you hear？”

It was exactly the wrong thing to say.When Meg was ordered not to marry John Brooke，she immediately decided that She would.“I’ll marry whoever I want to，Aunt March，and you can give your money to anyone you like！’she said.“You’ll be sorry！”said Aunt March.“Why don’t you mar-ry a rich man to help your family？”

“Father and Mother like John，although he’s poor，”said Meg.

“Be sensible，Meg，”said her aunt.“He knows I have money，and that’s why he likes you，I suspect.”

“Don’t say that！”said Meg.“My John wouldn’t marry for money any more than I would！We’ll work and wait，and I’ll 132 be happy with him because he loves me，and Meg stopped as she remembered that she had told”her John’to go away.

Aunt March was very angry.“Just don’t expect anything from me when you are married！”she said.And she went out of the room，banging the door behind her.

Meg didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Before she could decide，Mr Brooke came back in from the next room and puthis arms around her.“Oh Meg，I could hear your voices，”he said.“Thank you for proving that you do love me a little.”“I didn’t know how much until she said those things about you，”said Meg.

“So I can stay， and be happy？”he said.

“Yes，John，”she whispered，and hid her face on John’s chest.

Jo returned and found them like that.Meg jumped and turned round，but John Brooke laughed and kissed the shocked Jo，saying，“Sister Jo.Wish us luck！”

Jo ran upstairs to find her parents.“Go down quickly！”she said.“John Brooke is behaving terribly and Meg likes it！”Mr and Mrs March left the room in a hurry，while Jo threw herself on the bed and told the awful news to Beth and Amy.But the little girls thought it was all most interesting and delightful.

Nobody knew what was said that afternoon，but a lot of talking was done. The quiet Mr Brooke managed to persuadehis friends that his plans were good and sensible，then he proudly took Meg in to supper.Everyone looked so happy that Jo tried to look pleased too.

After supper， Laurie arrived with some flowers for “Mrs John Brooke”，then he followed Jo into the corner of the room while the others went to welcome old Mr Laurence.

“What’s the matter，Jo？”said Laurie.“You don’t look very happy.”

“Nothing will ever be the same again，”said Jo sadly.“I’ve lost my dearest friend.”

“You’ve got me，”said Laurie.“I’m not good for much，but I promise I’ll always be your friend，Jo.”

“I know you will，”answered Jo，gratefully.

“Then don’t be sad，”he said.“I’ll be back from college in three years time， and then we’ll go abroad，or on a nice trip somewhere.Wouldn’t that cheer you up？”

“Anything can happen in three years，”said Jo.

“That’s true，”said Laurie.“Don’t you wish you knew what was going to happen？”

“I don’t think so，”said Jo.“It may be something sad，and everyone looks so happy now.”As she spoke，she looked round the room，and her face brightened at the sight.

Father and Mother sat happily together.Amy was drawing a picture of Meg and John， who were looking lovingly at each other.Beth lay on the floor，talking to her old friend，Mr Laurence.Jo sat in her favourite chair with a serious，quietlook on her face.Laurie smiled at her in the long mirror that was opposite them both.And Jo smiled back.

那年的圣誕節(jié)非同尋常。白絲感覺好多了，她被抬到窗前看瓊和羅瑞堆起的雪人。它一只手拿著一籃水果和鮮花，另一只手拿著一張新歌譜。羅瑞跑上跑下地送來禮物，瓊唱著一首有意思的歌。

“我真高興！”玩樂過后、瓊把白絲抱到另一個房間休息時白絲笑著說?！班?，我真希望爸爸也在這兒！”

半個小時以后，羅瑞來到屋里，靜悄悄地打開門?！斑@兒有給馬奇一家的另一份圣誕禮物！”他喊道。

他挪開了，在他的位子上出現(xiàn)了一個高大的男人，他扶著另一個高大的男人，這個人試圖說些什么，但沒有說出來。

“爸爸！”麥格和瓊同聲喊道——然后馬奇先生就沉浸在許多愛的擁抱和親吻中了。布魯克先生吻了麥格——是個誤會，他試圖這樣解釋。

突然，另一個房間的門打開了，是白絲，她徑直奔向了父親的懷抱。興奮消散之前，許多人臉上都淌下了歡樂的眼淚。馬奇太太感謝布魯克先生照顧了她丈夫，然后他和羅瑞就離開了，剩下了一家人在一起。

馬奇先生和白絲坐在一張大椅子上，其他人圍坐在他們身邊?！拔蚁胱屇銈兯腥硕汲砸惑@，醫(yī)生讓布魯克先生帶我回家了，”馬奇先生說?！凹s翰一直對我很好。他是個很出色的人。”馬奇先生看了看麥格，她正盯著爐火，于是他對妻子笑了笑。她也笑了。瓊十分明白這微笑的含義，她走出來往廚房去，一邊對自己抱怨著那“有著出色的棕色眼睛的年輕人”。

往年的圣誕節(jié)晚餐從來都沒有像他們那天吃過的那樣。勞倫斯先生和他的孫子同他們一起吃的飯，布魯克先生也去了。瓊給了這位家庭教師許多的白眼，不肯跟他講話，這讓羅瑞覺得很有意思。

客人們很早就離開了，快樂的一家圍坐在爐火邊。

“一年以前我們曾抱怨我們將要度過的那個糟糕的圣誕節(jié)，你們還記得嗎？”瓊說。

“這一年真好，”麥格說道，心里想著布魯克先生。

“我覺得這一年過得很艱辛，”艾米說。

“我很高興它終于結(jié)束了，因為父親回來了，”白絲輕聲說，她坐在他的膝頭。

“今天我發(fā)現(xiàn)了你們這些年輕姑娘的一些事?！瘪R奇先生說。

“噢，告訴我們是什么？”麥格喊道。

“這兒有一個，”他說，說著拿起她的手。那手背上有一小塊燙痕，手心上有兩三塊硬塊?！拔矣浀眠@手曾經(jīng)又白又嫩。它那時很美，可對我來說它現(xiàn)在更美，我為這雙勞動的手而感到驕傲，麥格?！?/p>

“瓊怎么樣？”白絲輕聲問道?！八敲磁?，還對我非常非常好。”

他笑了笑，看著坐在對面的瓊?！八念^發(fā)可能是短了些，可我現(xiàn)在看到了一位年輕的淑女。她的臉削瘦，因為焦慮而蒼白，可它變得更溫柔了。也許我會想念我那個愛瘋跑的孩子，可我肯定會愛這個取而代之的熱心的婦人?！?/p>

瓊聽著，臉色在火光中變紅了。

“該說白絲了，”艾米說。

“她不像從前那么害羞了，”她的父親充滿愛意地說，當他想起他們差點失去她時，他把白絲摟得很緊。然后他看了看坐在他腳邊的艾米?！拔医裉熳⒁獾桨啄托牡亍⒚鎺⑿Φ貛椭總€人。她已經(jīng)學會了多為別人著想，少想些自己?！?/p>

白絲從父親懷里下來，來到鋼琴旁邊。她輕輕地觸動了琴鍵，開始唱歌。不久，其他人就跟她一起唱起了一支圣誕歌。

第二天下午，瓊和麥格正坐在窗邊時，羅瑞正好路過。當他看見麥格的時候，他單膝跪倒在雪地里，捶打自己的胸口，并向她伸出雙臂。當麥格告訴他走開時，他假裝哭泣，然后面帶痛苦地走了。

麥格笑了?！八诟墒裁?？”她問。

“他在向你演示你的約翰會對你怎么樣?！杯偯鎺瓪獾卣f。

“別說‘我的約翰’，這不對，”可麥格在腦海里默默地又重復了那句話。

“如果他讓你嫁給他，你會哭，或者看上去很蠢，而不會大聲說不。”瓊說。

“不，我不會的，”麥格說?！拔視f，‘謝謝你，布魯克先生，你很好，可我太年輕了，不能嫁給你。讓我們做朋友吧，就像從前那樣。’”

“我不相信，”瓊說。

“是真的。我會高高地抬起頭走出房間?！丙湼裾酒饋砑傺b那樣做——可當她聽到有人敲門時她就跑回了座位。

瓊帶著怒容打開了門。

“下午好，”布魯克先生說?！拔襾砣∥业膫悖易蛱炻湓谶@兒了。”

“我去拿來，”瓊說，趕快走過他?！艾F(xiàn)在麥格可以跟他講了?！彼?。

可麥格正朝門走過來?！拔蚁雼寢屢欢ㄏ胍娔悖彼f?！拔胰ソ兴！?/p>

“別走，”他說?！澳闶遣皇桥挛遥湼?？”“你對父親這么好，我怎么會怕你呢，”麥格說?！拔蚁胛乙獮榇烁兄x你。”“你可以，”他說。他把麥格的小手放在他的手里，面帶愛意。

“噢，請別這樣，”她說，面帶懼色。

“我想知道你是不是愛我一點點，麥格，”他溫柔地說，“我太愛你了?！?/p>

此時正是她重復她剛才跟瓊講的話之時，可麥格把它們都忘了。“我不知道，”她說，她的聲音太輕，以至于約翰得湊得更近一些，才能聽見她的回答。

他感激地笑了?！澳銜囍靼讍?？”

“我太年輕了，”她猶豫不決地說，可她感到自己的心跳得非?？臁?/p>

“我會等著你學會喜歡我，”他說。“那會很困難嗎？”

“如果我選擇學就不難，”她說。

“那你就選擇學吧，麥格，我喜歡教你，教這個比教德語容易，”約翰說著把她的另一只手也拿起來。

她看看他，見到他在微笑。他看上去必勝的樣子使麥格感到有些生氣。她感到激動和陌生，把她的手從他的手里抽回，她說：“我不選了。請走吧！”

可憐的布魯克先生看上去很震驚。“你是當真？”

“是的，”她說，對她玩的游戲感覺很有意思?！拔也幌胂脒@些事。這來得太快了?！薄拔視鹊侥阌懈嗟臅r間，”他說。他看上去那么不開心，麥格開始為他感到難過。

正在這時，馬奇姑媽走了進來。她來看馬奇先生，希望使這家人大吃一驚。她確實使這兩人吃了一驚。麥格臉漲得通紅，只是瞪著她的姑媽，而布魯克先生則趕緊走進了另一個房間。

“天哪，這都是怎么回事？”馬奇姑媽喊道。“是爸爸的朋友，”麥格很快地說，“看見您真讓我吃驚，馬奇姑媽。”

“我看得出來，”馬奇姑媽說，邊說邊坐下來?！八f了些什么，讓你的臉變紅了？”

“布魯克先生和我只是在……談話?！丙湼裾f。

“布魯克？那男孩的家庭教師？我現(xiàn)在明白了。我知道所有的一切，因為我讓瓊告訴我了。你沒答應(yīng)嫁給他，是吧，麥格？如果你答應(yīng)了，你就不會從我這兒得到一點錢了，聽到了嗎？”

那話恰恰說得不對。當麥格被命令不許嫁給約翰·布魯克時，她立即決定她要嫁給他。“我想嫁給誰就嫁給誰，馬奇姑媽，你可以把你的錢給任何你喜歡的人！”她說?！澳銜蠡诘模　瘪R奇姑媽說?！澳銥槭裁床患藿o一個富人，幫幫你的家人？”

“爸爸和媽媽喜歡約翰，雖然他窮?！丙湼裾f。

“理智點，麥格，”她的姑媽說，“他知道我有錢，我懷疑他正是為此而喜歡你?！?/p>

“不許那么說，”麥格說?！拔业募s翰不會為錢而結(jié)婚，我也不會！我們會工作，會等待，我和他在一起會感覺很幸福，因為他愛我，還有——”麥格停了下來，因為她想起她已經(jīng)告訴“她的約翰”走開了。

馬奇姑媽非常生氣?！暗饶憬Y(jié)婚時別想從我這兒得到任何東西！”她說，然后摔門而去。

麥格不知道該笑還是該哭。在她做出決定之前，布魯克先生從隔壁房間走回來，用雙臂摟住她。“噢，麥格，我能聽到你的聲音，”他說?！爸x謝你證明了你確實有一點愛我?！薄霸谒f那些關(guān)于你的話之前我不知道有多少，”麥格說。

“那么我能留下來高興高興了？”他說。

“是的，約翰，”她輕聲說，將她的臉埋在約翰胸前。

瓊回來了，發(fā)現(xiàn)他們在那樣。麥格跳起來轉(zhuǎn)過身，可約翰·布魯克笑了，他吻了吻受了驚嚇的瓊，說：“瓊妹妹，祝我們好運吧！”

瓊跑上樓找到她的父母?！翱煜聵侨?！”她說，“約翰·布魯克表現(xiàn)很不好，麥格卻很喜歡！”馬奇先生和馬奇太太趕緊離開了房間，瓊撲倒在床上，又把這糟糕的消息告訴了白絲和艾米。可小女孩們覺得這很是有趣和令人高興。

沒人知道那天下午都有些什么談話，可大家談了許多。文靜的布魯克先生成功地說服了他的朋友，他的計劃是很好的，有理智的，然后他驕傲地把麥格帶進來吃晚飯。每個人看上去都很高興，瓊也盡力看上去很高興。

晚飯后，羅瑞帶著給“約翰·布魯克太太”的鮮花來了。當其他人去迎接勞倫斯先生的時候，他跟著瓊來到屋子的一個角落。

“出什么事了，瓊？”羅瑞說?！澳憧瓷先ゲ惶吲d?！?/p>

“一切都跟從前不再相同了，”瓊悲傷地說?！拔沂チ俗詈玫呐笥??！?/p>

“你有我呢，”羅瑞說?！拔也灰欢ê芎?，可我發(fā)誓我會永遠是你的朋友，瓊?！?/p>

“我知道你會的，”瓊感激地說。

“那別傷心了，”他說。“我三年之后就會大學畢業(yè)，然后我們就出國，或者去什么地方好好旅行一番。那會讓你高興一點嗎？”

“三年里什么都會發(fā)生，”瓊說。

“是的，”羅瑞說?！澳阆Ｍ缹l(fā)生什么嗎？”

“我不希望，”瓊說?！翱赡軙莻牡氖拢F(xiàn)在每個人看上去都很高興?！碑斔f這話時，她環(huán)顧屋內(nèi)，她看到的景象使她高興起來。

爸爸和媽媽快樂地坐在一起。艾米在為麥格和約翰畫畫，那兩個人相互愛戀地對望著。白絲躺在地板上和她的老朋友勞倫斯先生聊天。瓊在她最喜歡的椅子上坐下，面帶嚴肅安靜的表情。羅瑞從他們對面的長鏡中對她微笑，瓊也朝他微笑。