1 Young Abigail

Chapter 1 Young Abigail Abigail Smith was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts, on November 11, 1744. Her mother, Elizabeth Quincy Smith, came from a respected family. Abigail's father, William

1744年11月11日，阿比盖尔·史密斯出生在马萨诸塞州的韦茅斯。 她的母亲伊丽莎白·昆西·史密斯来自一个受人尊敬的家庭。 阿比盖尔的父亲，威廉

Smith, was a much-admired minister. Abigail had a brother, William, and two sisters, Mary and Elizabeth. She was close to her sisters all her life.

史密斯是一位受人尊敬的牧师。 阿比盖尔有一个哥哥威廉，两个妹妹玛丽和伊丽莎白。 她一生都和她的姐妹们很亲近。

Abigail was delicate and sickly when she was little. She didn't go to school. Most girls in those days didn't, even though boys did. Abigail thought it was very unfair that her brother could go to school and she couldn't. She found out early that girls in colonial America didn't have the same rights as boys.

阿比盖尔小时候体弱多病。 她没有去上学。那时候大多数女孩都没有，尽管男孩有。 阿比盖尔认为她哥哥可以上学，而她却不能，这太不公平了。 她很早就发现，在殖民时期的美国，女孩没有和男孩一样的权利。

But Abigail and her sisters were lucky. Their mother taught them reading, writing, and arithmetic, as well as how to cook and sew. Their father and grandfather both had big libraries. Abigail was a curious child, and she spent a lot of time with her nose in all those books. Abigail read Shakespeare's plays, history, philosophy and law. Her mother worried that

但阿比盖尔和她的姐妹们很幸运。 母亲教他们读书、写字、算术，还教他们做饭和缝纫。 他们的父亲和祖父都有很大的图书馆。 阿比盖尔是个好奇的孩子，她花了很多时间钻研那些书。 阿比盖尔读过莎士比亚的戏剧、历史、哲学和法律。 她的母亲担心

she read too much. She also worried that Abigail was too stubborn and strong-willed. Grandmother Quincy always was on Abigail's side, though. She said, "Wild colts make the best horses."

她读得太多了。她还担心阿比盖尔太固执，意志太坚强。 不过昆西奶奶一直站在阿比盖尔这边。 她说：“野驹是最好的马。”