2 The Laurence boy

Chapter 2 The Laurence boy After Christmas, everyone felt miserable. "Nothing nice ever happens to us," moaned Amy. "That's not true," said Jo, coming into the room and tripping over Beth's cat. In her fall, she knocked ink onto Meg's hat, leaving a dark, spreading stain. "Oh, it's ruined!" snapped Meg. "And I can't afford another. You are so clumsy, Jo! Beth, can't you keep that cat of yours under control?"

圣诞节过后，每个人都感到很痛苦。 “我们从来没有遇到过好事，”艾美呻吟道。 “那不是真的，”琼说着走进房间，被贝思的猫绊倒了。 她跌倒时，把墨水打翻在梅格的帽子上，留下了一块又黑又宽的污渍。 “噢，它毁了！”梅格厉声说。 “我可负担不起另一个。 你真笨手笨脚，乔！贝思，你就不能管住你那只猫吗？”

Jo shrugged her shoulders. "Was there ever such a cross family? But just wait. One day I'll be writing books and plays and be so rich that I can buy stacks of hats. Beth can have all the cats in the world and a new piano." "Meg! Jo!" their mother called, coming in from the hall. "This will cheer you up- a party invitation for a New Year's Eve dance tomorrow."

琼耸了耸肩。 “真有这样一个脾气暴躁的家庭吗？” 但是等一下。总有一天我会写书和剧本，变得富有到可以买一堆帽子。 贝丝可以拥有世界上所有的猫和一架新钢琴。” “Meg !琼！”母亲从大厅里走了进来，喊道。 “这张会让你高兴起来的——一张明天参加新年前夜舞会的晚会请柬。”

"If only I had a silk dress and curled hair," sighed Meg. "Your dress is fine," said Jo. "My party dress is scorched where I stood too near the fire and my gloves have lemonade all over them." "You can't wear them then," said Meg firmly. "We'll each wear one of my good gloves and hold one of yours. And you must keep your back out of sight or sit." "I think I'm going to hate this party," Jo muttered. Amy stuck out her bottom lip. "At least you're going. I wish I could."

“要是我有一件丝绸连衣裙和一头卷发就好了，”梅格叹道。 “你的衣服很漂亮，”琼说。 “我的礼服被烤焦了，因为我站得离火太近了，我的手套上全是柠檬水。” “那你就不能穿了，”麦格坚决地说。 “我们每人戴上我的一只好手套，拿着你的一只。 你必须把你的背放在别人看不见的地方，或者坐下。” “我想我会讨厌这个聚会的，”琼喃喃地说。 艾米伸出她的下嘴唇。 “至少你要去。我希望我能。”

"I'm glad I'm not," murmured Beth. "But I'm sure it'll be better than you think," she whispered to Jo. The next evening, Jo helped Meg get ready, holding red-hot curling tongs to her hair. But soon she was thinking about her latest idea for a story... and a minute later she smelled burning. To Meg's horror, a row of scorched curls fell onto her lap.

“我很高兴我不是，”贝思喃喃地说。 “但我肯定会比你想的要好，”她低声对琼说。 第二天晚上，琼帮麦格做好准备，拿着滚烫的卷发钳夹着她的头发。 但很快她就想到了她最新的故事构思…… 一分钟后，她闻到了烧焦的味道。 令梅格惊恐的是，一排烧焦的卷发落在她的腿上。

"Oh I can't do anything right!" said Jo, flinging down the tongs in disgust and rushing out of the room. Amy ran to console Meg. "There," she said, fixing a velvet bow to Meg's hair. "Now it won't show." As soon as they arrived at the party, Meg began dancing with her friends. Jo, who was terrified of showing Meg up, shot behind a curtain. To her surprise, she found a boy already there.

“噢，我什么事都做不好！”乔说着，厌恶地扔下火钳，冲出了房间。 艾米跑去安慰梅格。“好了，”她边说边在麦格的头发上系上天鹅绒蝴蝶结。 “现在看不出来了。”她们一到舞会，梅格就开始和朋友们跳舞。 乔不敢让梅格露面，便躲到帘子后面。 令她吃惊的是，她发现那里已经有一个男孩了。

"You're Mr. Laurence's grandson," she blurted out. "I've seen you before. You live next door to us." The boy nodded. "Hello," he said. "I'm Laurie. I'm hiding because I hardly know anyone here." "You know me now," said Jo, with a grin. "I'm hiding because of my dress," she confessed, showing him the burn. Laurie laughed. "Let's dance a polka down the passage where no one will see us," he suggested.

“你是劳伦斯先生的孙子，”她脱口而出。 “我以前见过你。你住在我们隔壁。” 男孩点点头。“你好，”他说。 “我是劳里。我躲起来是因为我几乎不认识这里的任何人。” “你现在认识我了，”乔笑着说。 “我躲起来是因为我的衣服，”她坦白道，给他看烧伤的地方。 劳里笑了。“我们在走廊上跳波尔卡舞吧，这样就没人会看见我们了。”他建议道。