4 Party girl

Chapter 4 Party girl That summer, Meg was invited to stay with her friend, Sallie Moffat. "If only I didn't have to work..." she grumbled. Then, at the last minute, the children she looked after caught measles. "I can go after all!" Meg realized excitedly. Her sisters helped her pack. "A whole week of fun!" Beth said, picking out hair ribbons for Meg to take. Amy was green with envy. "Ooh, I wish I was going to a house party."

Jo began to fold Meg's skirts, looking like a windmill with her long arms. "What did Mother give you out of the treasure chest?" she wanted to know. The treasure chest, made of sweet- smelling cedar wood, was where their mother kept her best things.

"A pretty fan, a blue sash and a pair of silk stockings," said Meg. "There was a length of violet silk, too, but there isn't time to have it made up into a dress, so I must be content with my old white cotton, I suppose." She sighed. "Never mind, you always look lovely in white," Beth consoled her. "I wish I hadn't smashed my coral bracelet. It would have suited you so," mourned Jo, who loved to lend her things- though they were usually too broken to be of much use.

"My white isn't low-necked and it doesn't rustle like a silk dress," Meg said crossly. "But it will have to do because there isn't anything else." "You said the other day you'd be perfectly happy if you could only go to Sallie Moffat's," Beth reminded her. Meg gave a rueful laugh. "So I did. I suppose the more you have the more you want."

Meg was overawed by the Moffats' stylish and enormous house. She loved eating their extravagant meals, riding in their carriages and dressing herself up every day to go shopping and to concerts and on elegant picnics. Sallie Moffat's pretty things filled her with envy, and home soon seemed bare and dull by comparison.

The house was full of Sallie's friends, all girls the same age, but not one of them earned a living like Meg. She began to copy their airs and graces and to feel ill-used and overworked. The highlight of the week was the Spring Ball. The girls spent their time chatting about which dresses to wear. "I have a new pink silk," Sallie said. "What are you wearing, Meg?"