1 Happy Days at the Little Brown House

CLASSIC STARTS Five-Little Peppers and How They Grew Retold from the'? Margaret Sidney/ original

《五个小辣椒和它们是如何成长的？》 玛格丽特·西德尼/原创

CHAPTER 1 Happy Days at the Little Brown House Long, long ago, in a small village known as Badgertown, on a tiny street called Promise Lane, there was a Little Brown House in which the Pepper Family lived. There was Mrs. Pepper, who was always bent over her sewing in order to earn the money to feed her large brood of five Peppers. Her

很久很久以前，在一个名叫獾镇的小村庄里，在一条名叫“希望巷”的小街上，有一所棕色的小房子，小辣椒一家就住在里面。 还有佩珀太太，她总是埋头针线活，以便挣钱养活她那一大窝五个佩珀。 她的

children called her Mamsie. Ben, the oldest Pepper child, was eleven years old. He worked hard at Deacon Blodgett's and did all the outdoor chores around the Little Brown House. Polly, second oldest, was ten years old. She did all the baking, cooking, and cleaning up. And, she took care of Joel, Davie, and Phronsie, so that Mamsie could sew. By evening, the old kitchen in the Little Brown House was finally quiet. Gone was the hustle and bustle of the day. All of the Peppers, except for Ben, were busy doing small chores. Life was hard for the Peppers. Mr. Pepper had died when the youngest, Phronsie, was just a baby. Since then, Mrs. Pepper had worked hard to scrape together enough money to buy food and pay rent on the Little Brown House. Day after day, she worked cheerfully at her sewing. She made coats and did mending of all kinds. In spite of it all, the five little Peppers were a

孩子们都叫她玛西。 本是佩珀家最大的孩子，今年11岁。 他在布洛杰特执事家工作很努力，在布朗小房子周围做所有的户外杂务。 波莉，老二，十岁。 她做了所有的烘焙、烹饪和清洁工作。 她还照顾乔尔、戴维和弗朗西，这样玛姆西才能做针线活。 到了晚上，小布朗家的老厨房终于安静下来了。 白天的喧嚣已不复存在。 珀珀家的所有人，除了本，都在忙着做些琐事。 “胡椒”一家的生活很艰难。 佩珀先生去世时，最小的女儿弗朗西还是个婴儿。 从那以后，佩珀太太努力工作，凑足了钱买吃的和付布朗小屋的房租。 她日复一日地愉快地做着针线活。 她做外套，还缝补各种衣服。 尽管如此，五个小辣椒还是团结一致

happy bunch and filled Mrs. Pepper's heart with joy. There was only one thing missing: The Peppers had never been to school. There were so many chores and so little money, that the children had to help as best they could, every day. "I must get schooling for them somehow. I must," Mrs. Pepper promised herself as her fingers flew over the coat she was sewing. "To help Mother" was the greatest goal of each and every Pepper. Ben and Polly spent hours making secret plans, whispering to each other about how they would one day surprise Mother with all the kind things they would do for her. The younger three Peppers, Joel, Davie, and Phronsie, looked up to and loved Polly and Ben with all their hearts. The Peppers felt they were a very lucky family, indeed. They might not have much money, but they had each other, and that was all that really mattered.

快乐的一群人，让佩珀太太心里充满了欢乐。 他们只缺一样东西：佩珀一家从未上过学。 家务那么多，钱又那么少，孩子们每天都得尽力帮忙。 “我必须想办法让他们上学。 佩珀太太一边用手指在她缝的大衣上飞舞，一边向自己保证。 “帮助妈妈”是每一个小辣椒的最大目标。 本和波莉花了几个小时制定秘密计划，互相窃窃私语，说有一天他们会为妈妈做所有的好事，给她一个惊喜。 珀珀的三个弟弟，乔尔、戴维和弗朗西，全心全意地尊敬和爱戴波莉和本。 珀珀一家确实觉得他们是一个非常幸运的家庭。 他们可能没有多少钱，但他们有彼此，这才是真正重要的。

"Oh my goodness," said Polly as she burst into the kitchen. "It's almost dinnertime. Ben will be home from work any minute!" Polly reached into the potato sack that hung in the mostly empty cupboard. She pulled out six potatoes, one for each of them. "I'll help you, dear, just as soon as I'm done with this mending," Mrs. Pepper said. "I want to help, too," sang out Phronsie, who toddled in on her chubby little legs and clung to Polly. "May I, Polly? May I?" "Of course you may, my pet," Polly told her, kissing the top of Phronsie's golden head. Polly set Phronsie down on a seat at the table and gave her a crust of bread and butter. "You don't need to do a thing, Mamsie," Polly said cheerily to her mother. "Phronsie and I will take care of it all." Polly hummed as she set a pot of water to boil on the cranky, old black stove. Her brown eyes twinkled in the dimming light as she peeled the

“哦，我的天哪，”波莉冲进厨房说。 “快到晚饭时间了。本随时都可能下班回家！”波莉把手伸进挂在几乎空无一物的碗柜里的土豆袋。 她拿出六个土豆，每人一个。 “我会帮你的，亲爱的，只要我把这些补好，”佩珀太太说。 “我也想帮忙。”弗朗西唱着，她摇摇摆摆地走了进来，抱住波莉。 “我可以吗，波莉？”我可以吗?”“当然可以，我的宝贝。”波莉对她说，亲吻着弗朗西金色的头顶。 波莉让弗朗西坐在桌旁，给她一块涂了黄油的面包皮。 “你什么也不用做，玛西，”波莉高兴地对妈妈说。 “弗朗西和我来处理这一切。” 波莉一边哼着歌，一边把一壶水放在又旧又黑的炉子上烧开。 当她剥开面包时，褐色的眼睛在昏暗的灯光下闪烁

potatoes, cut up the brown bread, and set out the butter plate on the old plank-wood table. "Someday, we'll have enough candles to light the whole house every night," Polly promised herself as she watched Mamsie squint at her sewing in the growing dark. Just then, Phronsie let out a cry. "It's Ben!" Ben bounded into the kitchen, his chubby face all-aglow. His big, blue eyes shone honest and true. "Is supper ready, Polly?" Ben asked. "We're hungry," said Joel and Davie, who trailed in after Ben. "Let's eat!" Polly said, carrying the plate of potatoes to the table. "Someday, we're going to be awfully rich, aren't we Ben?" Phronsie asked, her mouth half- full. "You don't say," Ben said with a chuckle. Then in a low voice to Polly he added, "I wish

土豆，把黑面包切好，把黄油盘放在那张旧木板桌上。 “总有一天，我们会有足够的蜡烛每天晚上照亮整座房子，”波莉看着玛西眯着眼睛看着她在越来越黑的光线中缝纫，向自己保证。 就在这时，弗朗西叫了一声。 “这是本!”本蹦蹦跳跳地进了厨房，胖乎乎的脸通红。 他那双蓝色的大眼睛闪烁着真诚的光芒。 “晚饭准备好了吗，波莉？”本问。 “我们饿了，”乔尔和戴维说，他们跟在本后面进来。 “吃吧!”波莉说着，把那盘土豆端到桌上。 “总有一天，我们会非常富有，是不是，本？”弗朗西问道，嘴里半塞着东西。 “别说了，”本笑着说。 然后他又低声对波莉说：“我希望