14 Thanksgiving and the Fun Fall Months

CHAPTER 14 Thanksgiving and the Fun Fall Months After a successful harvest of all the gardens, Plumfield closed its windows and prepared for fall. With the October frosts came shorter days and longer nights spent by the cheery fire playing games, reading, and talking. But the activity everyone loved the most was storytelling. Each night Mother Jo or Father

第十四章感恩节和欢乐的秋天所有的花园都收获了丰收，普朗菲尔德关上了窗户，准备迎接秋天。 随着十月的霜冻，白天变短了，夜晚变长了，人们在愉快的炉火旁玩游戏、看书、聊天。 但每个人最喜欢的活动是讲故事。 每天晚上乔妈妈或爸爸

Bhaer would tell the boys a tall tale. Sometimes they would be so scared by the end of the story that heading upstairs for the night became an adventure of looking under beds and opening up closet doors. One night, when everyone was getting up to mischief and calling one another names in the playroom, Franz, who was watching them, decided that enough was enough. "From now on, everyone who enters the room must tell a story—those are the rules. And no more jokes, especially you, Tommy. It will be fun to see who comes in first." Tommy scowled at being the only one called out and said, "Thunder turtles!" under his breath. The boys didn't have long to wait before Mother Jo came into the room to find Nan. She was making a new dress for the growing girl and needed to measure her. The boys led Jo into the playroom by the hand and demanded a story. She laughed and said, "Am I the first meek mouse

巴尔会给孩子们讲一个荒诞的故事。 有时他们会被故事的结尾吓到，以至于上楼去睡觉变成了一场寻找床底下和打开壁橱门的冒险。 一天晚上，当每个人都在游戏室里恶作剧，互相辱骂时，弗兰兹看着他们，觉得够了。 “从现在起，每个进入房间的人都必须讲一个故事——这是规定。 别再开玩笑了，尤其是你，汤米。 看看谁是第一名会很有趣。” 汤米皱着眉头，因为他是唯一一个大声喊着“雷龟”的人。 孩子们没等多久，乔妈妈就走进房间找南。 她正在为那个正在长大的女孩做一件新衣服，需要给她量尺寸。 孩子们牵着乔的手走进游戏室，要求给她讲个故事。 她笑着说：“我是第一只温顺的老鼠吗

you cats have caught?" "Yes!" Tommy shouted. "But who better to start off our game with than you, Mother Jo?" "Well, what shall I tell you about?" Jo wondered. "I know. I'll tell you the tale of 'The Suspected Boy.'" Before she started, she smiled and winked at Nat, who blushed a little, as he always did when someone paid attention to him. Then Jo told a story about a small boy living in a house, somewhat like Plumfield, filled up with boys who needed to be taught lessons like not stealing gooseberries and always telling the truth. Jo was about to start her second story when little Rob came tumbling into the playroom in his pajamas. "I heard noise," he said as he rubbed his eyes, "and I wanted to know what was going on." "You march right back into bed," Jo said, but she was interrupted by Demi, who shouted, "He has to tell us a story, Aunt Jo. It's the law!"

你们抓到了吗？”“是的!”汤米喊道。 “不过，有谁比你更适合开始我们的游戏呢，乔妈妈？”“那么，我该跟你说些什么呢？”乔很好奇。 “我知道。我要给你们讲一个“被怀疑的男孩”的故事。’”在她开始之前，她微笑着向纳特眨了眨眼，纳特有点脸红，每当有人注意到他时，他总是这样。 然后琼讲了一个小男孩的故事，他住在一所有点像普卢姆菲尔德的房子里，房子里满是男孩，他们需要被教导不要偷醋栗，永远讲真话。 乔正要开始讲她的第二个故事时，小罗布穿着睡衣跌跌撞撞地走进了游戏室。 “我听到有声音，”他一边揉眼睛一边说，“我想知道发生了什么事。” “你马上回床上去，”乔说，但她被德米打断了，德米喊道：“他得给我们讲个故事，乔阿姨。 这是法律！”

Rob's story was three lines long and involved a water pump, a boy, and a great fall—much to the merriment of all listening. Then Father Bhaer came into the room saying, "What's going on in here?" The children all fell into laughter once again and enforced their law. Father Bhaer sat down beside his wife and put his hand on his chin for a moment. "I know the perfect story!" he said. Eyes grew wide and there were shouts of "oh no!" and "really!" as Father Bhaer told the tale of the time Jo's father, known to them as Grandfather March, was almost robbed—and how his kindness toward the man stopped the evil deed from happening. At the end of the story, Father Bhaer stood up. The boys surrounded him, trying to pull him back down to tell another story. He barely escaped to his study, and he sent the laughing boys racing back into the playroom. Finally the boys settled on a lively game of

罗布的故事有三行字长，涉及到一个水泵、一个男孩和一次巨大的坠落——听着的人都很开心。 这时，巴尔神父走进房间，问道：“这里发生了什么事？”孩子们又一次大笑起来，开始执行他们的法律。 巴尔神父在妻子身边坐下，把手放在下巴上一会儿。 “我知道一个完美的故事！”他说。 当巴尔神父讲述乔的父亲——他们称他为马奇爷爷——差点被抢劫的故事时，他们的眼睛睁得大大的，“哦，不！”“真的吗？” 故事结束时，巴尔神父站了起来。 男孩们围住了他，想把他拉下来讲另一个故事。 他勉强逃回自己的书房，把笑着的男孩子们赶回了游戏室。 最后，孩子们决定玩一场活泼的游戏

blind man's bluff, and apologies were made for earlier name calling. By the time the night bell rang for bed, imaginations were stirring from a grand night of storytelling. As the fall progressed, everyone grew more and more excited. Thanksgiving was by far the favorite holiday at Plumfield. For days beforehand, the girls helped Jo and Asia in the kitchen, making pies and puddings, dusting off the good dishes, and sorting fruit. The boys hovered outside, impatient to taste whatever was cooking—it smelled so delicious! A general air of hustle and bustle filled the house. Even the great pumpkin Rob had grown in the garden couldn't help but be busy—it was turned into a half-dozen golden pies! When at last the day came, the boys went off

盲人的虚张声势，并为之前的辱骂道歉。 到晚上睡觉的铃声响起的时候，想象从一个盛大的夜晚讲故事中迸发出来。 随着秋天的进行，每个人都变得越来越兴奋。 到目前为止，感恩节是普卢姆菲尔德最受欢迎的节日。 在此之前的几天里，女孩们在厨房里帮助乔和亚西亚，做馅饼和布丁，掸去盘子上的灰尘，分类水果。 孩子们在外面徘徊，迫不及待地想尝尝正在煮的东西——它闻起来太香了！屋子里充满了熙熙攘攘的气氛。 就连罗布在花园里种的大南瓜也忍不住忙了起来——它变成了六个金色的馅饼！终于天亮了，孩子们都走了

for a long walk in the woods so they might have a grand appetite for dinner. The girls stayed back and helped set the table before they hid themselves away in the schoolroom to prepare a grand performance. Hardy little Teddy stood guard at the schoolroom door and refused to let anyone in, especially his father. When Nan finally came out of the room, she said, "It's all done, and it's perfect!" Daisy added, "Franz knows exactly what to do now, and then we're all set." "The boys are coming," Nan said. "I hear them now. We'd better go get ready for dinner." The girls raced upstairs to get dressed in their good clothes as the boys returned from their walk. Faces were scrubbed and jackets were brushed off and put on. With combed hair and glowing cheeks, the children filed into the dining room the minute the bell rang. The meal contained so many wonderful things the children had grown themselves that they each

在树林里走很长一段路，这样它们就可以大吃一顿了。 女孩们留下来帮忙摆好桌子，然后躲进教室准备一场盛大的表演。 坚强的小特迪守在教室门口，拒绝让任何人进来，尤其是他的父亲。 当南终于走出房间时，她说：“一切都完成了，太完美了！”黛西补充说：“弗兰兹现在很清楚该做什么，然后我们就万事俱备了。” “男孩们来了，”南说。 “我现在听到了。我们最好去准备晚饭了。” 当男孩们散步回来时，女孩们跑上楼换上好衣服。 脸上擦得干干净净，外套刷掉再穿上。 铃声一响，孩子们梳好头发，容光焕发，鱼贯走进餐厅。 这顿饭里有很多孩子们自己种的奇妙的东西，他们每个人都很高兴