16 Confidential

CHAPTER 16 Confidential Mrs. March did not leave Beth's side after returning home that morning. Meg and Jo were able to sleep peacefully now that their mother was home. The next day was bright and cheerful. Laurie went to see Amy at Aunt March's. Amy had been wishing and wishing that her sister would get better. Even though she almost worried herself sick, she also did her

第十六章保密那天早晨马奇太太回到家后，一直陪伴在白丝身边。 妈妈回来了，麦格和琼就能安然入睡了。 第二天阳光明媚，心情愉快。 罗瑞去马奇姑妈家看艾米。 艾米一直希望她的妹妹能好起来。 尽管她几乎担心得要命，但她还是做到了

best to be brave. Aunt March had been keeping her busy, but she was still very homesick, and longed to be back in the familiar warmth of her family. Laurie smiled as told her the good news. She tried hard to conceal her longing to go home and see her mother. But Beth was still sick so she had to settle for writing a note. Much to her surprise and delight, her mother arrived at Aunt March's just as she was putting pen to paper. Amy sat on Marmee's lap, relating her hardships. Her mother kissed her in return. That day, Aunt March had given Amy a turquoise ring. Amy asked her mother if she could keep it. Marmee replied, "I think you might be too young." "But I'd like to wear it, to remind me of something." "Of Aunt March?"

最好勇敢一点。马奇姑妈一直让她很忙，但她仍然非常想家，渴望回到熟悉的温暖的家庭里。 劳里微笑着告诉她这个好消息。 她竭力掩饰想回家看母亲的渴望。 但贝丝还在生病，所以她只能写张纸条。 令她又惊又喜的是，就在她准备写信的时候，母亲来到了马奇姑妈家。 艾美坐在妈咪的腿上，诉说着她的苦难。 她母亲回敬她一吻。 那天，马奇姑妈送给艾米一枚绿松石戒指。 艾米问她妈妈她能不能留着它。 妈妈回答说：“我想你可能太年轻了。” “但我想戴上它，让我想起一些事情。” “马奇姑妈？”

Amy shook her head. "No, to remind me not to be selfish." She explained, "Being selfish is my worst fault. Beth isn't selfish and that's why everyone loves her. I want to be better, yet I often forget. But I could if I had something to remind me." Marmee said, "Well, do your best, dear. And wear your ring. Now, I must get back to Beth. You'll be home soon enough." Later that evening back at home, Jo slipped upstairs to talk to her mother. The burden of Laurie's secret had become too heavy. She told her mother about Meg's lost glove. After she finished, her mother asked, "Do you think Meg cares for Mr. Brooke?" Jo responded, "Christopher Columbus! I don't know anything about love. Meg doesn't act like the heroines in my books. She doesn't faint and she has all her wits." "Then you think she's not interested in

艾米摇了摇头。“不，是为了提醒我不要自私。” 她解释说：“自私是我最大的缺点。 贝丝并不自私，所以大家都喜欢她。 我想变得更好，但我经常忘记。 但如果有什么东西提醒我，我就能做到。” 妈妈说：“好吧，尽力吧，亲爱的。 戴上你的戒指。现在，我得回去找贝丝了。 你很快就会回家的。” 那天晚上回到家后，琼溜上楼和母亲说话。 劳里的秘密负担太重了。 她把梅格丢手套的事告诉了母亲。 她讲完后，妈妈问：“你觉得梅格喜欢布鲁克先生吗？”乔回答说：“克里斯托弗·哥伦布！我对爱情一无所知。 梅格不像我书里的女英雄。 她没有晕倒，而且头脑很清醒。” “那么你认为她不感兴趣。

John?" Jo cried, "Who?" "Mr. Brooke. I call him John now, since he was so kind to us at the hospital." "Oh no!" Jo groaned. "You'll let Meg marry him just because he's been kind to Father." Marmee quietly explained that John Brooke was an honorable young man. He had already spoken to Mr. March about his feelings toward Meg. He had asked Meg's father's permission to work hard for her—to make something of himself. Although he was an excellent man, Meg's parents still couldn't agree to her becoming engaged while she was only seventeen. Jo complained, "I wish I could marry her myself just to keep her in the family." Marmee smiled. Then, she asked Jo not to mention anything to Meg. She first wanted to see how Meg felt about Mr. Brooke.

约翰?”琼叫道：“谁？”“先生。 布鲁克。我现在叫他约翰，因为他在医院对我们很好。” “哦,不!”乔呻吟着。“就因为他对爸爸好，你就让梅格嫁给他。” 妈妈平静地解释说，约翰·布鲁克是个可敬的年轻人。 他已经和马奇先生谈过他对梅格的感情。 他曾请求麦格的父亲允许他为她努力工作——让自己有所作为。 虽然他是一个优秀的男人，但梅格的父母仍然不同意她在17岁时订婚。 琼抱怨道：“我真希望自己能娶她，好让她留在家里。” 妈咪笑了。然后，她让琼不要向麦格提起任何事。 她首先想知道梅格对布鲁克先生是什么感觉。

"Mercy me!" Jo cried. "My heart will break if he comes back with a fortune and Meg falls in love with him." "Jo, dear," Marmee began, "I want all my girls to have homes of their own in time. But Meg is still very young, and it will be some time before John can make a home for her." "Wouldn't it be better if Meg married a rich man?" "Money is a useful part of life, but so are love and virtue. Being rich with love is always better than having a fortune." Mrs. March encouraged Jo to leave these matters to time, which would settle all questions of love and marriage. Jo listened carefully, even though it made her terribly sad to think of losing her Meg. The secret weighed heavily upon Jo the next

“怜悯我!”乔喊道。“如果他带着一大笔钱回来，梅格爱上他，我会心碎的。” “乔，亲爱的，”妈妈开始说，“我希望我所有的女儿都能早日有自己的家。 但是麦格还很小，约翰还需要一段时间才能给她建个家。” “麦格嫁给一个有钱人不是更好吗？”“金钱是生活中有用的一部分，但爱情和美德也是如此。” 充满爱总是比拥有财富更好。” 马奇太太鼓励乔把这些事情留给时间，一切爱情和婚姻的问题都会解决的。 琼认真地听着，尽管一想到要失去麦格，她就感到非常难过。 第二天，这个秘密沉重地压在乔的心头

day. Meg noticed the change in her sister, though she didn't say anything. She learned long ago that the best way to get Jo to talk was not to ask questions. Only this time Jo remained quiet, assuming a cold manner. This annoyed Meg, which made Jo even more disagreeable. Meg took comfort in her mother and soon ignored poor Jo. Laurie became Jo's only escape. There was one problem. He knew she had a secret and constantly tried to find out what it was. Jo never told him, but Laurie figured it had to be about Meg and Mr. Brooke. Finally, he set up his own bit of mischief. For a couple of days, Meg was out of sorts. Jo assumed the worst—that Meg had fallen in love with Mr. Brooke. "What shall we do?" she groaned to her mother.

的一天。梅格注意到了姐姐的变化，尽管她什么也没说。 她很久以前就知道，让琼开口说话的最好办法就是不要问问题。 只是这一次乔保持沉默，装出一副冷淡的样子。 这使麦格很恼火，这使乔更加不愉快。 麦格从母亲那里得到安慰，很快就忽略了可怜的琼。 劳里成了琼唯一的避难所。 有一个问题。他知道她有一个秘密，并不断地试图找出是什么。 琼从来没有告诉过他，但罗瑞猜想一定是关于麦格和布鲁克先生的事。 最后，他自己搞了点恶作剧。 有几天，梅格心情不好。 乔做了最坏的打算——梅格爱上了布鲁克先生。 “我们该怎么办？”她向母亲呻吟道。