4 Burdens

CHAPTER 4 Burdens Now that the holidays were over, the day began sourly. Meg tried to hide her envy of girls who didn't have so many burdens. Jo didn't feel like going back to work. Beth had a headache, and Amy complained because she hadn't finished her schoolwork. With their hot turnovers in hand, the girls headed outdoors. Marmee smiled and nodded to them from the window. That

假期结束了，天气开始变得阴沉起来。 梅格试图掩饰自己对那些没有那么多负担的女孩的嫉妒。 乔不想回去工作。 贝丝头痛，艾米抱怨说她没有完成作业。 姑娘们手里拿着热腾腾的卷饼，向室外走去。 妈妈微笑着，从窗口向他们点点头。 那

seemed to brighten their spirits. Meg took being poor the hardest. She loved fine things and had warm memories of better days. The two older girls had begged to help financially. So Meg worked as a governess for the Kings, and Jo was a companion to their father's elder sister, Aunt March, who was rich and frail. Despite their differences, Jo and Aunt March got along very well. Jo often spent time in the large library when her aunt didn't need her. The poverty of the family affected the girls differently. While they tried to be cheerful, Beth wept a little because she couldn't afford music lessons. Quiet and shy, she did her lessons at home and spent a lot of time with her dolls. She was a giving child, whose greatest joy was caring for others. Amy's worst problem was her nose. She blamed Jo, who accidentally dropped her as a

似乎让他们精神振奋。 梅格觉得贫穷是最痛苦的。 她喜欢美好的事物，对美好的日子有着温馨的回忆。 两个大一点的女孩曾乞求经济上的帮助。 于是麦格在金家做家庭教师，琼则陪伴着他们父亲的姐姐马奇姑妈。马奇姑妈富有而虚弱。 尽管琼和马奇姑妈有分歧，但她们相处得很好。 当姨妈不需要她的时候，乔经常在大图书馆里消磨时间。 家庭贫困对女孩们的影响不同。 当他们努力高兴起来的时候，贝丝却哭了起来，因为她上不起音乐课。 她安静而害羞，在家里做功课，花很多时间和她的洋娃娃在一起。 她是一个乐于奉献的孩子，她最大的乐趣就是关心别人。 艾米最严重的问题是她的鼻子。 她责怪乔，乔不小心把她当作

baby. All the pinching in the world couldn't give her an aristocratic point. In terms of talent, Amy was the artist, forever drawing flowers, fairies, and all the pretty noses she so desired. All in all, they were happy girls who found comfort in one another, when the outside world was so disappointing. A hard day's work was rewarded by long conversations after supper when mother and daughters talked for hours. On this night, Mrs. March told a moving story. While she was cutting jackets, an old man came into the shop. All four of his sons were in the army. Two were killed, one was a prisoner, and the last was sick in a Washington hospital. Marmee said she was grateful to run into a man so accepting of his duty, which made her very thankful for her blessings.

婴儿。世界上所有的掐都不能给她一个贵族的点。 就天赋而言，艾米是一位艺术家，她永远在画花朵、仙女和所有她渴望的漂亮鼻子。 总而言之，当外面的世界如此令人失望时，她们都是快乐的女孩，在彼此身上找到了安慰。 一天的辛苦工作换来了晚饭后母女俩一聊就是几个小时的长谈。 那天晚上，马奇太太讲了一个感人的故事。 当她正在裁剪夹克时，一位老人走进了店里。 他的四个儿子都在军队服役。 两人被杀，一个是囚犯，最后一个在华盛顿的一家医院生病。 妈妈说，她很感激能遇到一个如此乐于承担责任的人，这使她非常感激自己的幸福。

"Tell us another story with a moral," Jo asked. So Marmee began a tale about four girls who had enough to eat, drink, and wear. They had many wonderful friends and a family who loved them very much. Still, these girls weren't happy, always asking for this and wishing for that. All four sisters stole silent glances at one another and sewed faster as their mother continued. "When you feel unhappy, count your blessings and be grateful—for there are always those in the world with less," Marmee said. The girls enjoyed the story and all agreed to stop complaining and to find happiness in their own small blessings, keeping Marmee's words very close to their hearts.

“再给我们讲一个有寓意的故事，”乔问。 于是妈妈开始讲四个女孩吃饱喝饱穿饱的故事。 他们有很多很好的朋友和一个非常爱他们的家庭。 然而，这些女孩并不快乐，总是要求这个，希望那个。 四姐妹悄悄地互相看了一眼，母亲继续缝得更快了。 妈妈说：“当你感到不快乐的时候，要珍惜你所拥有的，要心存感激——因为世界上总有人比你拥有的少。” 女孩们都很喜欢这个故事，她们都同意不再抱怨，从自己的小小祝福中寻找快乐，把妈妈的话牢记在心里。