一本写给女孩子的书

Coocoo

原作節选

Mrs. March came home and heard the story.

“Oh， how could you do that， Amy？”she said.“That was Jos book of stories. She wrote them all herself， and was hoping to make them good enough to print. ”

Slowly， Amy began to understand the terrible thing she had done， and started to cry. Later， when Jo appeared for tea， Amy begged1 her sister to forgive2 her.

“I shall never forgive you，” Jo answered.

It was not a happy evening， and when singing time came， Jo remained silent. Afterwards， she kissed her mother and said “Goodnight”.

“My dear， dont go to bed feeling so angry with your sister，” whispered3 Mrs. March.

“Im sorry， Mother， I cant forgive her，” replied Jo.

Next day， Jo wanted to get out of the house， so she picked up her skates and went next door to ask Laurie to take her skating.

Amy heard them going. “Jo promised4 to take me with her next time！” she complained.

“Its hard for her to forgive you， Amy， ”said Meg. “Go after5 them and wait until Jo is enjoying herself， then give her a kiss or do something kind. ”

It was not far to the river， but Jo and Laurie were already skating when Amy arrived. Jo saw Amy but turned away. Laurie was carefully skating along the edge6 of the ice and didnt see the younger girl.

Amy put her skates on and stood on the ice.

“Keep near the edge. The ice isnt safe in the middle，” Laurie called to Jo， then he disappeared round the first bend7 in the river.

Jo heard， but Amy did not. Jo realized8 that Amy probably hadnt heard， but she said nothing and skated after Laurie. “Let Amy look after herself！” Jo thought.

Amy skated out towards the smoother ice in the middle of the river. Jo reached the bend， and for a moment she stood still， a strange feeling in her heart. Something made her turn round—just in time to see Amy throw up her hands and go crashing through the ice into the cold water！ Amy gave a cry that make Jos heart stop with fear. She tried to call Laurie， but her voice was gone， and for a second she could only stand and stare at the little blue hood of Amys coat above the black water.

Suddenly， Laurie skated past her and shouted，“Bring a piece of wood from the side of the river， quickly！”

Wild with fear， Jo fetched some wood and pulled it across the ice， while Laurie held Amys head above the water. Together， they got her out.

She was more frightened than hurt， and was quickly taken home. They covered her in blankets and tried to calm her， and after a little while she fell asleep in front of the warm fire. Later， when everything was quiet， Jo asked her mother， “Are you sure she is safe？”

“Quite safe， dear. It was sensible9 to get her home as quickly as you did.”

“Laurie did it all，” said Jo. “Mother， if she should die， it will be my fault10. I get angry so quickly. Oh， why cant I be more like you？”

“I get angry nearly every day of my life， Jo，”said Mrs. March， “but Ive learned not to show it. Ive learned to stop myself saying the angry words that come to my lips， and you must try to do the same， my dear.”

Amy moved in her sleep and Jo looked at her. Then Amy opened her eyes and held out her arms， with a smile that went straight to Jos heart. Neither of them said a word， but they held each other close， and everything was forgiven and forgotten.

马奇太太回到家里听说了这件事。

“哦，你怎么能那样做呢，艾米？”她说，“那是琼的故事书。那些都是她自己写的，她期望有一天把它们修改好了能够发表。”

慢慢地，艾米开始意识到她所做的事情有多糟，她开始哭起来。后来，当琼来喝茶时，艾米请求她姐姐原谅她。

“我永远也不会原谅你。”琼回答。

那天晚上很不愉快。当唱歌时间到了的时候，琼默不作声。后来，她吻了吻母亲：“晚安！”

“我亲爱的，别带着对你妹妹的怨气上床。”马奇太太小声说。

“抱歉，妈妈，我不能原谅她。”琼回答。

第二天，琼想要出门，于是她拿起她的溜冰鞋到隔壁去叫罗瑞带她去滑冰。

艾米听见他们出去了。“琼答应过我下次带我去的！”她抱怨说。

“她很难原谅你，艾米，”麦格说，“你跟着他们。等琼高兴的时候就给她一个吻或做点其他什么友好的事。”

到河边的路并不远，可当艾米到那儿的时候，琼和罗瑞已经在滑冰了。琼看见了艾米，可她背过身去。罗瑞正沿着冰的边缘专心致志地滑，没有看到这个小一点的女孩。

艾米换上溜冰鞋站到了冰面上。

“在边上滑，中间的冰不安全。”罗瑞朝琼喊。然后，他就消失在河的第一个拐角那边。

琼听见了，可艾米没听见。琼意识到艾米可能没听见，可她什么也没说，跟着罗瑞滑过去。“让艾米自己照顾自己吧！”她想。

艾米向河中心冰面光滑的地方滑去。琼滑到了拐弯的地方，片刻她站定了，心里有种奇怪的感觉。有什么事使她转过身——正好看到艾米举起双手滑过冰面，掉进了冰冷的河水里！艾米喊叫了一声，使琼的心吓得几乎停止了跳动。她想喊罗瑞，可她的声音怎么也发不出来。有一阵她只得站在那儿盯着艾米那蓝色外衣的帽子漂在黑色的水面上。

突然，罗瑞滑过她身边，对她喊：“到岸边拿块木头来，快！”

琼吓疯了，她去拿了木头，把它拖过冰面。此时罗瑞将艾米的头托出水面。他们一起把她从水中捞了出来。

她没受什么伤，更多的是受了惊吓，很快被送回了家。他们用毛毯盖住她，并试图安慰她。过了一会儿，她就在温暖的炉火前睡着了。然后，当一切安静下来，琼问母亲：“你能肯定她没事吗？”

“肯定没事，亲爱的，你很明智，很快就把她送回家来。”

“都是罗瑞做的，”琼说，“妈妈，如果她死了，那都是我的错。我太爱生气了。哦，我为什么就不能像你呢？”

“我每天都会生气，琼，”马奇太太说，“但我学会了不表现出来。我学会了生气的话就要到嘴边时住口。你也要尽力这样做，亲爱的。”

艾米在睡梦中动了一下，琼看了看她。艾米睁开了双眼，伸出她的双臂，面带微笑，那微笑一直走進了琼的心里。她们谁也没说话，但她们紧紧拥抱在一起，一切都已被原谅和遗忘了。

“成长”是文学作品中反复出现的一个主题，而“成长小说”（coming-of-age novels）一直占据着西方文学史上重要的地位。从我们熟知的《雾都孤儿》（Oliver Twist）、《麦田里的守望者》（The Catcher in the Rye）以及之前栏目中介绍过的《杀死一只知更鸟》（To Kill a Mockingbird），到当今风靡全球的《哈利·波特》（Harry Potter）系列都是其中的代表作。此类作品往往跟随主人公的成长，见证其世界观、人生观或爱情观的逐步形成，从而折射出整个社会的现状与时代风貌。《小妇人》（Little Women）正是一部描绘女性成长的经典之作。作者路易莎·梅·奥尔科特（Louisa May Alcott）是19世纪美国最具影响力的女作家之一。家庭的清贫使得奥尔科特小小年纪就担负起养家的重担。她做过裁缝、家庭教师，甚至佣人，丰富的生活阅历为她后来的写作提供了一手素材。她作品中的女性形象往往崇尚独立、追求自由。《小妇人》是奥尔科特的代表作，以其真实的家庭生活为原型，讲述了马奇家四姐妹的成长故事。老大麦格（Meg）俏丽端庄，但有些爱慕虚荣；老二琼（Jo）是个活脱脱的假小子，立志成为作家；老三白丝（Beth）善良害羞，弹得一手好钢琴；小女儿艾米（Amy）有些娇惯，但很有艺术天赋。四姐妹性格迥异，像各家姐妹一样，有过争执与别扭，一起经历了成长中的各种矛盾与痛苦：贫穷与富有的矛盾、理想与现实的差距、无法逃脱的疾病与死亡，还有情窦初开的甜蜜与烦恼。四姐妹互爱互助，逐渐克服了各自的缺点，不断完善自我，最终成长为富有人格魅力的“小妇人”。

毫无疑问，二女儿琼是小说的灵魂人物，也是四个女孩中给人印象最深的一个。她一出场便显得与众不同：四肢瘦长、皮肤黝黑、衣服宽松，犀利的眼睛和抿紧的嘴角都暗示着她的独立与不安分。父亲不在的时候，她充当起家里男人的角色；喜欢男孩子的运动与游戏，不屑于上流社会的浮华与矫情；与邻居富家男孩罗瑞（Laurie）打成一片，坦率真诚、不拘小节；她又是个不折不扣的书虫，利用一切可以接触到书本的机会汲取养分；在确定了写作梦想之后，一直坚持不懈、勇敢投稿，直至作品发表。

本期节选的“溺水事件”源于琼与艾米的一次斗气。艾米不满两个姐姐不带她去剧院，赌气之下烧了琼最珍爱的小说手稿。琼气得跳脚，即使小艾米主动认错也不肯原谅她。第二天，琼与罗瑞去湖上滑冰，小艾米一路跟随，仍在气头上的琼却视而不见，结果差一点酿成灾难。文字描绘出的这些生动的小情绪，一定会让你有种似曾相识的感觉，因为谁不曾与好友、家人拌过嘴呢？希望你也能从马奇太太给琼上的那一节“学会自我克制”的课和最后姐妹俩的拥抱中，获得些许启发。