Louisa May Alcott
路易莎·梅·奥尔科特(Louisa May Alcott，1832—1888年)，美国19世纪最重要的女作家之一。奥尔科特的创作在儿童文学、长短篇小说、诗歌和时论等方面都有涉猎。1868年至1869年，奥尔科特出版了据亲身经历编写的《小妇人》第一、二部，一问世就受到读者的热烈欢迎，并引起强烈反响，《小妇人》一书奠定了她在文坛的地位。随后，她又相继出版了《一位传统女子》、《小绅士》、《野性的燕麦田》、《八个表亲》、《盛开的玫瑰》、《乔的男孩》等，她的作品中的故事简单但文笔丰富细腻，平实而寓意深远。
“Mother didn’t say anything about our money，and she won’t wish US to give up everything．Let’S each buy what we want，and have a little fun；I，m sure we work hard enough to earn it．”cried Jo．examining the heels of her shoes in a gentlemanly manner．
“I know I do—teaching those tiresome children nearly all day．when I’m longing to enjoy myself at home．”began Meg，in the complainingtone again．
“You don’t have half such a hard time as I do．”said Jo．“How would you like to be shut up for hours with a nervous，fussy old lady，who keeps you trotting，is never satisfied，and worries you till you’re ready to fly out the window or cry？”
“It’S naughty to fret．but I do think washing dishes and keeping things tidy is the worst work in the world．It makes me cross，and my hands get SO stiff，I can’t practice well at a11．’’And Beth looked at her rough hands with a sigh that any one could hear that time．
“I don’t believe any of you suffer as I do，”cried Amy，“for you don’t have tO go to school with impertinent girls，who plague you if you don’t know your lessons，and laugh at your dresses，and label your fatherif he isn’t rich．and insult you when your nose isn’t nice．”
“If you mean libel，I’d say SO，and not talk about labels，as if Papa was a pickle bottle．”advised Jo，laughing．
“I know what I mean．and you needn’t be satirical about it．It’S proper to use good words，and improve your vocabulary．”returned Amy，with dignity．
“Don’t peck at one another，children．Don’t you wish we had the money Papa lost when we were little，Jo．9 Dear me！How happy andgood we’d be，if we had no worries！”said Meg，who could rememberbetter times．
“You said the other day you thought we were a deal happier thanthe King children，for they were fighting and fretting all the time，in spiteof their money．’’
“So I did，Beth．Well，I think we are．For though we do have towork，we make fun of ourselves，and are a pretty jolly set，as Jowould say．’’
“Jo does use such slang words！”observed Amy，with a reprovinglook at the long figure stretched on the rug．
Jo immediately sat up，put her hands in her pockets，and began tOwhistle“Don’t，Jo．It’S SO boyish！”
“That’S why I do it．’’
“I detest rude。unladylike girls！”
“I hate affected．niminy—pirniny chits！”
“Birds in their little nests agree，”sang Beth，the peacemaker，withsuch a funny face that both sharp voices softened to a laugh，and the“pecking”ended for that time．
“Really，girls，you are both to be blamed，”said Meg，beginning tolecture in her elder—sisterly fashion．“You are old enough to leave offboyish tricks，and tO behave better，Josephine．It didn’t matter SO muchwhen you were a little girl，but now you are SO tall，and turn up yourhair，you should remember that you are a young lady．’’
