《小妇人》第8期_第2章 快乐的圣诞节(3)

The woman almost cried with happiness when she saw the girls．Hannah，who had brought wood，made a fire． Mrs March gave the mother tea and hot food，then she dressed the little baby gently．The girls put the children round the fire and fed them like hungry birds．
　　It was a very happy meal， although the girls ate none of it．But no one was happier than those hungry young ladies who gave away their breakfast on Christmas morning．
　　Mrs March was surprised and pleased when she saw her presents later．There was a lot of laughing and kissing and explaining．Then，for the rest of the day，the girls were busy．Jo liked to write plays，and the four of them were going to act one that evening．They had learned their words， and had worked hard to make strange and wonderful clothes for all the different characters in the play．
　　On Christmas night， some other girls came to watch． At first，there was a lot of whispering and laughing from the four sisters behind the curtains．Then the curtains were opened and the play began．

那妇人见到女孩子们后高兴得几乎哭出来。海娜带来了木柴，燃起了炉火。马奇太太把茶和热气腾腾的食物交给了那位母亲，并轻柔地给婴儿穿衣服。女孩子们则把其他孩子抱到炉火旁边，然后像喂小鸟一样喂给他们东西吃。
　　那顿饭吃得很高兴，虽然女孩子们并没有吃到东西。可没有任何人能比这些在圣诞节早晨将早餐送给别人的饿肚子的女孩子更高兴了。
　　马奇太太随后看到她的礼物时又惊又喜。此后是一阵大笑、亲吻和解释。然后，那天剩下的时光里女孩子们都忙忙碌碌的。琼喜欢写剧本，那天晚上她们四个就要演其中一个剧。她们已经记住了台词，还费力地为剧中的不同人物做了怪异和精彩的服装。
　　圣诞节晚上，其他一些女孩子都来看表演。一开始，幕后传出了四姐妹的许多低语和笑声，然后，幕帘开启，演出开始。