【导读】　《小妇人》是一部以美国南北战争为背景，以19世纪美国新英格兰地区的一个普通家庭四个姐妹之间的生活琐事为蓝本的带有自传色彩的家庭伦理小说。

　　Little Women(excerpt)

　　"We were in the'Slough of Despond'tonight，and Mother came and pulled us out as'Help'did in the book.We ought to have our roll of directions，like Christian.What shall we do about that？"asked Jo，delighted with the fancy which lent a little romance to the very dull task of doing her duty.

　　"Look under your pillows Christmas morning，and you will find your guidebook."replied Mrs March.

　　They talked over the new plan while old Hannah cleared the table，then out came the four little work baskets，and the needles flew as the girls made sheets for Aunt March.It was uninteresting sewing，but tonight no one grumbled.They adopted Jo's plan of dividing the long seams into four parts，and calling the quarters Europe，Asia，Africa，and America，and in that way got on capitally，especially when they talked about the different countries as they stitched their way through them.

　　At nine they stopped work，and sang，as usual，before they went to bed.No one but Beth could get much music out of the old piano，but she had a way of softly touching the yellow keys and making a pleasant accompaniment to the simple songs they sang.Meg had a voice like a flute，and she and her mother led the little choir.Amy chirped like a cricket，and Jo wandered through the airs at her own sweet will，always coming out at the wrong place with a croak or a quaver that spoiled the most pensive tune.They had always done this from the time they could babble.Twinkle，twinkle，little star，an it had become a household custom，for the mother was a born singer.

　　小妇人(节选)

"我们今晚本来处于'绝望的深渊'，妈妈像书中的'帮助'一样来把我们拉了出去。我们应该像基督教徒一样有几本指导手册。这事怎么办好呢？"乔问，为自己的想象力给沉闷的任务添加了几分浪漫色彩而自鸣得意。