CHAPTER I
PLAYING PILGRIMS
āChristmas wonāt be Christmas without any presents,ā grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.
āItās so dreadful to be poor!ā sighed Meg, looking down at her old dress.
āI donāt think itās fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things, and other girls nothing at all,ā added little Amy, with an injured sniff.
āWeāve got Father and Mother, and each other,ā said Beth contentedly from her corner.
The four young faces on which the firelight shone brightened at the cheerful words, but darkened again as Jo said sadly, āWe havenāt got Father, and shall not have him for a long time.ā She didnāt say āperhaps neverā, but each silently added it, thinking of Father far away, where the fighting was.
Nobody spoke for a minute; then Meg said in an altered tone, āYou know the reason Mother proposed not having any presents this Christmas was because it is going to be a hard winter for everyone; and she thinks we ought not to spend money for pleasure, when our men are suffering so in the army. We canāt do much, but we can make our little sacrifices, and ought to do it gladly. But I am afraid I donāt,ā and Meg shook her head, as she thought regretfully of all the pretty things she wanted.
āBut I donāt think the little we should spend would do any good. Weāve each got a dollar, and the army wouldnāt be much helped by our giving that. I agree not to expect anything from Mother or you, but I do want to buy Undine and Sintran for myself. Iāve wanted it so long,ā said Jo, who was a bookworm.
āI planned to spend mine on new music,ā said Beth, with a little sigh, which no one heard but the hearth brush and kettle-holder.
āI shall get a nice box of Faberās drawing pencils; I really need them,ā said Amy decidedly.
āMother didnāt say anything about our money, and she wonāt wish us to give up everything. Letās each buy what we want, and have a little fun; Iām sure we work hard enough to earn it,ā cried Jo, examining the heels of her shoes in a gentlemanly manner.
āI know I do ā teaching those tiresome children nearly all day, when Iām longing to enjoy myself at home,ā began Meg, in the complaining tone again.
āYou donāt have half such a hard time as I do,ā said Jo. āHow 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 youāre ready to fly out the window or cry?ā
āItās 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 canāt practice well at all.ā And Beth looked at her rough hands with a sigh that anyone could hear that time.
āI donāt believe any of you suffer as I do,ā cried Amy, āfor you donāt have to go to school with impertinent girls, who plague you if you donāt know your lessons, and laugh at your dresses, and label your father if he isnāt rich, and insult you when your nose isnāt nice.ā
āIf you mean libel, Iād say so, and not talk about labels, as if Papa was a pickle bottle,ā advised Jo, laughing.
āI know what I mean, and you neednāt be statirical about it. Itās proper to use good words, and improve your vocabilary,ā returned Amy, with dignity.
āDonāt peck at one another, children. Donāt you wish we had the money Papa lost when we were little, Jo? Dear me! How happy and good weād be, if we had no worries!ā said Meg, who could remember better times.
āYou said the other day you thought we were a deal happier than the King children, for they were fighting and fretting all the time, in spite of their money.ā
āSo I did, Beth. Well, I think we are. For though we do have to work, we make fun of ourselves, and are a pretty jolly set, as Jo would say.ā
āJo does use such slang words!ā observed Amy, with a reproving look at the long figure stretched on the rug.
Jo immediately sat up, put her hands in her pockets, and began to whistle.
āDonāt, Jo. Itās so boyish!ā
āThatās why I do it.ā
āI detest rude, unladylike girls!ā
āI hate affected, niminy-piminy chits!ā
āBirds in their little nests agree,ā sang Beth, the peacemaker, with such a funny face that both sharp voices softened to a laugh, and the āpeckingā ended for that time.
āReally, girls, you are both to be blamed,ā said Meg, beginning to lecture in her elder-sisterly fashion. āYou are old enough to leave off boyish tricks, and to behave better, Josephine. It didnāt matter so much when you were a little girl, but now you are so tall, and turn up your hair, you should remember that you are a young lady.ā
āIām not! And if turning up my hair makes me one, Iāll wear it in two tails till Iām twenty,ā cried Jo, pulling off her net, and shaking down a chestnut mane. āI hate to think Iāve got to grow up, and be Miss March, and wear long gowns, and look as prim as a China Aster! Itās bad enough to be a girl, anyway, when I like boysā games and work and manners! I canāt get over my disappointment in not being a boy. And itās worse than ever now, for Iām dying to go and fight with Papa. And I can only stay home and knit, like a poky old woman!ā
And Jo shook the blue army sock till the needles rattled like castanets, and her ball bounded across the room.
āPoor Jo! Itās too bad, but it canāt be helped. So you must try to be contented with making your name boyish, and playing brother to us girls,ā said Beth, stroking the rough head with a hand that all the dish washing and dusting in the world could not make ungentle in its touch.
āAs for you, Amy,ā continued Meg, āyou are altogether too particular and prim. Your airs are funny now, but youāll grow up an affected little goose, if you donāt take care. I like your nice manners and refined ways of speaking, when you donāt try to be elegant. But your absurd words are as bad as Joās slang.ā
āIf Jo is a tomboy and Amy a goose, what am I, please?ā asked Beth, ready to share the lecture.
āYouāre a dear, and nothing else,ā answered Meg warmly, and no one contradicted her, for the āMouseā was the pet of the family.
As young readers like to know āhow people lookā, we will take this moment to give them a little sketch of the four sisters, who sat knitting away in the twilight, while the December snow fell quietly without, and the fire crackled cheerfully within. It was a comfortable room, though the carpet was faded and the furniture very plain, for a good picture or two hung on the walls, books filled the recesses, chrysanthemums and Christmas roses bloomed in the windows, and a pleasant atmosphere of home peace pervaded it.
Margaret, the eldest of the four, was sixteen, and very pretty, being plump and fair, with large eyes, plenty of soft brown hair, a sweet mouth, and white hands, of which she was rather vain. Fifteen-year-old Jo was very tall, thin, and brown, and reminded one of a colt, for she never seemed to know what to do with her long limbs, which were very much in her way. She had a decided mouth, a comical nose, and sharp, gray eyes, which appeared to see everything, and were by turns fierce, funny, or thoughtful. Her long, thick hair was her one beauty, but it was usually bundled into a net, to be out of her way. Round shoulders had Jo, big hands and feet, a flyaway look to her clothes, and the uncomfortable appearance of a girl who was rapidly shooting up into a woman and didnāt like it. Elizabeth, or Beth, as everyone called her, was a rosy, smooth-haired, bright-eyed girl of thirteen, with a shy manner, a timid voice, and a peaceful expression which was seldom disturbed. Her father called her āLittle Miss Tranquilityā, and the name suited her excellently, for she seemed to live in a happy world of her own, only venturing out to meet the few whom she trusted and loved. Amy, though the youngest, was a most important person, in her own opinion at least. A regular snow maiden, with blue eyes, and yellow hair curling on her shoulders, pale and slender, and always carrying herself like a young lady mindful of her manners. What the characters of the four sisters were we will leave to be found out.
The clock struck six and, having swept up the hearth, Beth put a pair of slippers down to warm. Somehow the sight of the old shoes had a good effect upon the girls, for Mother was coming, and everyone brightened to welcome her. Meg stopped lecturing, and lighted the lamp, Amy got out of the easy chair without being asked, and Jo forgot how tired she was as she sat up to hold the slippers nearer to the blaze.
āThey are quite worn out. Marmee must have a new pair.ā
āI thought Iād get her some with my dollar,ā said Beth.
āNo, I shall!ā cried Amy.
āIām the oldest,ā began Meg, but Jo cut in with a decided, āIām the man of the family now Papa is away, and I shall provide the slippers, for he told me to take special care of Mother while he was gone.ā
āIāll tell you what weāll do,ā said Beth, āletās each get her something for Christmas, and not get anything for ourselves.ā
āThatās like you, dear! What will we get?ā exclaimed Jo.
Everyone thought soberly for a minute, then Meg announced, as if the idea was suggested by the sight of her own pretty hands, āI shall give her a nice pair of gloves.ā
āArmy shoes, best to be had,ā cried Jo.
āSome handkerchiefs, all hemmed,ā said Beth.
āIāll get a little bottle of cologne. She likes it, and it wonāt cost much, so Iāll have some left to buy my pencils,ā added Amy.
āHow will we give the things?ā asked Meg.
āPut them on the table, and bring her in and see her open the bundles. Donāt you remember how we used to do on our birthdays?ā answered Jo.
āI used to be so frightened when it was my turn to sit in the chair with the crown on, and see you all come marching round to give the presents, with a kiss. I liked the things and the kisses, but it was dreadful to have you sit looking at me while I opened the bundles,ā said Beth, who was toasting her face and the bread for tea at the same time.
āLet Marmee think we are getting things for ourselves, and then surprise her. We must go shopping tomorrow afternoon, Meg. There is so much to do about the play for Christmas night,ā said Jo, marching up and down, with her hands behind her back, and her nose in the air.
āI donāt mean to act anymore after this time. Iām getting too old for such things,ā observed Meg, who was as much a child as ever about ādressing-upā frolics.
āYou wonāt stop, I know, as long as you can trail round in a white gown with your hair down, and wear gold-paper jewelry. You are the best actress weāve got, and thereāll be an end of everything if you quit the boards,ā said Jo. āWe ought to rehearse tonight. Come here, Amy, and do the fainting scene, for you are as stiff as a poker in that.ā
āI canāt help it. I never saw anyone faint, and I donāt choose to make myself all black and blue, tumbling flat as you do. If I can go down easily, Iāll drop. If I canāt, I shall fall into a chair and be graceful. I donāt care if Hugo does come at me with a pistol,ā returned Amy, who was not gifted with dramatic power, but was chosen because she was small enough to be borne out shrieking by the villain of the piece.
āDo it this way. Clasp your hands so, and stagger across the room, crying frantically, āRoderigo! Save me! Save me!āā and away went Jo, with a melodramatic scream which was truly thrilling.
Amy followed, but she poked her hands out stiffly before her, and jerked herself along as if she went by machinery, and her āOw!ā was more suggestive of pins being run into her than of fear and anguish. Jo gave a despairing groan, and Meg laughed outright, while Beth let her bread burn as she watched the fun with interest. āItās no use! Do the best you can when the time comes, and if the audience laughs, donāt blame me. Come on, Meg.ā
Then things went smoothly, for Don Pedro defied the world in a speech of two pages without a single break. Hagar, the witch, chanted an awful incantation over her kettleful of simmering toads, with weird effect. Roderigo rent his chains asunder manfully, and Hugo died in agonies of remorse and arsenic, with a wild, āHa! Ha!ā
āItās the best weāve had yet,ā said Meg, as the dead villain sat up and rubbed his elbows.
āI donāt see how you can write and act such splendid things, Jo. Youāre a regular Shakespeare!ā exclaimed Beth, who firmly believed that her sisters were gifted with wonderful genius in all things.
āNot quite,ā replied Jo modestly. āI do think The Witchās Curse, an Operatic Tragedy is rather a nice thing, but Iād like to try Macbeth, if we only had a trapdoor for Banquo. I always wanted to do the killing part. āIs that a dagger that I see before me?āā muttered Jo, rolling her eyes and clutching at the air, as she had seen a famous tragedian do.
āNo, itās the toasting fork, with Motherās shoe on it instead of the bread. Bethās stage-struck!ā cried Meg, and the rehearsal ended in a general burst of laughter.
āGlad to find you so merry, my girls,ā said a cheery voice at the door, and actors and audience turned to welcome a tall, motherly lady with a ācan I help youā look about her which was truly delightful. She was not elegantly dressed, but a noble-looking woman, and the girls thought the gray cloak and unfashionable bonnet covered the most splendid mother in the world.
āWell, dearies, how have you got on today? There was so much to do, getting the boxes ready to go tomorrow, that I didnāt come home to dinner. Has anyone called, Beth? How is your cold, Meg? Jo, you look tired to death. Come and kiss me, baby.ā
While making these maternal inquiries Mrs March got her wet things...