Little Women - Chapter 27

Fortune suddenly smiled upon Jo, and dropped a good luck penny in her path. Not a golden penny, exactly, but I doubt if half a million would have given more real happiness then did the little sum that came to her in this wise., ,Every few weeks she would shut herself up in her room, put on her scribbling ¹ suit, and 'fall into a vortex', as she expressed it, writing away at her novel with all her heart and soul, for till that was finished she could find no peace. Her 'scribbling suit' consisted of a black woolen ² pinafore on which she could wipe her pen at will, and a cap of the same material, adorned ³ with a cheerful red bow, into which she bundled her hair when the decks were cleared for action. This cap was a beacon ⁴ to the inquiring eyes of her family, who during these periods kept their distance, merely popping in their heads semi-occasionally to ask, with interest, "Does genius burn, Jo?" They did not always venture even to ask this question, but took an observation of the cap, and judged accordingly. If this expressive ⁵ article of dress was drawn ⁶ low upon the forehead, it was a sign that hard work was going on, in exciting moments it was pushed rakishly askew ⁷, and when despair seized the author it was plucked wholly off, and cast upon the floor. At such times the intruder silently withdrew, and not until the red bow was seen gaily ⁸ erect ⁹ upon the gifted brow, did anyone dare address Jo., ,She did not think herself a genius by any means, but when the writing fit came on, she gave herself up to it with entire abandon, and led a blissful life, unconscious of want, care, or bad weather, while she sat safe and happy in an imaginary world, full of friends almost as real and dear to her as any in the flesh. Sleep forsook ¹⁰ her eyes, meals stood untasted, day and night were all too short to enjoy the happiness which blessed her only at such times, and made these hours worth living, even if they bore no other fruit. The devine afflatus ¹¹ usually lasted a week or two, and then she emerged from her 'vortex', hungry, sleepy, cross, or despondent ¹²., , ,They were early, and while Miss Crocker set the heel of her stocking, Jo amused herself by examining the faces of the people who occupied the seat with them. On her left were two matrons, with massive foreheads and bonnets ¹⁵ to match, discussing Women's Rights and making tatting. Beyond sat a pair of humble ¹⁶ lovers, artlessly holding each other by the hand, a somber ¹⁷ spinster eating peppermints ¹⁸ out of a paper bag, and an old gentleman taking his preparatory nap behind a yellow bandanna ¹⁹. On her right, her only neighbor was a studious looking lad absorbed in a newspaper., ,It was a pictorial ²⁰ sheet, and Jo examined the work of art nearest her, idly wondering what fortuitous concatenation of circumstances needed the melodramatic illustration of an Indian in full war costume, tumbling over a precipice ²¹ with a wolf at his throat, while two infuriated young gentlemen, with unnaturally ²³ small feet and big eyes, were stabbing each other close by, and a disheveled female was flying away in the background with her mouth wide open. Pausing to turn a page, the lad saw her looking and, with boyish good nature offered half his paper, saying bluntly, "want to read it? That's a first-rate story.", ,McMug loves scribbling. Mama then sent him to the Kindergarten. 麦唛很喜欢写字
，妈妈看在眼里，就替他报读了幼稚园
。 来自互联网,She likes to wear woolen socks in winter.冬天她喜欢穿羊毛袜。