Little Women - Chapter 40

When the first bitterness was over, the family accepted the inevitable ¹, and tried to bear it cheerfully, helping ² one another by the increased affection which comes to bind ³ households tenderly together in times of trouble. They put away their grief, and each did his or her part toward making that last year a happy one., ,The pleasantest room in the house was set apart for Beth, and in it was gathered everything that she most loved, flowers, pictures, her piano, the little worktable, and the beloved pussies ⁴. Father's best books found their way there, Mother's easy chair, Jo's desk, Amy's finest sketches ⁵, and every day Meg brought her babies on a loving pilgrimage, to make sunshine for Aunty Beth. John quietly set apart a little sum, that he might enjoy the pleasure of keeping the invalid ⁶ supplied with the fruit she loved and longed for. Old Hannah never wearied of concocting ⁷ dainty dishes to tempt ⁸ a capricious appetite, dropping tears as she worked, and from across the sea came little gifts and cheerful letters, seeming to bring breaths of warmth and fragrance ⁹ from lands that know no winter., ,Here, cherished like a household saint in its shrine ¹⁰, sat Beth, tranquil ¹¹ and busy as ever, for nothing could change the sweet, unselfish nature, and even while preparing to leave life, she tried to make it happier for those who should remain behind. The feeble fingers were never idle, and one of her pleasures was to make little things for the school children daily passing to and fro, to drop a pair of mittens ¹² from her window for a pair of purple hands, a needlebook for some small mother of many dolls, penwipers for young penmen toiling ¹³ through forests of pothooks, scrapbooks for picture-loving eyes, and all manner of pleasant devices, till the reluctant climbers of the ladder of learning found their way strewn with flowers, as it were, and came to regard the gentle giver as a sort of fairy godmother, who sat above there, and showered down gifts miraculously ¹⁴ suited to their tastes and needs. If Beth had wanted any reward, she found it in the bright little faces always turned up to her window, with nods and smiles, and the droll ¹⁵ little letters which came to her, full of blots ¹⁶ and gratitude ¹⁷., , ,It was well for all that this peaceful time was given them as preparation for the sad hours to come, for by-and-by, Beth said the needle was 'so heavy', and put it down forever. Talking wearied her, faces troubled her, pain claimed her for its own, and her tranquil spirit was sorrowfully perturbed ²³ by the ills that vexed ²⁴ her feeble flesh. Ah me! Such heavy days, such long, long nights, such aching hearts and imploring ²⁵ prayers, when those who loved her best were forced to see the thin hands stretched out to them beseechingly ²⁶, to hear the bitter cry, "Help me, help me!" and to feel that there was no help. A sad eclipse of the serene ²⁷ soul, a sharp struggle of the young life with death, but both were mercifully brief, and then the natural rebellion over, the old peace returned more beautiful than ever. With the wreck ²⁸ of her frail ²⁹ body, Beth's soul grew strong, and though she said little, those about her felt that she was ready, saw that the first pilgrim called was likewise the fittest, and waited with her on the shore, trying to see the Shining Ones coming to receive her when she crossed the river., ,Jo never left her for an hour since Beth had said "I feel stronger when you are here." She slept on a couch in the room, waking often to renew the fire, to feed, lift, or wait upon the patient creature who seldom asked for anything, and 'tried not to be a trouble'. All day she haunted the room, jealous of any other nurse, and prouder of being chosen then than of any honor her life ever brought her. Precious and helpful hours to Jo, for now her heart received the teaching that it needed. Lessons in patience were so sweetly taught her that she could not fail to learn them, charity for all, the lovely spirit that can forgive and truly forget unkindness, the loyalty ³⁰ to duty that makes the hardest easy, and the sincere faith that fears nothing, but trusts undoubtingly., ,The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响 。,The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份
。