ae y oe Gis Brooke M ba arch = ” z 17 Mr March <¢ i Mr Laurenee Aunt Carrol \ Sede 4“ Friedrich Bhaer Paurie (Theodore) Aunt Marchcaper The Wedding se the had ever beEN The Meee itr ts ene Noe tester ° a er carer aa re 2 BE HES wey bed oy te Yocal fgewspaper. Their YOUN site tenn weak. ) the youngest © ‘sisters, y., ertenenresee ene isin per greatest talent. The thing tat made Meg happice of al, Froweer, was the ict dhat she was about 10 MUFTY ME JON Bg | Mr Brooke had! also been ia the war, but had been wo, and seat home. He no longer worked as Laurie's Wor, beau. Laure was now studying at college Instead, Mt Brooke had foy,, 4 job as an aecountant, He made a small salary, but he wor Juan ancl was determined to provide Meg with a home to be prog of At last he had been able to buy little brown house just a sho walk away. Meg sometimes wished that she could have a big hous. 4 carriage. and fashionable clothes, but when she thought of th. Jove and hard work that Mr. Brooke had put into the little bre, house, she forgot all her dreams of riches. In fact, when she ani John sat together and talked about their plans forthe future, My felt like the richest and happiest giel in the world. ‘Meg's mother and sisters helped Meg to turn the little house into a comfortable home. Even Aunt March, who had threatene, tw leave Meg penniless if she married Mr. Brooke, secretly se ‘Meg a generous supply of house and table linen. Laurie, who ho 4 mischievous sense of humor, bought many strange and si items for the house, which made everyone laugh. He bough’ knife cleaner which ruined all the knives, soap which took ( essen regiciathy pablish Beth, who had teen veryskin off people's hands and @ carpet sweeper that refused to pick up any dirt, Nevertheles S, Son everything was done and Meg felt that she would be very happy in her new home. Amy thought that it would be easier for Mey servant or two to help her. Howey 8 if she had a ‘er, Meg and her mother agreed that she should learn to take care of the house herself first and then one day, when they had more money to afford servants, she Wanted them to do, Besides, there was no room in the little house for servants would know exactly what she As the wedding day approached, Meg worked hard to finish her wedding dress, which she was making herself, Everyone was busy preparing for the special day because, although the wedding was going to be very simple, there was a lot of work to do._ ae] ‘The day before aside as they stroll the wedding,a sunny day in June, Jo took Lay a , her. ed ae pave well tomorrow, Laurie, and ny ise to behav i a any funny things. And Timplore you no. ‘nea dO” Til laugh if you pecan shard to see me,Jo-And then one day and we will be the ones crying” to look at me, “you'll be crying t00 will be your turn to marrys is, Jo was quick to answer oer vel want me, and besides 1m t00 Busy to worry about marriage. Meg's wedding has ‘made everyone talk of nothing put absurdities. e's change the subject before I get cross.” Regardless of Jos attitude, however: Laurie was sure it wouldnt be long before she fell in love. ‘The next morning progressed as naturally as possible, Mey had decided that she did not desire anything ceremonious to celebrate her love for Mr Brooke, so the wedding was held in the small ceremony, with only family and close March house. It was a frends present:The wedding feast was set out in the dining room with the cake in the center.The living room, where the ceremony vas to take place, was decorated with garlands of flowers. Since he was a minister of the church, Mr. March performed the marriage ceremony. As the couple took their places in front of him, the room fell silent. Meg looked beautiful in her simple white dress with litle white flowers in her hair, Mr. March found it hard to stop himself from crying as he said the words which would make Meg and John Brooke husband and wife. His voice shook more than once, but this only made the ceremony even more beautiful Although Jo felt like crying, she held back, mainly because she could feel Laurie watching her with a mixture of happiness and mischief in his eyes. 10Ve Chapter 1 ‘the moment Meg and John Brooke were married, the family hugged each other, laughing happily. They sat down to a delicious tunch of cake and frut,and drank a toast to the new Mr.and Mrs. John Brooke. ‘After lunch, people strolled through the house and garden, chatting quietly until Laurie urged them all to dance. Laurie’s grandfather, old Mr. Laurence, surprised everyone by taking Aunt March's hand and joining the dance, which continued until everyone was out of breath. Soon it was time for the happy couple to leave, and the guests gathered outside the house to say goodbye. Mr. Laurence turned to Laurie. "If you ever get married, 1 hope you will choose one of the March girls, Theodore” ‘Til do my best to please you, sir” Everyone watched Mr. and Mrs. Brooke walk away towards their new home. Meg leaned on John’s arm, her hands full of flowers and her eyes full of love as she smiled up at her new husband.Chapter 2 Amy’s Party .d artist, but she had no Yet deci ae calze in. She had tried seupy, ie a arin, and panting, but ne ava any one ofthese artistic forms seemed to be able 10 en att classes, however, and i, ve ing te cea Ge aeyine ae ht made aoe et tin ith people fom any dass and and seemed id exactly the right thing to the right person ang She aways aes was right for every situation. Since she wa, oe lady and a member of high society, she likey Seales vith people who had elegant manner, plenty of money, and fashionable lifestyles. She had not yet learned that money and possessions cannot buy refinement of nature, Amy wanted to invite the other girls from her art class to the March house for a lunch party. All of her classmates came from ‘ea fans and wee used o harry, so Amy Wanted to prove. the very best for them, She didn't: wish her mother to be burdened vith the repatons for fourteen gt, so she decided to mate all the arrangements herself She even calculated the cost and ‘nounced that she would pay for everything, Besides, she didn't _pbestmore than io lt ofthe gto come. Mrs March tie to persuade her tata simpler lunch ‘Would be better,but Amy had made up her mind, Since Mrs, March knew that ‘experience was Amin drawing, charcoal s¥ ——— ‘Chapter 2 sn she end however, she consented t00,t0 help her sister, ‘he invitations were sent out and nearly al the girls accepted jy worked hard and spent a great deal of money preparing for sre nch party, but things did not run smoothy‘To start with, the “hioken Hannah cooked was t00 tough and the ham was too sae cake and ice cream were more expensive than Amy had Expected and the carriage she had hired to collect the its from the sation cost lot of money t00.To make matters worse, Amy's ‘igers did not help at all Beth was in bed with a cold and Meg “yas at her home entertaining visitors.As for Jo, she was in such 4 frivolous state of mind that all her efforts ended up in disaster. ‘The plan was that the guests would come on Monday if the weather was fine, if it rained, they would come on Tuesday. On Monday morning,Amy got up at dawn and began to get the house ready for her guests, scattering vases of flowers around the place and covering worn patches in the carpet with chairs. The hunch vas set out on the table with borrowed china, glass, and silver. Buta shower of rain at eleven o'clock dampened the enthusiasm @ the young ladies, who were to arrive at twelve, and nobody came. $0 the March family ate the dishes that would not keep ‘ntl the next day, On Tuesday, the sun was shining, and Amy felt sure that her fuests would arrive, However, the cake was getting stale, the shops {id not have any lobsters, and the cats had found the chicken on ‘he able and had eaten it. Amy took the omnibus into town and ‘anaged to find a lobster and by twelve o'clock all was ready ‘{Gein.Amy took a carriage to meet her guests at the station. When Mrs. March heard the carriage returning, she rushed outside to so friends, But the only people in the big carriage were ‘one other young lady. a 5‘Chapter 2 ‘The party may have been smaller than Amy had hoped, but she played the part of hostess very well; and the lunch, troublesome though it was, ooked charming and elegant enough. Her guest, Miss Fit, had a wonderful time and enjoyed the lunch and the company very much.After they had eaten, Amy took Miss Eliot for a ride around the village and showed her the river When Miss Eliot left, the girls ‘dleared away the food and flowers Amy gave the cake to Meg, who had many visitors and needed something to offer them when they came to her house. For the next two days, the March family ate ice cream and lobster salad, but there was still plenty left. In the end, Amy couldn't stand even looking at what was a painful reminder of her unsuccessful lunch party, and her eyes filed with tears. “Take everything to the Hummels. I'm sick of this sight, and. besides, you can't eat lobster salad day after day because I've been a fool” Jo offered no consolation, as the whole incident only brought her tears of laughter. “it was so funny to see you two gitls bouncing up and down in the carriage and Mother anxiously waiting to receive a crowd?” Beth, on the other hand, assured Amy that Miss Eliot seemed tohave enjoyed herself alot, and Mrs. March even tried to comfort her daughter “Tm very sorry you were disappointed, Amy deas, but we all did our best to make your party a success” “Lam satisfied, Mother. thank you all for helping me and I'l thank you even more if you don't mention the party for at least a mont Nobody mentioned the party for several months, but when Amy's birthday arrived, Laurie gave her a tiny lobster charm to ‘wear on her bracelet. He could never resist a joke. 7Career and Marriage jo was enjoying some success as a writer-The local newspaper regularly published her stories, but Jo was determined to write ': novel. Every few weeks she would shut herself in her room for days on end to work on her book. ‘One day,Jo attended a lecture on the Egyptian Pyramids with her friend Miss Crocker. While they were waiting for the lecture to start, Jo noticed a young man sitting next to her, reading a newspaper. He seemed really absorbed, but when he paused to turn a page, the young man saw Jo looking and offered her a few pages. “Do you want to read it, Miss? There's a great story in it” Jo took the paper and read the story. It was an adventure story or the kind Jo thought belonged to light literature, There ‘was no passion or originality, and the author always resorted to ‘some catastrophic event whenever he ran out of inspiration. It ‘was entertaining, but she knew she could write better. ‘The young man pointed to the name under the title. “Tve read all her stories. She makes a lot of money from writing them? ‘The lecture began, but Jo heard very litle of it, She was busy writing down the address of the newspaper, as she had resolved to try to win the hundred-dollar prize offered for a sensational story. By the time the lecture ended, she had thought of the plot and characters of her story and even come up with fine details. ‘The next day, Jo said nothing to her family about her plan, but went straight to work. She had only written romance stories before. Writing adventure stories was very different, but she soon became used to the new style, When the story was finished, she Chapter 3 0‘Chapter 3 sent it to the newspaper with a note, She waited for six weeks, and was beginning to think that she would never hear back from the newspaper at all, when a letter arrived. Jo opened it, and a check for a hundred dollars fell into her lap. She stared at the check in disbelief, then read the letter, It was full of encouraging ‘words and compliments for her work. Reading it made her so happy and proud that she began to cry. Jo used the hundred dollars to send Beth and their mother to the seaside while she herself returned to work. She was intent on earning more checks, and she eamed several that year, Her stories paid for a new carpet, new clothes,and many grocery bills. ‘This success gave her the confidence she needed to finish her novel and send it to a publisher. She was delighted when the book ‘was published and she was paid three hundred dollars.The novel received both praise and criticism, but Jo did not let the criticism upset her. She was never one to let herself get down, “Criticism won't kill me, ll ignore it, and when I'm ready, Ill write another novel” ‘Meanwhile, Meg was trying hard to be a good wife, She was determined to make their little home a paradise for John, where he would always find a smiling face, good food, and everything he needed. ‘Meg often told her husband that he should feel free to bring a friend home to dinner whenever he felt like it “You never have to ask my permission. You can invite anyone you like and I will always give them a warm welcome” John was delighted to hear this and one day, he decided to bring home an unexpected guest. When they arrived at the house, however, the front door was locked and the curtains ‘were drawn. There was no sign of Meg. John asked his guest to a2 Chapter 3 wait, because he was affaid that something terrible hag happened to his wife. He hurried round to the back of the house and opened the kitchen door. There was a strong smel} of burnt sugar. He entered to find many jelly pots lying on the table and the floor, with liquid jelly trickling from them. Another Pot ‘was burning on the stove. Meg was sitting at the table, her apron, over her head, sobbing dismally. John approached Meg, thinking something must be terribly ‘wrong. “My dear girl, what is the matter? Are you hurt?” ‘Meg pulled the apron from her head and looked up at John with tears running down her face. “Pm trying to make jelly, but it won't set and I don’t know what to do” John laughed. “Ts that all? Throw the jelly away and forget about it. Ive ‘brought Jack Scott home for dinner and ...” Before John was able to finish his sentence, Meg pushed him away and began to cry again. “How could you bring a guest to dinner? Everything is a mess! You should have warned me!” Upon hearing this, John was confused. “But you told me that I never had to ask!" Meg would hear nothing as her emotions took over her. “Take him away at once! I don’t want to see him and there isn't any dinner. haven't had time to cook anything” John, realizing Meg was frantic, tried to lighten the situation. “Never mind. We're both hungry, and we don't care what we eat, Give us cold meat, bread, and cheese. After all, we won't ‘want any jelly!" ‘iIt was only a joke, but Meg was not in the mood to be teased. She thought John was very cruel to laugh at her failure. “Tell your guest that I'm away, or ill, or dead. I don't care! Take him to Mother's. You can laugh about me and my jelly there. I don't want to see anyone!” Meg threw her apron on the floor and ran upstairs to the bedroom. After a while, she calmed down and began to feel ashamed, She decided to try and be a better wife for John. John apologized, of course, and promised never to joke about Meg's jelly again. Mr. Scott was invited to dinner another night and was served a delicious meal by a relaxed and cheerful Meg. Both John and Meg learned many lessons in the first year of their marriage, but by the end of the year they had worked through their problems and were happy and comfortable together. Their happiness grew even more when Meg gave birth to twins. Daisy and Demi Brooke were beautiful and John and Meg believed that they were the luckiest people in the world. Chapter 3