It was easy to promise self-abnegation when self was wrapped up in another, and heart and soul were purified by a sweet example. —
当自我与他人紧密相连，心灵也因甜蜜的榜样而净化时，承诺自我放弃是很容易的。 —

But when the helpful voice was silent, the daily lesson over, the beloved presence gone, and nothing remained but loneliness and grief, then Jo found her promise very hard to keep. —
但是当那位乐于助人的声音消失了，每天的教训结束了，心爱的存在离去了，只留下寂寞和悲伤时，乔发现自己很难履行自己的承诺。 —

How could she ‘comfort Father and Mother’ when her own heart ached with a ceaseless longing for her sister, how could she ‘make the house cheerful’ when all its light and warmth and beauty seemed to have deserted it when Beth left the old home for the new, and where in all the world could she ‘find some useful, happy work to do’, that would take the place of the loving service which had been its own reward? —
当自己满腔思念妹妹的时候，她如何“安慰父母”呢？当伯丝离开了旧家寻找新的家园时，她如何让“屋子充满欢乐”呢？在整个世界上，她又如何“找到一些有用、快乐的工作”来取代那些被自己付出所回报的爱心服务呢？ —

She tried in a blind, hopeless way to do her duty, secretly rebelling against it all the while, for it seemed unjust that her few joys should be lessened, her burdens made heavier, and life get harder and harder as she toiled along. —
她以一种盲目、绝望的方式努力履行自己的责任，却暗地里对此抱怨，因为她觉得自己少有的快乐越来越少，负担越来越重，生活变得越来越艰难，并且她的辛劳变得越来越多。 —

Some people seemed to get all sunshine, and some all shadow. —
有些人似乎总是享受阳光，而有些人却总是身处阴影之中。 —

It was not fair, for she tried more than Amy to be good, but never got any reward, only disappointment, trouble and hard work.
这是不公平的，因为她比艾米更努力地想要变好，但却得不到任何回报，只有失望、麻烦和辛苦的工作。

Poor Jo, these were dark days to her, for something like despair came over her when she thought of spending all her life in that quiet house, devoted to humdrum cares, a few small pleasures, and the duty that never seemed to grow any easier. —
对于乔来说，这是黑暗的日子，因为每当她想到自己要在那个安静的房子里度过一生，专注于单调的琐事、一些微不足道的快乐以及看似永远不会变得更容易的责任时，她会陷入绝望的情绪中。 —

“I can’t do it. I wasn’t meant for a life like this, and I know I shall break away and do something desperate if somebody doesn’t come and help me,” she said to herself, when her first efforts failed and she fell into the moody, miserable state of mind which often comes when strong wills have to yield to the inevitable.
“我做不到。我不是为这样的生活而生的，我知道如果没有人来帮助我，我会逃离并做一些绝望的事情。”她对自己说，当她的第一次努力失败，并陷入了萧条、痛苦的心境时，这种情绪经常会出现在意志坚强的人不得不屈服于不可抗拒的东西时。

But someone did come and help her, though Jo did not recognize her good angels at once because they wore familiar shapes and used the simple spells best fitted to poor humanity. —
但是有人来帮助她了，尽管乔一开始没有认出她的好天使，因为它们穿着熟悉的形状，使用最适合可怜的人性的简单咒语。 —

Often she started up at night, thinking Beth called her, and when the sight of the little empty bed made her cry with the bitter cry of unsubmissive sorrow, “Oh, Beth, come back! —
经常她在夜晚惊醒，以为是贝丝在呼唤她。当她看到空荡荡的小床，忍不住哭泣出无法屈服的悲伤，”哦，贝丝，回来！回来！”她伸出渴望的双臂并不是徒劳无功。 —

Come back!” she did not stretch out her yearning arms in vain. —
她的呼喊引起了妈妈的注意，她像听到姐姐最微弱的低语一样迅速响应。她的妈妈来安慰她，不只是用言语，而是用那耐心的温柔，通过触摸来抚慰她。那些默默无语的眼泪是更大的悲伤的哑然提醒，那些断断续续的低语比祈祷更富有表达力，因为希望的顺从与自然的悲伤齐头并进。 —

For, as quick to hear her sobbing as she had been to hear her sister’s faintest whisper, her mother came to comfort her, not with words only, but the patient tenderness that soothes by a touch, tears that were mute reminders of a greater grief than Jo’s, and broken whispers, more eloquent than prayers, because hopeful resignation went hand-in-hand with natural sorrow. —
这是神圣的时刻，在夜晚的宁静中，心与心进行交谈，将苦难转化为福音，对痛苦进行了磨砺，加强了爱。 —

Sacred moments, when heart talked to heart in the silence of the night, turning affliction to a blessing, which chastened grief and strengthned love. —
感受到这一点后，对于乔来说，负担似乎变得更容易承受，责任变得更加甜美，生活从她母亲的怀抱安全避难所中看起来更能忍受。 —

Feeling this, Jo’s burden seemed easier to bear, duty grew sweeter, and life looked more endurable, seen from the safe shelter of her mother’s arms.
从她母亲的怀抱中，乔觉得这一切都变得更加容易忍受，责任变得更加甜蜜，生活从她母亲的怀抱中看起来更加能承受。

When aching heart was a little comforted, troubled mind likewise found help, for one day she went to the study, and leaning over the good gray head lifted to welcome her with a tranquil smile, she said very humbly, “Father, talk to me as you did to Beth. I need it more than she did, for I’m all wrong.”
当痛苦的心得到了一丝宽慰，困扰的心灵也同样找到了帮助，因为有一天她去了书房，俯身在这位温和的灰发老人欢迎的面前，用十分谦卑的语气说道：“父亲，请像你对待贝丝一样对我说话。我比她更需要，因为我全身都不对劲。”

“My dear, nothing can comfort me like this,” he answered, with a falter in his voice, and both arms round her, as if he too, needed help, and did not fear to ask for it.
“亲爱的，没有什么能比这更能安慰我了。”他回答道，声音有些颤抖，双臂紧紧搂住她，好像他自己也需要帮助，而且毫不害怕提出请求。

Then, sitting in Beth’s little chair close beside him, Jo told her troubles, the resentful sorrow for her loss, the fruitless efforts that discouraged her, the want of faith that made life look so dark, and all the sad bewilderment which we call despair. —
然后，坐在贝丝的小椅子上，靠近他，乔诉说了她的烦恼，对失去她的悲伤满怀怨恨，对令她失去信心的徒劳努力感到沮丧，对使生活看起来如此黑暗的缺乏信念感到困惑，以及所有那些让人感到绝望的悲哀迷茫。 —

She gave him entire confidence, he gave her the help she needed, and both found consolation in the act. —
她完全信任他，他给了她所需要的帮助，两人在这个行为中都找到了安慰。 —

For the time had come when they could talk together not only as father and daughter, but as man and woman, able and glad to serve each other with mutual sympathy as well as mutual love. —
那时候他们可以不仅作为父亲和女儿，而是作为男人和女人进行交谈，能够互相同情和互相爱护地服务彼此。 —

Happy, thoughtful times there in the old study which Jo called ‘the church of one member’, and from which she came with fresh courage, recovered cheerfulness, and a more submissive spirit. —
在那个被乔称为“一个人的教堂”的旧书房里，有幸福而思考的时光，乔从中重新得到勇气、恢复了快乐，并变得更加顺从。 —

For the parents who had taught one child to meet death without fear, were trying now to teach another to accept life without despondency or distrust, and to use its beautiful opportunities with gratitude and power.
那些曾教会一个孩子勇敢面对死亡的父母，现在正试图教导另一个孩子接受生活而不失望和不信任，并以感恩和力量利用其美好的机会。

Other helps had Jo–humble, wholesome duties and delights that would not be denied their part in serving her, and which she slowly learned to see and value. —
还有其他的帮助：乔有一些卑微而健康的任务和乐趣，这些都不会被拒绝，她慢慢学会了看到它们的价值和意义。 —

Brooms and dishcloths never could be as distasteful as they once had been, for Beth had presided over both, and something of her housewifely spirit seemed to linger around the little mop and the old brush, never thrown away. —
扫帚和碗布再也不会像以前那样令人讨厌了，因为贝丝曾经负责处理它们，她的家庭主妇精神仿佛还留在那把小拖把和旧刷子周围，从未被丢弃。 —

As she used them, Jo found herself humming the songs Beth used to hum, imitating Beth’s orderly ways, and giving the little touches here and there that kept everything fresh and cozy, which was the first step toward making home happy, though she didn’t know it till Hannah said with an approving squeeze of the hand …
当她使用它们的时候，乔发现自己在哼唱着贝丝曾经哼唱过的歌曲，模仿着贝丝整齐的方式，并在各处加入一些小细节，让一切保持新鲜和舒适，这是让家变得幸福的第一步，尽管乔直到汉娜用赞许的握手说才明白这一点…

“You thoughtful creeter, you’re determined we shan’t miss that dear lamb ef you can help it. —
“你这个体贴周到的家伙，你决定我们不会错过那只可爱的小羊，只要你能帮得上忙就行了。 —

We don’t say much, but we see it, and the Lord will bless you for’t, see ef He don’t.”
我们虽然不多说，但我们看得见，主会为此祝福你的，看看是否不是这样。”

As they sat sewing together, Jo discovered how much improved her sister Meg was, how well she could talk, how much she knew about good, womanly impulses, thoughts, and feelings, how happy she was in husband and children, and how much they were all doing for each other.
当她们一起坐着缝纫时，乔发现她的姐姐梅格有多么进步了，她能够很好地交谈，她了解什么是良好的女性冲动、思想和感受，她在丈夫和孩子们身上有多幸福，以及他们彼此都为对方做了多少事情。

“Marriage is an excellent thing, after all. —
“婚姻终究是一件美好的事情。 —

I wonder if I should blossom out half as well as you have, if I tried it? —
我想知道如果我尝试了，我会像你一样开花结果吗？ —

, always ‘perwisin’ I could,” said Jo, as she constructed a kite for Demi in the topsy-turvy nursery.
“一直‘假设’我能，”乔说着，同时在颠倒的儿童房间里为德米做了一个风筝。

“It’s just what you need to bring out the tender womanly half of your nature, Jo. You are like a chestnut burr, prickly outside, but silky-soft within, and a sweet kernal, if one can only get at it. —
“这正是你需要的，乔。你像一个刺人的栗子壳，外表粗糙，但内心是柔软的，只要有人能发现它，就是一个甜蜜的内核。” —

Love will make you show your heart one day, and then the rough burr will fall off.”
“爱情终有一天会让你展现出真心，然后那个粗糙的栗子壳就会脱落。”

“Frost opens chestnut burrs, ma’am, and it takes a good shake to bring them down. —
“霜会打开栗子壳，夫人，但需要用力晃动才能将它们打落。” —

Boys go nutting, and I don’t care to be bagged by them,” returned Jo, pasting away at the kite which no wind that blows would ever carry up, for Daisy had tied herself on as a bob.
“男孩们会去采栗子，而我不想被他们给扎住，” 乔回答道，她一边继续贴着风筝，即便吹来风也无法把它升上天空，因为黛西已经把自己绑成了风筝的脚。

Meg laughed, for she was glad to see a glimmer of Jo’s old spirit, but she felt it her duty to enforce her opinion by every argument in her power, and the sisterly chats were not wasted, especially as two of Meg’s most effective arguments were the babies, whom Jo loved tenderly. —
梅格笑了起来，因为她很高兴看到乔之前的精神又回来了一点，但她觉得有责任通过自己能想到的每个理由来强调自己的观点，姐妹间的聊天没有白费，特别是因为梅格最有说服力的论点是孩子们，乔对他们充满了深深的爱。 —

Grief is the best opener of some hearts, and Jo’s was nearly ready for the bag. —
“悲伤是打开某些心扉的最好方式，而乔的心已经准备好了。” —

A little more sunshine to ripen the nut, then, not a boy’s impatient shake, but a man’s hand reached up to pick it gently from the burr, and find the kernal sound and sweet. —
阳光再多照耀一下这颗坚果，然后不是小男孩的急切摇动，而是一个成年男人的手轻轻地从刺中伸出来，找到坚实而甜美的果仁。 —

If she suspected this, she would have shut up tight, and been more prickly than ever, fortunately she wasn’t thinking about herself, so when the time came, down she dropped.
如果她怀疑这一点，她会紧闭起来，比以往更加尖刻，幸运的是，她没有考虑自己，所以当时机到来时，她就掉了下来。

Now, if she had been the heroine of a moral storybook, she ought at this period of her life to have become quite saintly, renounced the world, and gone about doing good in a mortified bonnet, with tracts in her pocket. —
现在，如果她是一个道德故事书中的女主人公，她在人生的这个阶段应该变得非常虔诚，放弃世俗，穿着虔诚的帽子四处行善，并在口袋里装着传单。 —

But, you see, Jo wasn’t a heroine, she was only a struggling human girl like hundreds of others, and she just acted out her nature, being sad, cross, listless, or energetic, as the mood suggested. —
但是，你看，Jo并不是一个女主角，她只是像其他数百个女孩一样挣扎着的人，她只是按照自己的本性行事，忧伤、生气、倦怠或充满活力，根据心情来。 —

It’s highly virtuous to say we’ll be good, but we can’t do it all at once, and it takes a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull all together before some of us even get our feet set in the right way. —
说我们要做好是非常有德行的，但我们不能一下子都做到，还需要大家齐心协力地努力，才能有些人走上正道。 —

Jo had got so far, she was learning to do her duty, and to feel unhappy if she did not, but to do it cheerfully, ah, that was another thing! —
乔已经取得了一定的进展，她正在学会履行她的职责，并且会感到不快乐，如果她不这么做的话，但是要愉快地去做这些，啊，那又是另外一回事了！ —

She had often said she wanted to do something splendid, no matter how hard, and now she had her wish, for what could be more beautiful than to devote her life to Father and Mother, trying to make home as happy to them as they had to her? —
她经常说她想做一些辉煌的事情，不管有多么艰难，现在她得偿所愿了，因为还有什么比把自己的一生献给父母更美好呢？努力让家庭对他们来说如同他们对她来说一样幸福，这有什么能比之更美呢？ —

And if difficulties were necessary to increase the splendor of the effort, what could be harder for a restless, ambitious girl than to give up her own hopes, plans, and desires, and cheerfully live for others?
如果困难是必要的，以增加努力的壮丽程度，那么对于一个不安、雄心勃勃的女孩来说，还有什么比放弃自己的希望、计划和欲望，快乐地为他人而生活更艰难的呢？

Providence had taken her at her word. Here was the task, not what she had expected, but better because self had no part in it. —
命运已经按照她所说的行事了。这是任务，不是她所期望的，但却更好，因为其中不包括自我。现在， —

Now, could she do it? —
她能做到吗？ —

She decided that she would try, and in her first attempt she found the helps I have suggested. —
她决定尝试，并在首次尝试中找到了我提出的帮助。 —

Still another was given her, and she took it, not as a reward, but as a comfort, as Christian took the refreshment afforded by the little arbor where he rested, as he climbed the hill called Difficulty.
另外一个给了她，她接受了，并不是作为一种奖励，而是一种慰籍，就像基督徒在攀登困难山时从小树林中获得的一份刷新。

“Why don’t you write? That always used to make you happy,” said her mother once, when the desponding fit over-shadowed Jo.
“你为什么不写呢？写作过去总是让你快乐的，”在乔被消沉情绪笼罩时，她的母亲曾经问过。

“I’ve no heart to write, and if I had, nobody cares for my things.”
“我没有心情写，就算我有，也没有人在乎我的东西。”

“We do. Write something for us, and never mind the rest of the world. Try it, dear. —
“我们在乎。为我们写些东西，不要在意其他人。试试吧，亲爱的。 —

I’m sure it would do you good, and please us very much.”
我相信这会对你有好处，也会让我们很高兴。”

“Don’t believe I can.” But Jo got out her desk and began to overhaul her half-finished manuscripts.
“我不相信我能。但乔取出了她的写字盒，开始翻看她那些未完成的手稿。

An hour afterward her mother peeped in and there she was, scratching away, with her black pinafore on, and an absorbed expression, which caused Mrs. March to smile and slip away, well pleased with the success of her suggestion. —
一个小时后，她的母亲偷偷看过去，乔正在努力地写着，身穿黑色围裙，表情专注，这让马奇夫人微笑着离开，对她的建议取得成功感到高兴。 —

Jo never knew how it happened, but something got into that story that went straight to the hearts of those who read it, for when her family had laughed and cried over it, her father sent it, much against her will, to one of the popular magazines, and to her utter surprise, it was not only paid for, but others requested. —
乔从未知道是如何发生的，但那个故事里有些东西直接触动了那些阅读它的人的心，因为当她的家人对此欢笑和哭泣时，她的父亲违背她的意愿把它寄给了一家流行杂志，令她完全惊讶的是，不仅得到了报酬，还有其他人请求。 —

Letters from several persons, whose praise was honor, followed the appearance of the little story, newspapers copied it, and strangers as well as friends admired it. —
几个赞誉如山的人的来信接连不断地到来，报纸纷纷转载，陌生人和朋友都赞赏不已。 —

For a small thing it was a great success, and Jo was more astonished than when her novel was commended and condemned all at once.
对于一件小事来说，它是一个巨大的成功，让乔感到比她的小说被同时赞誉和批评时更加惊讶。

“I don’t understand it. What can there be in a simple little story like that to make people praise it so?” she said, quite bewildered.
“我不明白。一个简单的小故事里有什么能让人们如此夸奖它呢？”她说，完全困惑了。

“There is truth in it, Jo, that’s the secret. —
“乔，其中有真实之处，这就是秘密。 —

Humor and pathos make it alive, and you have found your style at last. —
幽默和哀愁使其生动，你终于找到了自己的风格。 —

You wrote with no thoughts of fame and money, and put your heart into it, my daughter. —
你写的时候没有想着名利，而是将心思投入其中，我的女儿。 —

You have had the bitter, now comes the sweet. Do your best, and grow as happy as we are in your success.”
你已经饱尝苦涩，接下来是甜蜜的时光。尽你最大的努力，像我们在你的成功中一样快乐地成长。

“If there is anything good or true in what I write, it isn’t mine. —
如果我所写的任何好或真实的东西，都不是我自己的。 —

I owe it all to you and Mother and Beth,” said Jo, more touched by her father’s words than by any amount of praise from the world.
这一切都归功于你、母亲和贝丝，” 乔说，她父亲的话比世界上的任何赞美都更感动她。

So taught by love and sorrow, Jo wrote her little stories, and sent them away to make friends for themselves and her, finding it a very charitable world to such humble wanderers, for they were kindly welcomed, and sent home comfortable tokens to their mother, like dutiful children whom good fortune overtakes.
通过爱和悲伤的教导，乔写下了她的小故事，并将它们送走，为自己和它们结交朋友。她发现对于这些谦逊的流浪者来说，这是一个非常慈善的世界，因为它们受到了友善的欢迎，并且送回家给母亲一些舒适的礼物，就像孝顺的孩子那样追赶上了好运。

When Amy and Laurie wrote of their engagement, Mrs. March feared that Jo would find it difficult to rejoice over it, but her fears were soon set at rest, for though Jo looked grave at first, she took it very quietly, and was full of hopes and plans for ‘the children’ before she read the letter twice. —
当艾米和劳里写信告诉她们的订婚时，玛奇夫人担心乔会难以为此感到高兴，但她很快就放下了这种担心，因为尽管乔起初看上去很严肃，但她对此非常平静，并充满了对”孩子们”的希望和计划，甚至在读信两次之前。 —

It was a sort of written duet, wherein each glorified the other in loverlike fashion, very pleasant to read and satisfactory to think of, for no one had any objection to make.
这是一种书面的二重奏，双方都以恋人般的方式赞美对方，读起来非常愉快，令人满意地思考，因为没有人有任何异议。

“You like it, Mother?” said Jo, as they laid down the closely written sheets and looked at one another.
“妈妈，你喜欢吗？”乔放下密密麻麻的纸张，相视一笑。

“Yes, I hoped it would be so, ever since Amy wrote that she had refused Fred. I felt sure then that something better than what you call the ‘mercenary spirit’ had come over her, and a hint here and there in her letters made me suspect that love and Laurie would win the day.”
“是的，自从艾米写信说她拒绝了弗雷德，我就希望会是这样。那时我就确信她摈弃了你所说的‘金钱至上’的精神，她的几封信中也透露出一些暗示，让我怀疑是爱情和劳瑞取胜了。”

“How sharp you are, Marmee, and how silent! —
“妈妈，你真聪明，而且保持了沉默！ —

You never said a word to me.”
你从来没有对我说过一句话。”

“Mothers have need of sharp eyes and discreet tongues when they have girls to manage. —
“当母亲在处理女儿时，她们需要敏锐的眼睛和谨慎的舌头。” —

I was half afraid to put the idea into your head, lest you should write and congratulate them before the thing was settled.”
我有些害怕把这个想法放进你的脑袋里，怕你在事情没定下来之前就写信祝贺他们。”

“I’m not the scatterbrain I was. You may trust me. —
“我已经不是以前的那个健忘糊涂蛋了。你可以相信我。 —

I’m sober and sensible enough for anyone’s confidante now.”
现在我已经足够清醒和理智，能够当任何人的密友了。”

“So you are, my dear, and I should have made you mine, only I fancied it might pain you to learn that your Teddy loved someone else.”
“亲爱的，你是的，我本应该让你成为我的，只是我想也许让你知道你的泰迪爱上了别人会伤害你。”

“Now, Mother, did you really think I could be so silly and selfish, after I’d refused his love, when it was freshest, if not best?”
“现在，妈妈，你真的以为我会这么傻和自私吗？当他的爱情虽然不是最好时，我还是拒绝了。”

“I knew you were sincere then, Jo, but lately I have thought that if he came back, and asked again, you might perhaps, feel like giving another answer. Forgive me, dear, I can’t help seeing that you are very lonely, and sometimes there is a hungry look in your eyes that goes to my heart. —
“我知道你当时是真心的，不过最近我觉得如果他回来再次提出的话，你也许会考虑给出另一个答案。原谅我，亲爱的，我看得出你很孤独，有时候你眼里闪动着一种饥渴的神情，这让我心疼。 —

So I fancied that your boy might fill the empty place if he tried now.”
所以我觉得如果你的孩子现在尝试的话，也许可以填补那个空虚的位置。”

“No, Mother, it is better as it is, and I’m glad Amy has learned to love him. —
“不，妈妈，现在这样更好，而且我很高兴艾米学会了爱他。 —

But you are right in one thing. —
但你说对了一件事。 —

I am lonely, and perhaps if Teddy had tried again, I might have said ‘Yes’, not because I love him any more, but because I care more to be loved than when he went away.”
我是孤独的，也许如果泰迪再次试试的话，我可能会说’是’，不是因为我还爱他，而是因为我更在意被爱。”

“I’m glad of that, Jo, for it shows that you are getting on. —
“我为此感到高兴，乔，因为这表明你在进步。 —

There are plenty to love you, so try to be satisfied with Father and Mother, sisters and brothers, friends and babies, till the best lover of all comes to give you your reward.”
有很多人爱你，所以试着满足于父母、兄弟姐妹、朋友和小宝宝们，直到最好的爱人来给你回报。”

“Mothers are the best lovers in the world, but I don’t mind whispering to Marmee that I’d like to try all kinds. —
“母亲是世界上最好的爱人，但我不介意告诉妈妈，我想尝试各种各样的爱。” —

It’s very curious, but the more I try to satisfy myself with all sorts of natural affections, the more I seem to want. —
“非常奇怪，但是我越是试图用各种各样的自然情感来满足自己，我就越想要更多。” —

I’d no idea hearts could take in so many. —
“我从没有想过心脏能容纳这么多。 —

Mine is so elastic, it never seems full now, and I used to be quite contented with my family. —
我的心变得如此有弹性，现在它似乎永远不会满，而我以前对我的家人感到很满足。 —

I don’t understand it.”
我不明白这是怎么回事。”

“I do,” and Mrs. March smiled her wise smile, as Jo turned back the leaves to read what Amy said of Laurie.
“我明白了。”玛奇夫人微笑着，当乔翻开书页读艾米对劳里的评价时。

“It is so beautiful to be loved as Laurie loves me. —
“劳里对我如此深深地爱着我是多么美丽啊。 —

He isn’t sentimental, doesn’t say much about it, but I see and feel it in all he says and does, and it makes me so happy and so humble that I don’t seem to be the same girl I was. —
他不是多情的，对此也不多说，但我从他的每句话和每次行动中都看到，并且感受到这份爱，这让我如此幸福和如此谦卑，以至于我似乎不再是那个原来的女孩了。” —

I never knew how good and generous and tender he was till now, for he lets me read his heart, and I find it full of noble impulses and hopes and purposes, and am so proud to know it’s mine. —
直到现在我才知道他是多么善良、慷慨和温柔，因为他让我读懂他的内心，我发现它充满了高尚的冲动、希望和目标，我为拥有它而感到骄傲。 —

He says he feels as if he ‘could make a prosperous voyage now with me aboard as mate, and lots of love for ballast’. —
他说他感觉好像现在有了我作为伙伴，满载着爱情可以航行向成功，爱情成为了压舱石。 —

I pray he may, and try to be all he believes me, for I love my gallant captain with all my heart and soul and might, and never will desert him, while God lets us be together. —
我祈祷他能实现，而且我会尽力成为他心中所想的样子，因为我全心全神、全力以赴地爱着我的英勇船长，只要上帝让我们在一起，我永远不会离开他。 —

Oh, Mother, I never knew how much like heaven this world could be, when two people love and live for one another!”
哦，妈妈，我从没想到这个世界可以有多么像天堂，当两个人相爱并为对方而活时！

“And that’s our cool, reserved, and worldly Amy! Truly, love does work miracles. How very, very happy they must be!” and Jo laid the rustling sheets together with a careful hand, as one might shut the covers of a lovely romance, which holds the reader fast till the end comes, and he finds himself alone in the workaday world again.
“而这就是我们冷静、拘谨、世故的艾米！真的，爱情可以创造奇迹。他们一定非常、非常幸福！”乔小心地把沙沙作响的纸页叠在一起，就像是把一本迷人的浪漫小说合上一样，它让读者陶醉其中，直到故事结束，然后发现自己又回到了现实世界中。

By-and-by Jo roamed away upstairs, for it was rainy, and she could not walk. —
于是乔开始四处漫游楼上，因为天气下雨，她不能出去走走。 —

A restless spirit possessed her, and the old feeling came again, not bitter as it once was, but a sorrowfully patient wonder why one sister should have all she asked, the other nothing. —
一阵不安的情绪在她心中萦绕，以前的那种痛苦感回来了，不再像以前那样悲痛，而是一种悲伤的耐心怀疑，为什么一个姐妹能得到她所要求的一切，而另一个姐妹一无所有。 —

It was not true, she knew that and tried to put it away, but the natural craving for affection was strong, and Amy’s happiness woke the hungry longing for someone to ‘love with heart and soul, and cling to while God let them be together’. —
她知道那不是真的，试图把这种感觉放在一边，但对于感情的自然渴望是如此强烈，艾米的幸福唤起了她对于“全心全意去爱一个人，一直紧紧相依直到上帝让他们在一起”的饥渴渴望。 —

Up in the garret, where Jo’s unquiet wanderings ended stood four little wooden chests in a row, each marked with its owners name, and each filled with relics of the childhood and girlhood ended now for all. —
在阁楼上，乔结束了她不安的徘徊，站在那里排成一排的四个小木箱，每一个都标着主人的名字，里面装满了童年和女孩时代的纪念品。 —

Jo glanced into them, and when she came to her own, leaned her chin on the edge, and stared absently at the chaotic collection, till a bundle of old exercise books caught her eye. —
乔瞥了一眼，当她看到她自己的时候，把下巴靠在边缘上，茫然地盯着这一堆混乱的收藏品，直到一捆旧练习簿引起她的注意。 —

She drew them out, turned them over, and relived that pleasant winter at kind Mrs. Kirke’s. —
她抽出来，翻了翻，重温了在善良的柯克夫人那里度过的愉快冬天。 —

She had smiled at first, then she looked thoughtful, next sad, and when she came to a little message written in the Professor’s hand, her lips began to tremble, the books slid out of her lap, and she sat looking at the friendly words, as they took a new meaning, and touched a tender spot in her heart.
一开始她微笑着，接着表情变得思索起来，然后又变得悲伤起来，当她看到教授用自己的手写的一条小信息时，她的嘴唇开始颤抖，书从她的腿上滑落，她坐在那里看着那友好的字句，它们开始具有新的意义，并触动了她心中的柔软之处。

“Wait for me, my friend. I may be a little late, but I shall surely come.”
“等着我，朋友。我可能会迟到一点，但我一定会到来。”

“Oh, if he only would! So kind, so good, so patient with me always, my dear old Fritz. I didn’t value him half enough when I had him, but now how I should love to see him, for everyone seems going away from me, and I’m all alone.”
“哦，如果他能来就好了！他是如此善良，如此好，如此耐心地对待我，亲爱的老弗里茨。当我拥有他的时候，我没有珍惜他一半的价值，但现在我多么希望能见到他，因为好像每个人都离开了我，我一个人孤零零地呆在这里。”

And holding the little paper fast, as if it were a promise yet to be fulfilled, Jo laid her head down on a comfortable rag bag, and cried, as if in opposition to the rain pattering on the roof.
抓紧那张小纸条，好像它是一个还未实现的承诺，乔把头靠在一个舒适的破布袋上，哭了起来，仿佛与屋顶上滴答作响的雨声相抗衡。

Was it all self-pity, loneliness, or low spirits? —
这是自怜、孤独还是低落的情绪呢？ —

Or was it the waking up of a sentiment which had bided its time as patiently as its inspirer? —
还是一种一直耐心等待的情感的觉醒呢？ —

Who shall say?
谁能说得准呢？