Little Women(excerpt)
Jo was the first to wake up on Christmas morning，but soon they were all awake and they went downstairs.
“Where's Mother？” asked Meg.
“I don't know，”said old Hannah.She had lived with the family since Meg was born，and was more like a friend than a servant.“Some poor woman came to the door and your mother went off to see what was needed.”
“She'll be back soon，”said Meg.She looked at the presents for her mother which were in a basket under a chair，ready to bring out at the right time.“Where is Amy's bottle of perfume？”
“She went to put some pretty paper round it，I think，”said Jo.
Suddenly，they heard the outside door close.
“Here's Mother！Hide the basket，quick！”said Jo.
But it was Amy.She came in quickly.
“Where have you been，and what's that behind you？”asked Meg.
“I ran to the shop and changed the little bottle of perfume for a big one，”said Amy.“I spent all my money to get it, and I'm not going to be selfish any more！”
Meg smiled proudly and put her arms around her sister.Then there was another bang from the outside door，and the basket was pushed back under the chair.The girls ran to the table，ready for their breakfast.
“Happy Christmas，Mother！”they shouted.
“Happy Christmas，little daughters！”said Mrs March.
Then the smile disappeared from her face.“Girls，listen.Not far away is a poor woman，Mrs Hummel，with a new baby.Her six children are in one bed，trying to keep warm，as they have no wood for a fire.There is nothing to eat and they are hungry and cold.Will you give them your breakfast as a Christmas present？”
For a minute no one spoke.Then Jo said，“Mother，I'm so glad you came back before we began to eat！”And the girls quickly began to put their breakfast in a basket.
“I knew you would do it，”said Mrs March，smiling.
She took the girls and Hannah to a cold，miserable little room in an old building，where they found a sick mother，a crying baby，and a group of children with white，frightened faces.The children were on the bed under a blanket，trying to keep warm.
The woman almost cried with happiness when she saw the girls.Hannah，who had brought wood，made a fire.Mrs March gave the mother tea and hot food，then she dressed the little baby gently.The girls put the children round the fire and fed them like hungry birds.
It was a very happy meal，although the girls ate none of it.But no one was happier than those hungry young ladies who gave away their breakfast on Christmas morning.
Mrs March was surprised and pleased when she saw her presents later.There was a lot of laughing and kissing and explaining.Then，for the rest of the day，the girls were busy.Jo liked to write plays，and the four of them were going to act one that evening.They had learned their words，and had worked hard to make strange and wonderful clothes for all the different characters in the play.
