Orakel Children's Books
Little Women
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, prepared as a public-domain Orakel edition with 47 chapter-aware companion links.
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CHAPTER ONE: PLAYING PILGRIMS
CHAPTER ONE: PLAYING PILGRIMS from Little Women. “Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,” grumbled Jo, lying on the
Open2CHAPTER TWO: A MERRY CHRISTMAS
CHAPTER TWO: A MERRY CHRISTMAS from Little Women. Jo was the first to wake in the gray dawn of Christmas morning. No stockings hung at the fireplace, and for a moment she felt as much disappointed as she did long ago, when her little sock fell down because it was crammed so full of goodies. Then she remembered her mother’s promise and, slipping her hand under her pillow, drew out a little crimson-covered book. She knew it very well, for it was that beautiful old
Open3CHAPTER THREE: THE LAURENCE BOY
CHAPTER THREE: THE LAURENCE BOY from Little Women. “Here!” answered a husky voice from above, and, running up, Meg found her sister eating apples and crying over the Heir of Redclyffe, wrapped up in a comforter on an old three-legged sofa by the sunny window. This was Jo’s favorite refuge, and here she loved to retire with half a dozen russets and a nice book, to enjoy the quiet and the society of a pet rat who lived near by and didn’t mind her a particle. As Meg
Open4CHAPTER FOUR: BURDENS
CHAPTER FOUR: BURDENS from Little Women. “Oh, dear, how hard it does seem to take up our packs and go on,” sighed Meg the morning after the party, for now the holidays were over, the week of merrymaking did not fit her for going on easily with the task she never
Open5CHAPTER FIVE: BEING NEIGHBORLY
CHAPTER FIVE: BEING NEIGHBORLY from Little Women. “What in the world are you going to do now, Jo?” asked Meg one snowy afternoon, as her sister came tramping through the hall, in rubber boots, old sack, and hood, with a broom in one hand and a shovel in the
Open6CHAPTER SIX: BETH FINDS THE PALACE BEAUTIFUL
CHAPTER SIX: BETH FINDS THE PALACE BEAUTIFUL from Little Women. The big house did prove a Palace Beautiful, though it took some time for all to get in, and Beth found it very hard to pass the lions. Old Mr. Laurence was the biggest one, but after he had called, said something funny or kind to each one of the girls, and talked over old times with their mother, nobody felt much afraid of him, except timid Beth. The other lion was the fact that they were poor and Laurie rich, for
Open7CHAPTER SEVEN: AMY’S VALLEY OF HUMILIATION
CHAPTER SEVEN: AMY’S VALLEY OF HUMILIATION from Little Women. “That boy is a perfect cyclops, isn’t he?” said Amy one day, as Laurie clattered by on horseback, with a flourish of his whip as he
Open8CHAPTER EIGHT: JO MEETS APOLLYON
CHAPTER EIGHT: JO MEETS APOLLYON from Little Women. “Girls, where are you going?” asked Amy, coming into their room one Saturday afternoon, and finding them getting ready to go out with an air of secrecy which excited her
Open9CHAPTER NINE: MEG GOES TO VANITY FAIR
CHAPTER NINE: MEG GOES TO VANITY FAIR from Little Women. “I do think it was the most fortunate thing in the world that those children should have the measles just now,” said Meg, one April day, as she stood packing the ‘go abroady’ trunk in her room, surrounded by her
Open10CHAPTER TEN: THE P.C. AND P.O.
CHAPTER TEN: THE P.C. AND P.O. from Little Women. As spring came on, a new set of amusements became the fashion, and the lengthening days gave long afternoons for work and play of all sorts. The garden had to be put in order, and each sister had a quarter of the little plot to do what she liked with. Hannah used to say, “I’d know which each of them gardings belonged to, ef I see ’em in Chiny,” and so she might, for the girls’ tastes differed as much as their
Open11CHAPTER ELEVEN: EXPERIMENTS
CHAPTER ELEVEN: EXPERIMENTS from Little Women. “The first of June! The Kings are off to the seashore tomorrow, and I’m free. Three months’ vacation—how I shall enjoy it!” exclaimed Meg, coming home one warm day to find Jo laid upon the sofa in an unusual state of exhaustion, while Beth took off her dusty boots, and Amy made lemonade for the refreshment of the whole
Open12CHAPTER TWELVE: CAMP LAURENCE
CHAPTER TWELVE: CAMP LAURENCE from Little Women. Beth was postmistress, for, being most at home, she could attend to it regularly, and dearly liked the daily task of unlocking the little door and distributing the mail. One July day she came in with her hands full, and went about the house leaving letters and parcels like the penny
Open13CHAPTER THIRTEEN: CASTLES IN THE AIR
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: CASTLES IN THE AIR from Little Women. Laurie lay luxuriously swinging to and fro in his hammock one warm September afternoon, wondering what his neighbors were about, but too lazy to go and find out. He was in one of his moods, for the day had been both unprofitable and unsatisfactory, and he was wishing he could live it over again. The hot weather made him indolent, and he had shirked his studies, tried Mr. Brooke’s patience to the utmost, displeased
Open14CHAPTER FOURTEEN: SECRETS
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: SECRETS from Little Women. Jo was very busy in the garret, for the October days began to grow chilly, and the afternoons were short. For two or three hours the sun lay warmly in the high window, showing Jo seated on the old sofa, writing busily, with her papers spread out upon a trunk before her, while Scrabble, the pet rat, promenaded the beams overhead, accompanied by his oldest son, a fine young fellow, who was evidently very proud of his
Open15CHAPTER FIFTEEN: A TELEGRAM
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: A TELEGRAM from Little Women. “November is the most disagreeable month in the whole year,” said Margaret, standing at the window one dull afternoon, looking out at the frostbitten
Open16CHAPTER SIXTEEN: LETTERS
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: LETTERS from Little Women. In the cold gray dawn the sisters lit their lamp and read their chapter with an earnestness never felt before. For now the shadow of a real trouble had come, the little books were full of help and comfort, and as they dressed, they agreed to say goodbye cheerfully and hopefully, and send their mother on her anxious journey unsaddened by tears or complaints from them. Everything seemed very strange when they went
Open17CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: LITTLE FAITHFUL
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: LITTLE FAITHFUL from Little Women. For a week the amount of virtue in the old house would have supplied the neighborhood. It was really amazing, for everyone seemed in a heavenly frame of mind, and self-denial was all the fashion. Relieved of their first anxiety about their father, the girls insensibly relaxed their praiseworthy efforts a little, and began to fall back into old ways. They did not forget their motto, but hoping and keeping busy seemed
Open18CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: DARK DAYS
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: DARK DAYS from Little Women. Beth did have the fever, and was much sicker than anyone but Hannah and the doctor suspected. The girls knew nothing about illness, and Mr. Laurence was not allowed to see her, so Hannah had everything her own way, and busy Dr. Bangs did his best, but left a good deal to the excellent nurse. Meg stayed at home, lest she should infect the Kings, and kept house, feeling very anxious and a little guilty when she wrote
Open19CHAPTER NINETEEN: AMY’S WILL
CHAPTER NINETEEN: AMY’S WILL from Little Women. While these things were happening at home, Amy was having hard times at Aunt March’s. She felt her exile deeply, and for the first time in her life, realized how much she was beloved and petted at home. Aunt March never petted any one; she did not approve of it, but she meant to be kind, for the well-behaved little girl pleased her very much, and Aunt March had a soft place in her old heart for her nephew’s
Open20CHAPTER TWENTY: CONFIDENTIAL
CHAPTER TWENTY: CONFIDENTIAL from Little Women. I don’t think I have any words in which to tell the meeting of the mother and daughters. Such hours are beautiful to live, but very hard to describe, so I will leave it to the imagination of my readers, merely saying that the house was full of genuine happiness, and that Meg’s tender hope was realized, for when Beth woke from that long, healing sleep, the first objects on which her eyes fell were the little rose and
Open21CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: LAURIE MAKES MISCHIEF, AND JO MAKES PEACE
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: LAURIE MAKES MISCHIEF, AND JO MAKES PEACE from Little Women. Jo’s face was a study next day, for the secret rather weighed upon her, and she found it hard not to look mysterious and important. Meg observed it, but did not trouble herself to make inquiries, for she had learned that the best way to manage Jo was by the law of contraries, so she felt sure of being told everything if she did not ask. She was rather surprised, therefore, when the silence remained unbroken, and Jo
Open22CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: PLEASANT MEADOWS
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: PLEASANT MEADOWS from Little Women. Like sunshine after a storm were the peaceful weeks which followed. The invalids improved rapidly, and Mr. March began to talk of returning early in the new year. Beth was soon able to lie on the study sofa all day, amusing herself with the well-beloved cats at first, and in time with doll’s sewing, which had fallen sadly behind-hand. Her once active limbs were so stiff and feeble that Jo took her for a daily airing
Open23CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: AUNT MARCH SETTLES THE QUESTION
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: AUNT MARCH SETTLES THE QUESTION from Little Women. Like bees swarming after their queen, mother and daughters hovered about Mr. March the next day, neglecting everything to look at, wait upon, and listen to the new invalid, who was in a fair way to be killed by kindness. As he sat propped up in a big chair by Beth’s sofa, with the other three close by, and Hannah popping in her head now and then ‘to peek at the dear man’, nothing seemed needed to complete their
Open24CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: GOSSIP
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: GOSSIP from Little Women. In order that we may start afresh and go to Meg’s wedding with free minds, it will be well to begin with a little gossip about the Marches. And here let me premise that if any of the elders think there is too much ‘lovering’ in the story, as I fear they may (I’m not afraid the young folks will make that objection), I can only say with Mrs. March, “What can you expect when I have four gay girls in the house, and a
Open25CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: THE FIRST WEDDING
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: THE FIRST WEDDING from Little Women. The June roses over the porch were awake bright and early on that morning, rejoicing with all their hearts in the cloudless sunshine, like friendly little neighbors, as they were. Quite flushed with excitement were their ruddy faces, as they swung in the wind, whispering to one another what they had seen, for some peeped in at the dining room windows where the feast was spread, some climbed up to nod and smile at
Open26CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: ARTISTIC ATTEMPTS
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: ARTISTIC ATTEMPTS from Little Women. It takes people a long time to learn the difference between talent and genius, especially ambitious young men and women. Amy was learning this distinction through much tribulation, for mistaking enthusiasm for inspiration, she attempted every branch of art with youthful audacity. For a long time there was a lull in the ‘mud-pie’ business, and she devoted herself to the finest pen-and-ink drawing, in which she showed
Open27CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: LITERARY LESSONS
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: LITERARY LESSONS from Little Women. 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
Open28CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: DOMESTIC EXPERIENCES
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: DOMESTIC EXPERIENCES from Little Women. Like most other young matrons, Meg began her married life with the determination to be a model housekeeper. John should find home a paradise, he should always see a smiling face, should fare sumptuously every day, and never know the loss of a button. She brought so much love, energy, and cheerfulness to the work that she could not but succeed, in spite of some obstacles. Her paradise was not a tranquil one, for the
Open29CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: CALLS
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: CALLS from Little Women. “You don’t mean to say you have forgotten that you promised to make half a dozen calls with me
Open30CHAPTER THIRTY: CONSEQUENCES
CHAPTER THIRTY: CONSEQUENCES from Little Women. Mrs. Chester’s fair was so very elegant and select that it was considered a great honor by the young ladies of the neighborhood to be invited to take a table, and everyone was much interested in the matter. Amy was asked, but Jo was not, which was fortunate for all parties, as her elbows were decidedly akimbo at this period of her life, and it took a good many hard knocks to teach her how to get on easily. The
Open31CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: OUR FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: OUR FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT from Little Women. Dearest People, Here I really sit at a front window of the Bath Hotel, Piccadilly. It’s not a fashionable place, but Uncle stopped here years ago, and won’t go anywhere else. However, we don’t mean to stay long, so it’s no great matter. Oh, I can’t begin to tell you how I enjoy it all! I never can, so I’ll only give you bits out of my notebook, for I’ve done nothing but sketch and scribble since I
Open32CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO: TENDER TROUBLES
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO: TENDER TROUBLES from Little Women. “It’s not her health that troubles me now, it’s her spirits. I’m sure there is something on her mind, and I want you to discover what it
Open33CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE: JO’S JOURNAL
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE: JO’S JOURNAL from Little Women. I’m going to write you a regular volume, for I’ve got heaps to tell, though I’m not a fine young lady traveling on the continent. When I lost sight of Father’s dear old face, I felt a trifle blue, and might have shed a briny drop or two, if an Irish lady with four small children, all crying more or less, hadn’t diverted my mind, for I amused myself by dropping gingerbread nuts over the seat every time they opened
Open34CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR: FRIEND
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR: FRIEND from Little Women. Though very happy in the social atmosphere about her, and very busy with the daily work that earned her bread and made it sweeter for the effort, Jo still found time for literary labors. The purpose which now took possession of her was a natural one to a poor and ambitious girl, but the means she took to gain her end were not the best. She saw that money conferred power, money and power, therefore, she resolved to
Open35CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE: HEARTACHE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE: HEARTACHE from Little Women. Whatever his motive might have been, Laurie studied to some purpose that year, for he graduated with honor, and gave the Latin oration with the grace of a Phillips and the eloquence of a Demosthenes, so his friends said. They were all there, his grandfather—oh, so proud—Mr. and Mrs. March, John and Meg, Jo and Beth, and all exulted over him with the sincere admiration which boys make light of at the time, but fail
Open36CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: BETH’S SECRET
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: BETH’S SECRET from Little Women. When Jo came home that spring, she had been struck with the change in Beth. No one spoke of it or seemed aware of it, for it had come too gradually to startle those who saw her daily, but to eyes sharpened by absence, it was very plain and a heavy weight fell on Jo’s heart as she saw her sister’s face. It was no paler and but littler thinner than in the autumn, yet there was a strange, transparent look about it, as
Open37CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN: NEW IMPRESSIONS
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN: NEW IMPRESSIONS from Little Women. At three o’clock in the afternoon, all the fashionable world at Nice may be seen on the Promenade des Anglais—a charming place, for the wide walk, bordered with palms, flowers, and tropical shrubs, is bounded on one side by the sea, on the other by the grand drive, lined with hotels and villas, while beyond lie orange orchards and the hills. Many nations are represented, many languages spoken, many costumes worn,
Open38CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT: ON THE SHELF
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT: ON THE SHELF from Little Women. In France the young girls have a dull time of it till they are married, when ‘Vive la liberte!’ becomes their motto. In America, as everyone knows, girls early sign the declaration of independence, and enjoy their freedom with republican zest, but the young matrons usually abdicate with the first heir to the throne and go into a seclusion almost as close as a French nunnery, though by no means as quiet. Whether they
Open39CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE: LAZY LAURENCE
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE: LAZY LAURENCE from Little Women. Laurie went to Nice intending to stay a week, and remained a month. He was tired of wandering about alone, and Amy’s familiar presence seemed to give a homelike charm to the foreign scenes in which she bore a part. He rather missed the ‘petting’ he used to receive, and enjoyed a taste of it again, for no attentions, however flattering, from strangers, were half so pleasant as the sisterly adoration of the girls at
Open40CHAPTER FORTY: THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW
CHAPTER FORTY: THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW from Little Women. When the first bitterness was over, the family accepted the inevitable, and tried to bear it cheerfully, helping one another by the increased affection which comes to bind 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
Open41CHAPTER FORTY-ONE: LEARNING TO FORGET
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE: LEARNING TO FORGET from Little Women. Amy’s lecture did Laurie good, though, of course, he did not own it till long afterward. Men seldom do, for when women are the advisers, the lords of creation don’t take the advice till they have persuaded themselves that it is just what they intended to do. Then they act upon it, and, if it succeeds, they give the weaker vessel half the credit of it. If it fails, they generously give her the whole. Laurie went back
Open42CHAPTER FORTY-TWO: ALL ALONE
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO: ALL ALONE from Little Women. It was easy to promise self-abnegation when self was wrapped up in another, and heart and soul were purified by a sweet example. 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. How could she ‘comfort Father and Mother’ when her own heart ached with a ceaseless longing for her sister,
Open43CHAPTER FORTY-THREE: SURPRISES
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE: SURPRISES from Little Women. Jo was alone in the twilight, lying on the old sofa, looking at the fire, and thinking. It was her favorite way of spending the hour of dusk. No one disturbed her, and she used to lie there on Beth’s little red pillow, planning stories, dreaming dreams, or thinking tender thoughts of the sister who never seemed far away. Her face looked tired, grave, and rather sad, for tomorrow was her birthday, and she was
Open44CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR: MY LORD AND LADY
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR: MY LORD AND LADY from Little Women. “Please, Madam Mother, could you lend me my wife for half an hour? The luggage has come, and I’ve been making hay of Amy’s Paris finery, trying to find some things I want,” said Laurie, coming in the next day to find Mrs. Laurence sitting in her mother’s lap, as if being made ‘the baby’
Open45CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE: DAISY AND DEMI
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE: DAISY AND DEMI from Little Women. I cannot feel that I have done my duty as humble historian of the March family, without devoting at least one chapter to the two most precious and important members of it. Daisy and Demi had now arrived at years of discretion, for in this fast age babies of three or four assert their rights, and get them, too, which is more than many of their elders do. If there ever were a pair of twins in danger of being utterly
Open46CHAPTER FORTY-SIX: UNDER THE UMBRELLA
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX: UNDER THE UMBRELLA from Little Women. While Laurie and Amy were taking conjugal strolls over velvet carpets, as they set their house in order, and planned a blissful future, Mr. Bhaer and Jo were enjoying promenades of a different sort, along muddy roads and sodden
Open47CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN: HARVEST TIME
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN: HARVEST TIME from Little Women. For a year Jo and her Professor worked and waited, hoped and loved, met occasionally, and wrote such voluminous letters that the rise in the price of paper was accounted for, Laurie said. The second year began rather soberly, for their prospects did not brighten, and Aunt March died suddenly. But when their first sorrow was over—for they loved the old lady in spite of her sharp tongue—they found they had cause for
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