Laurie lay luxuriously swinging to and fro in his hammock one warmSeptember afternoon, wondering what his neighbors were about, but toolazy to go and find out. He was in one of his moods, for the day had beenboth unprofitable and unsatisfactory, and he was wishing he could live itover again. The hot weather made him indolent, and he had shirked hisstudies, tried Mr. Brooke's patience to the utmost, displeased hisgrandfather by practicing half the afternoon, frightened the maidservantshalf out of their wits by mischievously hinting that one of his dogs wasgoing mad, and, after high words with the stableman about some fanciedneglect of his horse, he had flung himself into his hammock to fume overthe stupidity of the world in general, till the peace of the lovely dayquieted him in spite of himself. Staring up into the green gloom of thehorse-chestnut trees above him, he dreamed dreams of all sorts, and wasjust imagining himself tossing on the ocean in a voyage round the world,when the sound of voices brought him ashore in a flash. Peeping throughthe meshes of the hammock, he saw the Marches coming out, as if boundon some expedition.
"What in the world are those girls about now?" thought Laurie, openinghis sleepy eyes to take a good look, for there was something ratherpeculiar in the appearance of his neighbors. Each wore a large, flappinghat, a brown linen pouch slung over one shoulder, and carried a long staff.Meg had a cushion, Jo a book, Beth a basket, and Amy a portfolio. Allwalked quietly through the garden, out at the little back gate, and began toclimb the hill that lay between the house and river.
"Well, that's cool," said Laurie to himself, "to have a picnic and neverask me! They can't be going in the boat, for they haven't got the key.Perhaps they forgot it. I'll take it to them, and see what's going on."
Though possessed of half a dozen hats, it took him some time to findone, then there was a hunt for the key, which was at last discovered in hispocket, so that the girls were quite out of sight when he leaped the fenceand ran after them. Taking the shortest way to the boathouse, he waited forthem to appear, but no one came, and he went up the hill to take anobservation. A grove of pines covered one part of it, and from the heart ofthis green spot came a clearer sound than the soft sigh of the pines or thedrowsy chirp of the crickets.
"Here's a landscape!" thought Laurie, peeping through the bushes, andlooking wide-awake and good-natured already.
It was a rather pretty little picture, for the sisters sat together in theshady nook, with sun and shadow flickering over them, the aromatic windlifting their hair and cooling their hot cheeks, and all the little woodpeople going on with their affairs as if these were no strangers but oldfriends. Meg sat upon her cushion, sewing daintily with her white hands,and looking as fresh and sweet as a rose in her pink dress among the green.Beth was sorting the cones that lay thick under the hemlock near by, forshe made pretty things with them. Amy was sketching a group of ferns,and Jo was knitting as she read aloud. A shadow passed over the boy's faceas he watched them, feeling that he ought to go away because uninvited;yet lingering because home seemed very lonely and this quiet party in thewoods most attractive to his restless spirit. He stood so still that a squirrel,busy with its harvesting, ran down a pine close beside him, saw himsuddenly and skipped back, scolding so shrilly that Beth looked up, espiedthe wistful face behind the birches, and beckoned with a reassuring smile.
"May I come in, please? Or shall I be a bother?" he asked, advancingslowly.
Meg lifted her eyebrows, but Jo scowled at her defiantly and said atonce, "Of course you may. We should have asked you before, only wethought you wouldn't care for such a girl's game as this."
"I always like your games, but if Meg doesn't want me, I'll go away."
"I've no objection, if you do something. It's against the rules to be idlehere," replied Meg gravely but graciously.
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Little women
Fiksi Remaja"Little Women" by Louisa May Alcoll Clarification The original story and all its rights belong to Louisa May Alcott, under no point of view we want to keep the credits of this story, we only share it for Wattpad. Little Women is the story of the Ma...
