每日一篇雙語美文：Dream of the Future
Laurie had had some English friends, boys and girls, visiting him during the summer, and the March family were invited to join many walks and river trips, but it was now September, and Laurie was alone again. On one occasion Laurie, from where he lay in his garden, saw the sisters get out for a walk.
“Where are those girls going?” he thought. Each wore a large hat, each had a bag over her shoulder, and each carried a stick in her hand. Meg had a cushion, Jo a book, Beth a basket, and Amy her drawing materials. They walked one behind the other, through the garden gate, going down the road and began to climb a hill leading to the wood on the top.
“Well! Fancy2 going off like that and not asking me!” Laurie decided to follow them and see what it all meant.
By the time he was ready to go, the girls could not be seen, but at last he came upon them seated on the ground under some trees. Laurie stood unnoticed behind a tree watching them. It was a pretty picture. Meg was sewing, Beth playing with her dolls, Amy was drawing, and Jo was making some socks as she read aloud.
The boy who watched felt that he should not have come and ought to go away. But he was lonely and stayed. Presently Beth looked up, saw Laurie and smiled.
“May I come in, please, or shall I be a nuisance3?” he asked.
Jo said, “Of course you may. We should have asked you before, only we thought you wouldn’t care for such a girls’ game as this. You see, we used to play at Pilgrim’s4 Progress, and this summer we deiced to go on with it in the open air. As part of the game we wear old hats, and used the sticks to help us climb the hill.”
“Well,” said Meg, “as it is against our rules for anybody to be idle5 here, you take the book and finish reading the story while Jo goes on with her socks.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” replied Laurie. “I’ll do anything if you’ll let me stay a bit, for it’s dull as a desert down there alone.” The story was not a long one, and, when it was finished, they sat for a time talking of all the things each wanted to do in the future.
“Wouldn’t it be fun if all the things we dream of doing could come true?” said Jo. “Let us each tell what we would most like to do. What about you, Laurie?”
“If I tell you, will you tell me?”
“Yes, if the others will too.”
“We will. Now begin, Laurie.”
“Well,” said Laurie, “I should like to travel. Then after I had seen as much of the world as I wanted to, I would live in this country and become a famous musician. I never want to be troubled about money or business, but just to enjoy myself. That’s my favorite dream. What is yours, Meg?”
Meg thought for a moment before saying, “I should like a lovely house, full of beautiful things, nice food, pretty clothes, pleasant people. I am to be mistress of the house, have plenty of money and servants, so that I need never work a bit. How I should enjoy it! I would do good though, and make everybody love me.”
“Wouldn’t you have a master in your house?” asked Laurie, with a smile.
“I said ‘pleasant people’,” and Meg bent to fasten her shoe as she spoke, so that her face could not be seen.
“Why don’t you say you’d have a splendid wise husband and some little children? You know your dream house wouldn’t be perfect without,” said Jo.
“You would have nothing but horses, pens and ink and books in yours，” answered Meg.
“Yes, that’s quite true. I’d have lots of Arabian horses and room full of books, and write a magic pen so that my works would be as famous as Laurie’s music. I want to do something splendid, something wonderful that won’t be forgotten after I am dead. I don’t know what it will be, but I mean to astonish you all some day. I think I shall write books, and get rich and famous. That is my favourite dream.”
“Mine is to stay at home safe with Father and Mother, and help take care of the family,” said Beth contentedly.
“Don’t you wish for anything else?” asked Laurie.
“Since I have my piano, I am perfectly satisfied. I only wish we may all keep well and be together. Nothing else.”
“I have so many wishes,” said Amy, “but my pet one is to be an artist, to go to Rome to paint fine pictures, and to be the best artist in the whole world.”
“We do want a lot, don’t we?” said Laurie.
“Except Beth, we all want to be rich and famous. I wonder if any of us will get our wishes.”
“Well, if we are all alive in ten years’ time, let’s meet and see how much nearer we are than now,” said Jo, always ready with a plan.
“How very old we shall all be then?” exclaimed Meg. “I shall be twenty-seven.”
“You and I will be twenty-six, Laurie, Beth twenty-three, and Amy twenty-two. What an ancient party!” said Jo.
“I hope I shall have done something to be proud of by that time, Jo but I am so lazy,” said Laurie.
“Mother says you need something to work for, and, when you have it, she is sure you will work splendidly.”
“Does she really? I will if I get the chance,” cried Laurie.
“I do try to please my grandfather, but he wants me to be a merchant, as he was. I hate all the things his old ships bring, and don’t care how soon they go to the bottom6 when I own them. But I’ve got to do as he did, unless I break away like my father. If there was anybody left to stay with the old gentleman, I’d run away tomorrow.”
“I advise you to sail away in one of your ships, and never come home again till you have tried your own way,” said Jo.
“That’s not right, Jo. You mustn’t talk in that way, and Laurie mustn’t take your bad advice,” said Meg.
But the talk was stopped by the sound of a distant bell, and they knew they would have to hurry to get home in time for supper.
“May I come again, please?” asked Laurie, as they all stopped to say good-night.
“Yes, if you are good and always do your duty, as boys in the lesson books are told to do,” said Meg, smiling.
“I’ll try.”
“Then you may come, and I’ll teach you to make socks. Everybody wants them just now,” added Jo, waving hers as they parted at the gates.
勞里有一些英國朋友，有男有女，他們夏天前來拜訪。而馬奇家也應邀參加了許多次沿河漫步。可是現在已經九月，勞里又孤單一人了。有一次勞里躺在自家花園，看到她們姐妹們正要出去散步。
“她們要到哪兒去呢？”他想。她們每人頭戴一頂大大的帽子，肩上扛著一個布袋，手里還拿著一根小棍。梅格拿著一個坐墊，喬拿著一本書，貝絲拿著一個籃子，艾米拿著繪畫材料。她們一個接一個穿過花園門口，走下小徑，開始攀登一座小山，山頂上有片樹林。
“好啊！想這樣出去玩不叫上我！”勞里決定跟著她們，一探究竟。
當他準備出發時，女孩們已經不見蹤影。但最后他發現她們坐在樹下的草地上。勞里躲在一棵樹后看著她們。這真是一幅美麗的圖畫：梅格在做針線活兒，貝絲在玩她的洋娃娃，艾米在畫畫，喬則一邊朗誦一邊織襪子。
這個正在窺視的男孩覺得自己不該來，該離開了。可他很孤獨，邁不開腳。過了不久，貝絲抬起頭，看見了勞里，微笑著朝他打招呼。
“請問，我可以加入嗎？還是我會打擾你們？”他問。
喬說：“你當然可以加入。我們應該提前叫上你的，我們只是覺得你不會喜歡這種女孩們的游戲。你看，我們從前經常玩‘天路歷程’的游戲，今年夏天我們決定露天玩這個游戲。作為游戲的一部分，我們會戴上舊式帽子，拄手杖登山。”
“好吧，”梅格說，“我們的規定是不許任何人閑著，所以當喬織襪子的時候，你要拿起書讀完那個故事。”
“是，女士，”勞里回答道，“只要你允許我在這兒呆一會兒，我可以做任何事。一個人在山下就好像在沙漠里一樣毫無生趣。”這個故事并不長，因此讀完的時候，她們便坐在一起談起了每個人對未來的夢想。
“如果我們想做的所有事都能實現，那該多有趣啊？”喬說，“讓我們每個人都說說最喜歡做的是什么。你最喜歡做什么，勞里？”
“如果我告訴你們，你們會告訴我嗎？”
“我會的，如果她們也會說的話。”
“我們會的。現在開始吧，勞里。”
“好，”勞里說，“我喜歡旅行。等去遍了我想去的地方之后，我要在這里住下來，成為一名著名的音樂家。我從來不想為金錢或生意煩惱，只想享受人生。這就是我的美夢。你的呢，梅格？”
梅格想了一會兒說：“我希望有一所可愛的房子，里面有漂亮的擺設、精美的食物、華麗的衣服和可愛的人。我是房子的女主人，有很多錢、很多仆人，因此我不需要干丁點兒活。那樣生活該多么美妙啊！但是我會做個好人，讓每個人都喜歡我。”
“你的房子里沒有男主人嗎？”勞里笑著問。
“我說了要有‘可愛的人’。”梅格彎下身子系緊她的鞋帶，別人看不到她說話時的表情。
“為什么不說你想有一位體面又聰明的丈夫和幾個孩子呢？你知道你夢中的房子沒了這些的話，不會完美的。”喬說。
“你除了馬、筆墨和書以外，就沒別的需要了。”梅格回答。
“是的，非常正確。我會有很多阿拉伯馬，房里全是書，而且用一只充滿魔力的筆寫作，我的作品會如勞里的音樂一樣有名。我想做些了不起的事，那些事讓我死后不會被遺忘。我不知道會是什么事，但有天我會讓你們都大吃一驚的。我想我會寫書，而且會名利雙收。那便是我最想實現的夢想。”
“我的夢想是留在家里，跟父母平平安安地在一起，并幫他們照料家人。”貝絲滿足地說。
“你沒其它愿望了嗎？”勞里問。
“自從我有了鋼琴，我就很滿足了。我只希望我們能好好相處，守在一起，沒別的了。”
“我有許多愿望，”艾美說，“但我最大的愿望是能成為一名畫家，到羅馬去畫優秀的作品，成為世界上最偉大的畫家。”
“我們想要的太多了，不是嗎？”勞里說。
“除了貝絲，我們都想成為既有錢又出名的`人。不知道我們中哪個人可以如愿以償。”
“那么，如果十年后我們都還活著，就讓我們再見面，看看我們各自離夢想近了多少！”喬說，他總是訂好計劃。
“我們那時多大了？”梅格大叫，“我會是27歲。”
“勞里，你和我26歲，貝絲23歲，艾米22歲，真是個高齡聚會！”喬說。
“我希望到那會兒我已經做了些值得驕傲的事。可是喬，你知道我太懶了。”勞里說。
“媽媽說你需要有個為之奮斗的目標，當你有了目標的時候，她確信你會做得很棒的。”
“她真的這樣說嗎？如果有機會我會的。”勞里喊道。
“我想讓爺爺開心，但他想要我和他一樣成為一個商人。我恨他那些舊船所帶來的一切。一旦我繼承了它們，我才不會在乎它們什么時候沉入海底。但是我必須照他說的去做，除非我像父親一樣離家出走。如果有誰愿意留下來陪伴這位老先生，我明天就離開。”
“我勸你坐上你們家一艘船遠行，永遠不要回來，直到你已嘗試完自己的生活方式為止。”喬說。
“那樣做不對，喬，你不應該說這種話。勞里千萬不能聽你的壞主意。”梅格說。
但是談話因遠處鐘聲響起而停下來，她們知道必須趕快回家，晚飯時間到了。
“請問，我能再來嗎？”當她們都停下來向他道別的時候，勞里問。
“可以，假如你能盡忠職守，表現得像課本里的男孩那樣的話。”梅格笑著說。
“我會試著去做的。”
“那么，你可以參加，我可以教你織襪子。現在每個人都想要一雙。”當他們在大門口分手時，喬揮舞著手中的襪子說。
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1. 路易莎·梅·奧爾科特（1832—1888），美國作家，年輕時做過傭人，當過教師、護士。《小婦人》是美國最優秀的家庭小說之一，路易莎的早期生活經歷為本書的創作提供了真實的素材。
2. fancy v. 想不到
3. nuisance n. 討厭的人或事
4. pilgrim n. 朝圣者
5. idle adj. 空閑的
6. go to the bottom 沉沒
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