Louisa May Alcott

with a shy man­ner, a timid voice, and a peace­ful ex­pres­sion, which was sel­dom dis­turbed.

I hate to think I’ve got to grow up, and be Miss March, and wear long gowns, and look as prim as a China-aster! It’s bad enough to be a girl, any­way,

Tell them I think of them by day, pray for them by night, and find my best com­fort in their af­fec­tion at all times.

“I don’t think it’s fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things, and other girls noth­ing at all,”

“I de­test rude, un­la­dy­like girls!”

you are al­to­gether too par­tic­u­lar and prim

which were very much in her way

“It’s so dread­ful to be poor!” sighed Meg, look­ing down at her old dress.

“We’ve got fa­ther and mother and each other,” said Beth con­tent­edly, from her cor­ner.

Jo im­me­di­ately sat up, put her hands in her pock­ets, and be­gan to whis­tle.

“Don’t, Jo; it’s so boy­ish!”

“That’s why I do it.”

“I de­test rude, un­la­dy­like girls!”

“I hate af­fected, niminy-piminy chits!”