LITTLE GIRLS.

WHERE have they gone to—the little girls,

With natural manners and natural curls?

Who love their dollies and like their toys,

And talk of something besides the boys?

Little old women in plenty I find,

Mature in manners and old in mind;

Little old flirts¹, who talk of their “beaus,”

And with each other in stylish² clothes.

Little old belles³, who, at nine and ten,

Are sick of pleasure and tired of men,

Weary of travel, of balls, of fun—

And find no new thing under the sun.

Once, in the beautiful long ago,

Some dear little children I used to know;

Girls who were merry as lambs at play,

And laughed and rollicked the livelong day.

They thought not at all of the “style” of their clothes;

They never imagined that boys were “beaus;”

“Other girls’ brothers” and “mates” were they,

Splendid fellows to help them play.

Where have they gone to? If you see

One of them anywhere, send her to me.

I would give a medal of purest gold

To one of those dear little girls of old,

With an innocent heart and open smile,

Who knows not the meaning of “flirt” or “style.”

 

1 flirts   

v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She flirts with every man she meets. 她同她遇到的每个男人调情。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She flirts with every handsome man she meets. 她和所遇到的每个美男子调情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 stylish   

adj.流行的，时髦的；漂亮的，气派的

参考例句：

• He's a stylish dresser.他是个穿着很有格调的人。
• What stylish women are wearing in Paris will be worn by women all over the world.巴黎女性时装往往会引导世界时装潮流。

3 belles   

n.美女( belle的名词复数 )；最美的美女

参考例句：

• Every girl in Atlanta was knee deep in men,even the plainest girls were carrying on like belles. 亚特兰大的女孩子个个都有许多男人追求，就连最不出色的也像美人一样被男人紧紧缠住。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Even lot of belles, remand me next the United States! 还要很多美女，然后把我送回美国！ 来自互联网