`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 passed.
`How dare you say so, when he's got both his eyes? and very handsome ones they are, too,' cried Jo, who resented any slighting remarks about her friend.
`I didn't say anything about his eyes, and I don't see why you need fire up when I admire his riding.'
`Oh, my goodness! that little goose means a centaur, and she called him a Cyclops,' exclaimed Jo, with a burst of laughter.
`You needn't be so rude; it's only a "lapse of lingy", as Mr. Davis says,' retorted Amy, finishing Jo with her Latin. `I just wish I had a little of the money Laurie spends on that horse,' she added, as if to herself, yet hoping her sisters would hear.
`Why?' asked Meg, kindly, for Jo had gone off in another laugh at Amy's second blunder.
`I need it so much; I'm dreadfully in debt, and it won't be my turn to have the rag-money for a month.'
`In debt, Amy? What do you mean?' and Meg looked sober.
`Why, I owe at least a dozen pickled limes, and I can't pay them, you know, till I have money, for Marmee forbade my having anything charged at the shop.'
`Tell me all about it. Are limes the fashion now? It used to be pickling bits of rubber to make balls'; and Meg tried to keep her countenance, Amy looked so grave and important.
`Why, you see, the girls are always buying them, and unless you want to be thought mean, you must do it too. It's nothing but limes now, for everyone is sucking them in their desks in school-time, and trading them off for pencils, bead-rings, paper dolls, or something else at recess. If one girl likes another she gives her a lime; if she's mad with her she eats one before her face, and don't offer even a suck. They treat by turns; and I've had ever so many, but haven't returned them; and I ought, for they are debts of honour, you know.'
`How much will pay them off, and restore your credit?' asked Meg, taking out her purse.
`A quarter would more than do it, and leave a few cents over for a treat for you. Don't you like limes?'
`Not much; you may have my share. Here's the money. Make it last as long as you can, for it isn't very plenty, you know.'
`Oh, thank you! It must be so nice to have pocket-money! I'll have a grand feast, for I haven't tasted a lime this week. I felt delicate about taking any, as I couldn't return them, and I'm actually suffering for one.'
Next day Amy was rather late at school; but could not resist the temptation of displaying, with pardonable pride, a moist, brown-paper parcel, before she consigned it to the inmost recesses of her desk. During the next few minutes the rumour that Amy March had got twenty-four delicious limes (she ate one on the way), and was going to treat, circulated through her `set', and the attentions of her friends became quite overwhelming. Katy Brown invited her to her next party on the spot; Mary Kingsley insisted on lending her her watch till recess; and Jenny Snow, a satirical young lady, who had basely twitted Amy upon her limeless state, promptly buried the hatchet, and offered to furnish answers to certain appalling sums. But Amy had not forgotten Miss Snow's cutting remarks about `some persons whose noses were not too flat to smell other people's limes, and stuck-up people who were not too proud to ask for them'; and she instantly crushed that `Snow girl's' hopes by the withering telegram, `You needn't be so polite all of a sudden, for you won't get any.'
A distinguished personage happened to visit the school that morning, and Amy's beautifully drawn maps received praise, which honour to her foe rankled in the soul of Miss Snow, and caused Miss March to assume the airs of a studious young peacock. But, alas, alas! pride goes before a fall, and the revengeful Snow turned the tables with disastrous success. No sooner had the guest paid the usual stale compliments, and bowed himself out than Jenny, under pretence of asking an important question, informed Mr. Davis, the teacher, that Amy March had pickled limes in her desk.
Now Mr. Davis had declared limes a contraband article, and solemnly vowed to ferrule publicly the first person who was found breaking the law. This much-enduring man had succeeded in banishing chewing-gum after a long and stormy war, and had made a bonfire of the confiscated novels and newspapers, had suppressed a private post office, had forbidden distortions of the face, nicknames, and caricatures, and done all that one man could do to keep half-a-hundred rebellious girls in order. Boys are trying enough to human patience, goodness knows! but girls are infinitely more so, especially to nervous gentlemen, with tyrannical tempers, and no more talent for teaching than Dr. Blimber. Mr. Davis knew any quantity of Greek, Latin, Algebra, and ologies of all sorts, so he was called a fine teacher, and manners, morals, feelings, and examples were not considered of any particular importance. It was a most unfortunate moment for denouncing Amy, and Jenny knew it. Mr. Davis had evidently taken his coffee too strong that morning; there was an east wind, which always affected his neuralgia; and his pupils had not done him the credit which he felt he deserved: therefore, to use the expressive, if not elegant, language of a schoolgirl, `he was as nervous as a witch, and as cross as a bear'. The word `limes' was like fire to powder; his yellow face flushed, and he rapped on his desk with an energy which made jenny skip to her seat with unusual rapidity.
`Young ladies, attention, if you please!'
At the stern order the buzz ceased, and fifty pairs of blue, black, grey, and brown eyes were obediently fixed upon his awful countenance.
`Miss March, come to the desk.'
Amy rose to comply with outward composure, but a secret fear oppressed her, for the limes weighed upon her conscience.
`Bring with you the limes you have in your desk,' was the unexpected command which arrested her before she got out of her seat.
`Don't take all,' whispered her neighbour, a young lady of great presence of mind.
Amy hastily shook out half a dozen, and laid the rest down before Mr. Davis, feeling that any man possessing a human heart would relent when that delicious perfume met his nose. Unfortunately Mr. Davis particularly detested the odour of the fashionable pickle, and disgust added to his wrath.
`Is that all?'
`Not quite,' stammered Amy.
`Bring the rest immediately.'
With a despairing glance at her set, she obeyed.
`You are sure there are no more?'
`I never lie, sir.'
`So I see. Now take these disgusting things two by two, and throw them out of the window.'
There was a simultaneous sigh, which created quite a little gust, as the last hope fled, and the treat was ravished from their longing lips. Scarlet with shame and anger, Amy went to and fro six dreadful times; and as each doomed couple - looking oh! so plump and juicy - fell from her reluctant hands, a shout from the street completed the anguish of the girls, for it told them that their feast was being exulted over by the little Irish children, who were their sworn foes. This - this was too much; all flashed indignant or appealing glances at the inexorable Davis, and one passionate limelover burst into tears.
As Amy returned from her last trip, Mr. Davis gave a portentous `Hem!' and said, in his most impressive manner - `Young ladies, you remember what I said to you a week ago. I am sorry this has happened; but I never allow my rules to be infringed, and I never break my word. Miss March, hold out your hand.'
Amy started and put both hands behind her, turning on him an imploring look wh pleaded for her better than the words she could not utter. She was rather a favourite with `old Davis', as, of course, he was called, and it's my private belief that he would have broken his word if the indignation of one irrepressible young lady had not found vent in a hiss. That hiss, faint as it was, irritated the irascible gentleman, and sealed the culprit's fate.
`Your hand, Miss March!' was the only answer her mute appeal received; and, too proud to cry or beseech, Amy set her teeth, threw back her head defiantly, and bore without flinching several tingling blows on her little palm. They were neither many nor heavy, but that made no difference to her. For the first time in her life she had been struck; and the disgrace, in her eyes, was as deep as if he had knocked her down.
`You will now stand on the platform till recess,' said Mr. Davis, resolved to do the thing thoroughly, since he had begun. That was dreadful. It would have been bad enough to go to her seat, and see the pitying faces of her friends, or the satisfied ones of her few enemies; but to face the whole school with that shame fresh upon her, seemed impossible, and for a second she felt as if she could only drop down where she stood, and break her heart with crying. A bitter sense of wrong, and the thought of Jenny Snow, helped her to bear it; and, taking the ignominious place, she fixed her eyes on the stove-funnel above what now seemed a sea of faces, and stood there, so motionless and white that the girls found it very hard to study, with that pathetic figure before them.
During the fifteen minutes that followed, the proud and sensitive little girl suffered a shame and pain which she never forgot. To others it might seem a ludicrous or trivial affair, but to her it was a hard experience; for during the twelve years of her life she had been governed by love alone, and a blow of that sort had never touched her before. The smart of her hand and the ache of her heart were forgotten in the sting of the thought - `I shall have to tell at home, and they will be so disappointed in me!' The fifteen minutes seemed an hour; but they came to an end at last, and the word `Recess!' had never seemed so welcome to her before.
`You can go, Miss March,' said Mr. Davis, looking, as he felt, uncomfortable.
He did not soon forget the reproachful glance Amy gave him, as she went, without a word to anyone, straight into the ante-room, snatched her things, and left the place `forever', as she passionately declared to herself. She was in a sad state when she got home; and when the older girls arrived, some time later, an indignation meeting was held at once. Mrs. March did not say much, but looked disturbed, and comforted her afflicted little daughter in her tenderest manner. Meg bathed the insulted hand with glycerine and tears; Beth felt that even her beloved kittens would fail as a balm for griefs like this; Jo wrathfully proposed that Mr. Davis be arrested without delay; and Hannah shook her fist at the `villain', and pounded potatoes for dinner as if she had him under her pestle.
No notice was taken of Amy's flight, except by her mates; but the sharp-eyed demoiselles discovered that Mr. Davis was quite benignant in the afternoon, also unusually nervous. Just before school closed Jo appeared, wearing a grim expression, as she stalked up to the desk, and delivered a letter from her mother; then collected Amy's property and departed, carefully scraping the mud from her boots on the door-mat, as if she shook the dust of the place off her feet.
`Yes, you can have a vacation from school, but I want you to study a little every day with Beth,' said Mrs. March that evening. `I don't approve of corporal punishment, especially for girls. I dislike Mr. Davis's manner of teaching, and don't think the girls you associate with are doing you any good, so I shall ask your father's advice before I send you anywhere else.'
`That's good! I wish all the girls would leave, and spoil his old school. It's perfectly maddening to think of those lovely limes,' sighed Amy, with the air of a martyr.
`I am not sorry you lost them, for you broke the rules, and deserved some punishment for disobedience,' was the severe reply, which rather disappointed the young lady, who expected nothing but sympathy.
`Do you mean you are glad I was disgraced before the whole school?' cried Amy.
`I should not have chosen that way of mending a fault,' replied her mother; `but I'm not sure that it won't do you more good than a milder method. You are getting to be rather conceited, my dear, and it is quite time you set about correcting it. You have a good many little gifts and virtues, but there is no need of parading them, for conceit spoils the finest genius. There is not much danger that real talent or goodness will be overlooked long; even if it is, the consciousness of possessing and using it well should satisfy one, and the great charm of all power is modesty.'
`So it is!' cried Laurie, who was playing chess in a corner with Jo. `I knew a girl, once, who had a really remarkable talent for music, and she didn't know it, never guessed what sweet little things she composed when she was alone, and wouldn't have believed it if anyone had told her.'
`I wish I'd known that nice girl; maybe she would have helped me, I'm so stupid,' said Beth, who stood beside him, listening eagerly.
`You do know her, and she helps you better than anyone else could,' answered Laurie, looking at her with such mischievous meaning in his merry black eyes, that Beth suddenly turned very red, and hid her face in the sofa-cushion, quite overcome by such an unexpected discovery.
Jo let Laurie win the game, to pay for that praise of her Beth, who could not be prevailed upon to play for them after her compliment.
So Laurie did his best, and sang delightfully, being in a particularly lively humour, for to the Marches he seldom showed the moody side of his character. When he was gone, Amy, who had been pensive all the evening, said suddenly, as if busy over some new idea: `Is Laurie an accomplished boy?'
`Yes; he has had an excellent education, and has much talent; he will make a fine man, if not spoilt by petting,' replied her mother.
`And he isn't conceited, is he?' asked Amy.
`Not in the least; that is why he is so charming, and we all like him so much.'
`I see; it's nice to have accomplishments, and be elegant; but not to show off, or get perked up,' said Amy, thoughtfully.
`These things are always seen and felt in a person's manner and conversation, if modestly used; but it is not necessary to display them,' said Mrs. March. `Any more than it's proper to wear all your bonnets and gowns and ribbons at once, that folks may know you've got them,' added Jo; and the lecture ended in a laugh.
“那小伙子真像希腊神话中的独眼巨人，你说呢？”艾美说。这时劳里正骑马得得而行，经过时还把马鞭一扬。
“你怎敢这样说话？他一双眼睛完整无缺，而且漂亮得很哩，”乔叫起来。她容不得人家说她的朋友半点闲话。
“我并没有说他的眼睛怎么了，我也不明白你怎么会火冒三丈，我只是羡慕他的马上功夫而已。”“噢，老天爷！这小傻瓜的意思是骑马高手，却把他叫成了独眼巨人，”乔爆发出一阵大笑，叫道。
“你不用如此无礼，这只是戴维斯先生说的'口吴（误）'而已，”艾美反驳道，用拉丁语把乔镇祝"我真希望我能有一丁点儿劳里花在那骑马上的钱，”她仿佛自言自语，但却希望两个姐姐听到。
“为什么？”梅格好意问道。乔却因艾美第二次用错词而再次大笑起来。
“我负了一身债，急需用钱，但我还要等一个月才能领到钱。”“负债，艾美？怎么回事？”梅格神情严肃地问。
“哦，我至少欠下一打腌酸橙。你知道我得有钱才能清还。
因为妈妈不许我在商店赊帐。”
“把事情详细道来。现在时兴酸橙了吗？以前可是刺橡胶块来做圆球。”梅格尽量不动声色，而艾美则神情庄重，一本正经。
“哦，是这样的。姑娘们成天都买酸橙，你也得跟着买，除非你想别人觉得你小气。现在只有酸橙当红，上课时人人都埋在书桌下咂酸橙，课休时用酸橙交换铅笔、念珠戒指、纸娃娃等物。如果一个女孩喜欢另一个，她就送她一个酸橙；如果她憎恶她，便当着她的面吃一个酸橙，不叫她咂一口。她们轮流做东，我已经得了人家不少，至今没有还礼，我理当偿还，因为那是信用债。”“还差多少钱才能使你恢复信用？”梅格一面问，一面拿出钱包。
“二角五分已经绰绰有余，还可剩几分钱给你买一点。你不喜欢酸橙吗？”“不怎么喜欢，我那份你要吧。给你钱。省着点使，钱不多，你知道。”“噢，好姐姐！有零花钱真是太好了！我要犒赏犒赏自己，这星期还没有尝过酸橙味儿呢。我不好意思再要她们的，因为自己还不起。现在我可想得要疯了。”第二天，艾美回到学校已经不早，但却抵挡不住诱惑，为自得地把一个濡湿的棕色纸包炫耀一番，这才把它放到书桌的最里头。不消几分钟，艾美·马奇带了廿四个美味酸橙（她自己在路上吃了一个）并准备供诸同好的小道消息在她的"同伙"之中不胫而走，朋友们对她刮目相看。凯蒂·布朗当场邀请她参加下次晚会；玛丽·金斯利坚持要把自己的手表借给她戴到下课；珍妮·斯诺，一个曾经粗俗地挖苦过艾美的尖酸刻薄的年轻女子，立即偃旗息鼓，主动提供某些难题的答案。但是艾美并没有忘记斯诺小姐说过的那些刺心话：“有些人鼻子虽扁，却仍然闻得到别人的酸橙味儿；有些人虽然狂妄自大，却仍得求人家的酸橙吃。”她用令人泄气的言辞把那位"斯诺女"的希望当场击得粉碎：“你用不着一下子这么殷勤，因为你半个也捞不着。”那天早上恰巧有一位重要人物访问学校，艾美的地图画得极好，受到了赞扬。斯诺小姐对敌人的这种荣誉怀恨在心，马奇小姐因此更摆出一副自命不凡的架势。不过，唉！骄兵必败！斯诺报仇心切，她反戈一击，打了场完全彻底的漂亮仗。一待客人照例讲究一番陈词滥调的客套话躬身出去后，珍妮立即佯装提问，悄悄告诉老师戴维斯先生，艾美·马奇把腌酸橙藏在书桌里头。
原来戴维斯先生早已宣布酸橙为违禁品，并庄重发誓要把第一个违法者公开绳之以法。这位相当不朽的仁兄曾经发动过一场激烈持久的战争，成功取缔了香口胶糖，烧毁了没收的小说画报，镇压了一所地下邮局，并禁止了做鬼脸、起花名、画漫画等一类事情，竭尽全力要把五十个反叛的姑娘们训导得规规矩矩。老天作证，男孩子已经使人大伤脑筋，但是女孩子更难伺候，这对于脾气粗暴、缺乏教学天才、神经紧张的人来说更是如此。戴维斯先生希腊语、拉丁语、代数以及各门学科无所不通，于是被称为好老师，而言行、道德、情操及表率却被认为无关重要。珍妮心里明白，这种时候告发艾美活该她倒霉。戴维斯先生那天早上显然喝了冲得太浓的咖啡，东风又刺激了他的神经痛。而他的学生竟然在这种时候往他脸上抹黑；用一位女同学虽不优雅但相当贴切的话来形容：“他紧张得像个女巫，粗暴得像一头熊。”“酸橙"两字犹如引爆炸药的火苗。他把黄脸孔憋得通红，使劲敲击讲台，吓得珍妮飞速溜回座位。
“年轻女士们，请你们注意！”
这么厉声一喝，嘁喳声嘎然而止，五十双蓝色、黑色、灰色，以及棕色的眼睛全都乖乖地盯住他那可怖的脸容。
“马奇小姐，到讲台来。”
艾美依令站起来，她虽然外表镇静，内心却是又惊又怕，因为酸橙压得她心里沉甸甸的。
“把书桌里的酸橙带过来！”她尚未走出座位，又收到第二道出乎意料的命令。
“不要全都带去，”坐在她身边的那位女士头脑十分冷静，悄声说道。
艾美匆忙抖出六只，把其余的放在戴维斯先生面前，心想任何铁石心肠的人闻到那股喷香的味道都会软下来。不幸的是，戴维斯先生特别讨厌这种时髦腌果的味道，他越发勃然大怒。
“就这些吗？”
“还有几个，”艾美结结巴巴地说。
“马上把其余的拿来。”
她绝望地望了一眼她那班伙伴，顺从了。
“你肯定再没有了吗？”
“我从不撒谎，先生。”
“那好，现在把这些讨厌的东西两个两个拿起扔出窗外。”眼看着最后一丝希望破灭，到了嘴边的东西被夺走，姑娘们都发出一阵叹息声。艾美又羞又恼，脸色涨得通红，忍辱来回走了足足六趟。每当一对倒霉的酸橙- 呵！多么饱满圆润- 从她极不情愿的手中落下时，街上便传来一声欢叫。姑娘们简直心碎欲绝，因为叫声告诉大家她们的美食落在了她们不共戴天的敌人爱尔兰小孩的手上，成为他们的美餐，令他们狂喜雀跃。这--这简直不能忍受。众人向冷酷无情的戴维斯投去气愤而恳求的目光，一位热烈的酸橙爱好者忍不住热泪暗流。
当艾美扔掉最后一个酸橙走回来时，戴维斯先生令人颤栗地"哼！”了一声，装腔作势地训斥道- “年轻女士们，你们记得我一星期前说的话吧。发生了这种事我很遗憾，但我绝对不会姑息这种违反纪律的行为，而且决不食言。马奇小姐，伸出手来。” 艾美吓了一跳，把双手藏在背后，用祈求的目光望着他，说不出半句话来，其情堪可怜悯。她本来是"老戴维斯"，当然啦，如大家所称，颇为得意的门生，如果不是一个姑娘"嘘"了一声以泄怨愤的话，我个人相信，戴维斯先生完全可能破例食言。但那嘘声尽管细若游丝，却激怒了这位脾气暴躁的绅士，并决定了犯规者的命运。
“伸出手，马奇小姐！”这一声便是对她无声恳求的答复；自尊好强的艾美不愿哭求，她咬紧牙关，对抗地把头向后一甩，任由小手掌挨了几下痛笞。虽然打得不重，但这对她来说没什么不同，她平生第一次挨揍，这就像他把她击倒地上一样，是一种奇耻大辱。
“现在站到讲坛上，一直到下课为止，”戴维斯先生说。既然做开了头，他就决心做个彻底。
这实在是太可怕了。走回座位，看朋友们的怜悯目光和个别敌人的痛快脸色已经糟糕透顶，而要面对全班同学，含耻忍辱，她简直做不到。刹那间她觉得自己就要摔倒地上，伤心痛哭。但那种刺心的屈辱感和对珍妮·斯诺的恨使她挺住了。她踏上那个不光彩的位置，下面仿佛成了人的海洋。她两眼死死盯着火炉烟囱管，一动不动地站在那里，面如白纸。
姑娘们面对这么一个心碎欲绝的人物，也再无心思上课。
此后的十五分钟里，这位傲慢敏感的小姑娘尝尽了铭心刻骨的耻辱和痛苦的滋味。别人或许觉得此乃小事一桩，荒唐好笑而已，而她却觉得伤透了心。她有生十二年以来，一直与爱为伴，从未领教过这种打击。而一想到"回到家我不得不把这事说出来，她们一定会对我失望之极！”她连手掌和心上的痛苦也顾不上了。
这十五分钟就像一个小时那么漫长，但最后还是走到了尽头，她终于盼到一声"下课！”的命令。
“你可以走了，马奇小姐，”戴维斯先生说。看得出来，他心里头很不自在。
艾美横了他一眼，眼光充满谴责，令他不敢轻易忘怀。她一声不吱，径直走进前堂，一把抓起自己的东西，心里狠狠发誓，”永远"离开了这个伤心之地。回到家里她仍伤心不已。
不久，姐妹们相继归来。一个义愤填膺的会议随即召开。马奇太太虽然神情激动，但没有多说，只是无限温柔地宽慰自己受了伤的小女儿。梅格边掉泪边用甘油涂洗艾美那遭受凌辱的手掌。贝思觉得即使自己可爱的小猫咪也安慰不了如此深重的痛楚，乔怒发冲冠，提议戴维斯先生应该立即逮捕，罕娜对那"坏蛋"挥起拳头，捣土豆做饭时也敲打得劈啪作响，仿佛那"坏蛋”就躲在她的捣下面。
除了她的几个伙伴外，没有人注意到艾美没来上学；但眼尖的姑娘们发现戴维斯先生下午变得相当宽厚，而且格外紧张。将放学时，乔露面了。她神情严峻，大步走近讲台，把母亲写的一封信交上去，然后收拾起艾美的物品，转身离去，在门垫上狠狠蹭掉靴上的泥土，似乎要把这儿的脏物从脚上抖干净。
“好了，你可以放个假，但我要求你每天都和贝思一起学一点东西，”那天晚上马奇太太说，”我不赞成体罚，尤其不赞成体罚女孩子。我不喜欢戴维斯先生的教学方法，不过你结交的女孩子也不是什么益友。我要先征求你父亲的意思，再把你送到别的学校。”“太好了！我希望姑娘们全走掉，毁掉他的旧学堂。一想到那些令人馋涎欲滴的酸橙，我就气得发疯。”艾美叹息着，神情就像一个殉难者。
“你失去酸橙我并不难过，因为你破坏了纪律，应该受到惩罚，”母亲严厉地回答。一心只想得到同情的年轻女士，听到这话颇为失望。
“您的意思是我当着全体同学的面受侮辱您很高兴了？”艾美喊道。
“我不会选择这种方法来纠正错误，”她的母亲回答，”但我不敢说换一种温和一点的方法你就会从中得到教训。你现在有点过于自大了，亲爱的，很应该着手改正过来。你有很多天赋和优点，但不必摆出来展览，因为自大会把最优秀的天才毁掉。真正的才华或品行不怕被人长期忽视；即使真的无人看到，只要你知道自己拥有它，并妥善用它，你就会感到心满意足。谦虚才能使人充满魅力。”“完全正确！”劳里叫道。他正跟乔在一角下象棋。”我曾认识一个女孩，她音乐天赋极高，却并不自知，她从不知道自己作的小曲有多美，即使别人告诉她，她自己也不会相信。”“我能认识那位好女孩就好了，她或许可以帮助我，我这么笨，“贝思说。她正站在劳里身边认真倾听。
“你确实认识她，她比任何人都更能帮你，”劳里答道，快乐的黑眼睛调皮地望着她，贝思霎时飞红了脸，把脸埋在沙发垫里，被这出乎意料的发现弄得不知所措。
乔让劳里赢了棋，以奖励他称赞了她的贝思。贝思经这么一夸，怎么也不肯出来弹琴了。于是劳里一展身手，他边弹边唱，心情显得特别轻松愉快，因为他在马奇一家人面前极少流露自己的忧郁性格。在他走后，整个晚上一直郁郁寡欢的艾美似乎若有所思，突然问道：“劳里是否称得上多才多艺？”“当然，他接受过优等教育，又富有天赋，如果没有宠坏，他会成为一个出色的人才，”她母亲回答。
“而且他不自大，对吗？”艾美问。
“一点也不。这便是他这么富有魅力的原因，也是我们全都这么喜欢他的原因。“我明白了。多才多艺、举止优雅固然很好，但向人炫耀或翘尾巴就不好了，”艾美若有所思地说。
“如果态度谦虚，这些气质总会在一个人的言谈举止中流露出来，无需向人卖弄，”马奇太太说。
“譬如你一下子把全部帽子、衣服、饰物等都穿戴出来，唯恐别人不知道你有这些东西，这样自然不妥，”乔插言道。
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