Wednesday

Dear Daddy-Long-Legs,


I've changed my name.

I'm still `Jerusha' in the catalogue<sup>1</sup>, but I'm `Judy' everywhere else.
It's really too bad, isn't it, to have to give yourself the only
pet name you ever had? I didn't quite make up the Judy though.
That's what Freddy Perkins used to call me before he could
talk plainly.

I wish Mrs. Lippett would use a little more ingenuity² about choosing
babies' names. She gets the last names out of the telephone book--
you'll find Abbott on the first page--and she picks the Christian³
names up anywhere; she got Jerusha from a tombstone. I've always
hated it; but I rather like Judy. It's such a silly name.
It belongs to the kind of girl I'm not--a sweet little blue-eyed thing,
petted and spoiled by all the family, who romps⁴ her way through
life without any cares. Wouldn't it be nice to be like that?
Whatever faults I may have, no one can ever accuse me of having been
spoiled by my family! But it's great fun to pretend I've been.
In the future please always address me as Judy.

Do you want to know something? I have three pairs of kid gloves.
I've had kid mittens⁵ before from the Christmas tree, but never real
kid gloves with five fingers. I take them out and try them on every
little while. It's all I can do not to wear them to classes.

(Dinner bell. Goodbye.)

1 catalogue   

n.目录，总目；vt.编入目录

参考例句：

• The librarian entered a new book in the catalogue.图书管理员把一本新书编入目录。
• The catalogue is under revision.目录册正在修订之中。

2 ingenuity   

n.别出心裁；善于发明创造

参考例句：

• The boy showed ingenuity in making toys.那个小男孩做玩具很有创造力。
• I admire your ingenuity and perseverance.我钦佩你的别出心裁和毅力。

3 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

4 romps   

n.无忧无虑，快活( romp的名词复数 )v.嬉笑玩闹( romp的第三人称单数 )；（尤指在赛跑或竞选等中）轻易获胜

参考例句：

• Liz doesn't enjoy romps as much as other girls do. 莉兹不像别的女孩那样喜欢嬉戏吵闹。 来自辞典例句
• We don't like romps and flirts, though we may act as if we did sometimes. 我们不喜欢轻佻女和调情郎，虽然有时我们表面上看似喜欢他们。 来自辞典例句

5 mittens   

不分指手套

参考例句：

• Cotton mittens will prevent the baby from scratching his own face. 棉的连指手套使婴儿不会抓伤自己的脸。
• I'd fisted my hands inside their mittens to keep the fingers warm. 我在手套中握拳头来保暖手指。