Little Women and Werewolves by Louisa May Alcott

Author:Louisa May Alcott [Alcott, Louisa May]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: General, Fiction, Fantasy, Werewolves, Sisters, Historical, Humor, Form, Young Adult Fiction, Young women, New England, Parodies, Humorous Stories; American
ISBN: 9780345522627
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2010-09-03T06:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 26

• • •

Domestic Disaster

LIKE MOST OTHER YOUNG MATRONS, MEG BEGAN HER married life with a determination to be a model housekeeper. She felt that John should see his home as a haven and a paradise; he should always be greeted by a smiling face, should fare sumptuously every day, and never know the loss of a button. She brought so much love, energy, and cheerfulness to the work that she could not but succeed, in spite of some obstacles. Her paradise was not a tranquil one; for the little woman had more energy than discretion, and fussed, was overanxious to please, and bustled about cumbered with so many cares that she was sometimes too tired even to smile. John grew dyspeptic after a course of dainty dishes, and ungratefully demanded plain fare. As for buttons, she soon learned to wonder where they went, to shake her head over the carelessness of men, and to threaten to make him sew them on himself to see if his work would withstand impatient tugs and clumsy fingers any better than hers.

Overall, the pair was very happy, even after discovering the harsh reality that they couldn’t live on love alone. John did not find Meg’s beauty diminished in the least as she beamed at him from behind the familiar coffeepot. Their daily parting was romantic, and John always followed up his kiss with the tender inquiry, “Shall I send home veal or mutton for dinner, darling?” Their little house had truly become a home, though they ceased to frolic over it like children, as John felt the cares of the head of a family fall firmly upon his shoulders.

Meg labored through Mrs. Cornelius’s Receipt Book as if it was a mathematical exercise, working out each problem with patience and care. Sometimes her family was invited to help eat up too bounteous a feast of successes, or a batch of failures would be secretly dispatched and concealed in the convenient stomachs of the little Hummels. An evening with John over the account books usually produced a temporary lull in the culinary enthusiasm, and a frugal fit would ensue, during which the poor man was put through a course of bread pudding, hash, and warmed-over coffee, which tried his soul, although he bore it with praiseworthy fortitude.

Fired with a housewifely wish to see her storeroom stocked with homemade preserves, Meg undertook to put up her own currant jelly. She asked John to please order home a dozen or so little pots and a quantity of extra sugar, for their currants were ripe and needed to be attended to at once. John took a natural pride in his wife’s skills and gratified her request with four dozen delightful little pots, half a barrel of sugar, and a small boy to pick currants for her, anticipating their only crop of fruit laid up in a most pleasing form for winter use.

With her pretty hair tucked into a cap, sleeves rolled up past her elbows, and a coquettishly

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.