13.玛丽阿姨抬起头来,确实,是一辆大马车,有四匹马拉着,停在那里一动不动,一位妇人和一个小男孩从上面走了出来。
14.“是简姐姐,”玛丽阿姨说道,“孩子们,那是你们的姑妈和你们的表兄弟约翰。”孩子们听了非常高兴,有点害羞地走到门前迎接两人。
15.约翰很快走了进来,他只说了一句:“你们好!你们的鸡和鸭都在哪里?”
16.“都在门外;等休息一会儿,你会看到的。”玛丽阿姨温柔地回答。
17.“一会儿?哈!我现在就想看到。我不需要休息,我又不是小女孩。”
18.其他的小孩子都认为他很粗鲁,为他感到脸红,但是他却丝毫没有感到羞愧。
19.“过来,坐在这儿,约翰。”妈妈喊他去坐下。
20.“我不!”约翰回答。
21.玛丽阿姨几乎不知所措了,因为她的孩子从来没对她说过“我不!”她总是教育她的孩子要文雅,要有礼貌。
22.简姑妈起来去拉他,但他根本没有想一想,只顾放声大笑;当他们坐下来吃晚饭时,约翰的表现也非常不好。
23.“我想要只银叉子!”他叫喊,“我不能用这种叉子吃饭。”说着他把钢叉子扔到一边。他妈妈感到非常尴尬,但他一点也不感觉羞愧。
24.女孩子们对她们的表兄弟越来越烦,因为他把最漂亮的花揪下来,还弄坏她们的玩具娃娃,又撕坏她们的图画书,还嘲笑她们哭鼻子。
25.他向小鸡扔石头,把一只小鸡的腿弄瘸了。他玩秋千时不像其他人那样轮流玩,只要他高兴,他就会总是坐在秋千上。
26.马车来接他们回城里了。所有的孩子们都说他们非常高兴他要走了。确实,他们都禁不住说出这句话了。你认为他们可以这样说吗?
WHY LOTTIE DID NOT WHISPER
为什么洛蒂不窃窃私语
1.A little girl nine years old came home from school Monday noon.“I have not spoken once this forenoon,mother,”said she.After school at night she trotted to her mother,and said,“I have not talked this afternoon,mother.I have not whispered in school all day,”
2.Every day she ran home,noon and night,with the same clean record.At the end of the week she said,“I have not whispered once this whole week,not once.”She not only looked happy,but she looked as if she had something better than happiness;she had selfmastery.
3.Perhaps some little child feels puzzled over that hard word,and asks,“What is it?”Self-mastery is mastering one’s self.Some children,you know,let their feelings run away with them,and are always doing what they want to,whether it is right or wrong.They are heedless children,like loose colts or horses.
4.Now,as we must bridle a horse to hold him in and have him go right,so we must put a bridle on our feelings,not letting them run loose,but hold them in,and guide them right.Self-mastery is holding a steady rein over our inclinations andwishes.
5.This,you see,is what the little girl did.She held herself in,and would not allow herself to whisper in school.I dare say she often and often wanted to.She did not whisper one whole week.At the end of another she said,“Mother,I have not talked in school for two weeks,not once.”
6.I heard her say that,“How did you manage not to talk,Lottie?”I asked.
7.“Why,”said Lottie,“I did not say I would never speak.I said,I will try not to whisper this forenoon,and I did not.Then I said,I will try not to this afternoon,and I did not.
8.”You see I tried by the half-days,and they made whole days,and the whole days made,by and by,a week.That made it easier,“9.The secret then was this;Lottie did not undertake to do too much at a time.Children often fail by undertaking too much.Every child can strive to do right at home and at school by the half-days.Half-days make whole days,and so,little by little,they will form habits of well-doing.
【中文阅读】
1.一个小女孩,今年九岁,周一中午她放学回家。”妈妈,今天上午我一次话都没说。“她说道。晚上放学回家她又拉住妈妈说:“妈妈,今天下午我还是一次话都没说过,今天一整天我上课时都没窃窃私语。”
2.每天中午和晚上她跑回家都说着相同的话。到了周末,她又说:“我整个这一周都没窃窃私语,一次都没有。”她不仅看起来很高兴,而且仿佛没有比这更让她感觉幸福的事情了,因为她有自制力了。
3.也许有人会不理解这个晦涩难懂的词汇,会问:“自制力是什么?”自制力就是控制自己的能力。大家知道,有些孩子愿意让感觉自由驰骋,并且总是想做什么就坐什么,不管是对是错,他们的行为非常不谨慎,就像脱缰的野马。
4.现在,就像我们必须给马套上缰绳、要让他走正路一样,我们也必须给我们的感觉套上缰绳,不让自己跟着感觉乱跑、做对的事情。自制力能够牢固地掌控住我们的取向和想法。
5.你看,这就是这个小姑娘正在做的事情。她在控制自己,不允许自己在课堂上小声说话。我敢说她肯定一次又一次想说话,但整整一个星期她都没有说话。到了下一个周末她又说:“妈妈,我整整两周没有上课说话了,一次也没有。”
6.我听到她说那些话,于是问她:“洛蒂,你是怎么做到的?”
7.“怎么做到的?”洛蒂说道:“我没有说我永远不说话。我只对自己说,今天上午我不会小声说一句话,于是我做到了。然后我又说:今天下午我不会上课小声说话,于是我又做到了。