Welcome to Sleep Stories with Steph,
Your go-to podcast that offers you a calm and relaxing transition into a great night's sleep.
It is time to relax and fully let go.
There is nothing you need to be doing now,
And nowhere you need to go.
Close your eyes and feel yourself sink into the support beneath you and let all the worries of the day drift away.
This is your time and your space.
Take a deep breath in through your nose and let it out with a long sigh.
There is nothing you need to be doing now,
And nowhere you need to go.
Happy listening.
Chapter 4 Jo,
Laurie and Meg had a merry time over the bonbons and mottos and were in the midst of a quiet game of buzz with two or three other young people who had strayed in when Hannah appeared.
Meg forgot her foot and rose so quickly she was forced to catch hold of Jo with an exclamation of pain.
"'Hush,
Don't say anything,
' she whispered,
Adding aloud.
"'It's nothing.
I turned my foot a little,
That's all,
' and limped upstairs to put her things on.
Hannah scolded,
Meg cried and Jo was at her wits' end till she decided to take things into her own hands.
Slipping out,
She ran down and finding a servant asked if he could get her a carriage.
It happened to be a hired waiter who knew nothing about the neighbourhood and Jo was looking around for help when Laurie,
Who'd heard what she said,
Came up and offered his grandfather's carriage which had just come for him.
"'It's so early,
You can't mean to go yet,
' began Jo,
Looking relieved.
"'I always go early,
I do,
Truly.
Let me take you home,
' said Laurie.
"'It's all on my way,
You know,
And it rains,
They say.
'" That settled it.
Telling him all about Meg's mishap,
Jo gratefully accepted and rushed up to bring down the rest of the party.
Hannah hated rain as much as a cat does,
So she made no trouble,
And they rolled away in the luxurious close carriage,
Feeling very festive and elegant.
Laurie went on the box so Meg could keep her foot up,
And the girls talked over their party in freedom.
"'I had a capital time,
Didn't you?
' asked Jo,
Rumbling up her hair and making herself comfortable.
"'Yes,
Until I hurt myself.
Sally's friend,
Annie Moffat,
Took a fancy to me and asked me to come and spend a week with her when Sally does.
She's going in the spring,
When the opera comes,
And it'll be perfectly splendid if Mother only lets me go,
' answered Meg,
Cheering up at the thought.
"'I saw you with that red-headed man I ran away from.
Was he nice?
' "'Oh,
Very.
His hair's auburn,
Not red,
And he was very polite,
And I had a delicious redoir with him.
He looked like a grasshopper in a fit when he did the new step.
Laurie and I couldn't help laughing.
Did you hear us?
' "'No,
Jo,
But it was very rude.
What were you about all the time,
Hidden away there?
' Jo told all about her adventures,
And by the time she finished,
They were at home.
With many thanks,
They said goodnight and crept in,
Hoping to disturb no-one,
But the instant their door creaked,
Two little nightcaps bobbed up and two sleepy but eager voices cried out,
"'Tell about the party,
Oh,
Tell about the party!
' With what Meg called a great want of manners,
Jo had saved some bonbons for the little girls and they soon subsided after hearing the most thrilling events of the evening.
"'I declare,
It really does seem like being a fine lady to come home from the party in a carriage,
' said Meg.
"'I will sit in my dressing gown with a maid to wait on me.
' Then Jo bound up her foot with Annika and brushed her hair.
"'I don't believe fine young ladies enjoy themselves a bit more than we do,
' she said,
In spite of our burnt hair,
Old gowns,
One glove apiece and tight slippers that sprain our ankles when we're silly enough to wear them.
"'Oh dear,
How hard it does seem to take our packs up and jog on,
' sighed Meg,
The morning after the party.
Now the holidays were over and the week of merrymaking did not fit her for going on easily with a task she never liked in the first place.
"'If it was Christmas,
We'll knew you all the time,
Wouldn't it be fun?
' answered Jo.
"'We shouldn't enjoy ourselves half so much as we do now,
But it does seem so nice to have little suppers and bouquets and go to parties and drive home and read and rest and not work at all,
' said Meg.
"'It's like other people,
You know.
I always envy girls who do such things.
I'm so fond of luxury.
' "'Well,
We can't have it so don't let us grumble,
' said Jo.
"'We'll shoulder our bundles and trudge along as cheerfully as Marmy does.
I'm sure Aunt March is a regular old man at the sea to me,
But I'll learn to carry her without complaining.
She'll tumble off then and get so light I shan't mind her at all.
' This idea seemed to tickle Jo's fancy and put her in good spirits.
But Meg did not brighten,
For her burden,
Consisting of four spoilt children,
Seemed heavier than ever.
She hadn't heart enough to make herself pretty as usual by putting on a blue neck ribbon and dressing her hair.
"'Where's the use of looking nice when no one sees me anyway but those cross midgets?
No one cares whether I'm pretty or not,
' she muttered.
"'I shall have to toil and moil all my days with only little bits of fun every now and then,
And get old and ugly and sour because I'm poor and can't enjoy myself as others do.
It's a shame.
' Meg went downstairs wearing an injured look.
She wasn't at all agreeable at breakfast time.
In fact,
Everyone seems rather out of sorts and inclined to croak.
Beth had a headache and lay on the sofa trying to comfort herself with a cat.
Amy was fretting because her lessons were not learned and she couldn't find her rubbers.
Jo would whistle and make a great racket getting ready.
Mrs March was very busy trying to finish a letter which must go up at once.
And Hannah had the grumps for being late did not suit her.
"'There never was such a cross family,
' cried Jo,
Losing her temper when she'd just upset an inkstand,
Broken both boot lacings and sat down upon her hat.
"'You're the cross's person,
Innit?
' returned Amy,
Washing out the sum that was all wrong with the tears that had fallen on her slate.
"'Beth,
If you don't keep those horrid cats down in the cellar,
I'll have them drowned!
' exclaimed Meg angrily.
She tried to get rid of a kitten which had scrambled up her back and stuck like a bird just out of reach.
Jo laughed.
Meg scolded.
Beth implored and Amy wailed because she couldn't remember how much nine times twelve was.
"'Girls,
Girls,
Do be quiet one minute.
I must get this off by the early mail.
You'll drive me to be distracted with your worry,
' cried Mrs March,
Crossing out the third spoiled sentence in her letter.
There was a momentary lull broken by Hannah who stalked in.
She laid two hot turnovers on the table.
Then she stalked out again.
These turnovers were an institution and the girls called them muffs for they had no others and found the hot pies very comforting to their hands on cold mornings.
Hannah never forgot to make them,
No matter how busy or grumpy she might be,
For the walk was long and bleak and the poor things got no other lunch and were seldom home before too.
"'Cuddle your cats and get over your headache,
Bethy.
Goodbye,
Mommy.
We are a set of rascals this morning,
But we'll come home regular angels,
I promise.
Now then,
Meg.
' Jo tramped away,
Feeling the pilgrims were not setting out as they ought to do.
They always looked back before turning the corner,
For their mother was always at the window to nod and smile and wave her hand.
Somehow it seems as if they couldn't have got through the day without that,
For whatever their mood might be,
The last glimpse of that motherly face was sure to affect them like sunshine.
"'If Mommy shook her fist instead of kissing her hand to us,
It'll serve us right.
For more ungrateful wretches than we are were never seen,
' cried Jo,
Taking a remorseful satisfaction in the snowy walk and bitter wind.
"'Don't use such dreadful expressions,
' said Meg from the depths of the veil in which she'd shrouded herself like a nun sick of the world.
"'I like good strong words that mean something,
' replied Jo,
Catching her hat as it took a leap off her head.
"'Call yourself any names you like,
But I'm neither a rascal nor a wretch,
And I don't choose to be called so.
"'You're a blighted being,
And decidedly crossed today because you can't sit in the lap of luxury all the time.
Poor dear,
Just wait till I make my fortune,
And you can revel in carriages and ice cream and high-heeled slippers and poses and red-headed boys to dance with.
'" "'How ridiculous you are,
Jo!
' Then Meg laughed at the nonsense and felt better in spite of herself.
"'Lucky for you I am,
' Jo replied.
"'If I put on crushed airs and try to be dismal as you do,
We'll all be in a nice state.
Thank goodness I can always find something funny to keep me up.
"'Don't croak any more,
Meg.
Just come home jolly.
There's a dear.
'" Jo gave her sister an encouraging pat on the shoulder as they parted for the day,
Each going a different way,
Each hugging her little warm turnover,
And each trying to be cheerful in spite of the wintry weather,
Hard work and the unsatisfied desires of pleasure-loving youth.
