第24章 The Fireside 炉边

One winter night, Mrs. Lord and her two little girls sat by a bright fire in their pleasant home. The girls were sewing, and their mother was busy at her knitting.

At last, Katie finished her work, and, looking up, said, "Mother, I think the fire is brighter than usual. How I love to hear it crackle!"

"And I was about to say," cried Mary, "that this is a better light than we had last night."

"My dears," said their mother, "it must be that you feel happier than usual to-night. Perhaps that is the reason why you think the fire better, and the light brighter."

"But, mother," said Mary, "I do not see why we are happier now than we were then; for last night cousin Jane was here, and we played 'Puss in the corner' and 'Blind man' until we all were tired."

"I know! I know why!" said Katie.

"It is because we have all been doing something useful to-night. We feel happy because we have been busy."

"You are right, my dear," said their mother. "I am glad you have both learned that there may be something more pleasant than play, and, at the same time, more instructive."

冬天寒冷的夜晚，在舒适的家里，领主的夫人和她的两个小女儿围坐在炉火旁边。女孩们正在缝衣服，而她们的母亲则忙着编织衣物。

终于，凯蒂缝完了，她环顾四周，说道：“妈妈，我觉得这炉火比以往的还要旺盛，我特别爱听那木头被烧得噼啪响的声音。”

玛丽嚷嚷道：“我也正要说呢，今晚的炉火比昨晚的旺。”

她们的母亲说道：“亲爱的，那肯定是你们今晚比以往都要开心，或许这就是为什么你们觉得今天的炉火烧的更旺盛。”

玛丽说：“不过，妈妈，我们并不认为我们今天比以往快乐，昨晚堂妹简也在这里，我们还一起玩了抢壁球、盲人摸象的游戏，一直玩到精疲力尽呢。”

凯蒂说：“我知道，我知道为什么！”

“那是因为我们今天都做了有用的事情，我们感到开心是因为我们一直在忙碌着。”

她们的妈妈说道：“亲爱的，你说的很对，我很高兴你们都能够理解有些事情要比玩更有趣，更加有教育意义。”