Chapter 9 Experiments.
On a warm June day, Meg came home and excitedly announced The kings are off to the seashore tomorrow.
I'm free!
Three whole months of vacation.
Joe had collapsed on the sofa, Beth took off her dusty boots, and Amy made lemonade for everyone.
Then Joe said, Aunt March went to Plumfield today.
I was so afraid she'd ask me to go with her.
The very minute she was in the carriage, I ran all the way home.
Beth cuddled Joe's feet.
Poor Joe.
She came running in like bears were after her.
Aunt March is a regular samphire, isn't she?
Amy asked, sipping her lemonade.
Joe sighed.
She means vampire, but it's too hot to worry about wrong words today.
Amy changed the subject.
What will you do on your vacation?
Meg thought for a second.
I'm going to lie in bed and do nothing, she answered.
I've been getting up early all winter taking care of other people.
This summer I'm going to be as lazy as I want.
I'm going to read and read and read, said Joe, and spend time with Lori.
Amy chimed in.
Let's forget about lessons, Beth, and play all the time.
Beth replied, That sounds like fun, if Mother says it's okay.
There are new songs I want to learn, and my dolls all need new clothes.
Marmee was quietly sewing in her corner.
Meg asked, "'Oh, mother, may we?'
Mrs. March replied, "'You may try it for a week.
I think by Saturday you'll find that all play and no work is as bad as all work and no play.'
Meg sighed.
"'Oh, no, I'm sure it will be absolutely lovely.'
Joe raised her glass.
A toast!
Fun forever and no work!
They happily drank their lemonade and spent the rest of the day lying about the house.
The next day, nothing went as expected.
No chores were done, and each sister had her own fun.
But they weren't exactly pleased.
Joe read until her eyes hurt so much that she quarreled with Lori.
After an attempt to sketch outdoors, Amy got stuck in the rain and ruined her dress.
Meg went shopping, only to find that the material didn't wash well.
Beth took everything out of the closet to build a new home for her dolls, but she got so tired she left it halfway through.
At dinner time they agreed that, despite the fun, the day seemed too long without some work to keep their idle hands busy.
By Friday, all four girls felt out of sorts.
No one would admit that the experiment was failing.
Mrs. March decided to have a bit of fun.
She gave Hannah the day off.
So when the girls got up on Saturday morning they found a cold kitchen with no breakfast and Marmy was nowhere to be found.
"'What's going on?'
Joe exclaimed.
Meg ran upstairs.
When she came back, she explained, "'Mother's tired.
She's going to rest today.
We have to get along as best we can.'
Okay, Joe said.
I'm aching for something to do.
I mean, for a bit of excitement.
It was a relief to have some work.
The younger girls set the table as Joe and Meg made breakfast.
Meg brought a tray up to Marmie.
It contained bitter tea, soggy biscuits, and a burned omelette.
Once Meg left, Marmee had a good laugh.
Poor souls, she thought.
They'll have a hard time, but it'll be good for them.
Everyone complained about the awful breakfast.
For the next meal, Joe decided to do the cooking.
Meg reluctantly agreed after making such a mess of things.
Joe invited Lori for lunch to make up for their quarrel.
With perfect faith in her abilities, she chose a menu and made a shopping list.
There was only one problem.
She had no idea how to cook.
Meg said she'd help if necessary, even though she didn't know how to make much more than a loaf of bread.
With Marmee going out for lunch, Joe was pretty much on her own.
All of a sudden Joe heard Beth crying in the living room.
She rushed in to find her sister sobbing over Pip, her canary, who lay dead in his cage.
They hadn't fed him.
Beth removed the bird from the cage and cried, Oh, Pip, how could I be so cruel?
I forgot all about you.
Joe said, We'll give him a proper funeral after lunch.
Don't cry, Bethy.
It's been a strange week.
Poor Pip just got the worst of it.
She left Beth in the warm arms of Meg and Amy and went back to the kitchen.
She reset the fire and piled up the dishes.
While the water was heating, she walked to the market and bought a young lobster, asparagus and two boxes of very tart strawberries.
When she got home, she discovered Meg had forgotten about the bread.
It had soured, but Joe had to bake it anyhow.
She labored through her preparations until everything was done.
Lunch proved to be an even bigger disaster than breakfast.
Jo overcooked the asparagus, burned the bread, undercooked the potatoes, and mutilated the lobster.
The cake was lumpy and the cream was sour and to make matters worse, she put salt on the berries instead of sugar.
Jo almost cried right at the table.
Lori's eyes were twinkling though, and Joe finally burst into a fit of laughter, and so did everyone else.
Instead of the fancy lunch Joe had planned, they all dined on biscuits butter, olives and a bit of fun.
That afternoon, they gave Pip a proper funeral.
Joe and Meg spent the rest of the day cleaning up the mess from the terrible meals.
Beth wanted to lie down.
Only no beds had been made, so she spent the afternoon fluffing pillows and shaking out blankets.
Marmee arrived home and found all four of her daughters looking exhausted, frustrated and, more than a little, fed up with their experiment.
My girls, are you satisfied with your week of all play, or do you need another week?
Joe said decidedly, I sure don't.
Everyone echoed her words.
Then Joe added, all work and no play isn't for us, that's for sure.
Meg asked, Mother, did you go away today just to see how we would get along without you?
Marmy smiled and nodded.
She explained that a house runs well only when everyone helps.
She asked, Isn't it better to work hard so you can enjoy your leisure?
The girls agreed.
They had all learned a lifelong lesson that there is balance and harmony in both work and play.
