Little Women - 912 Freedom Library

Little Womenmaking to take Beth to the mountains next summer grewslowly but surely as the weeks passed. One thing disturbedher satisfaction, and that was that she did not tell them athome. She had a feeling that Father and Mother wouldnot approve, and preferred to have her own way first, andbeg pardon afterward. It was easy to keep her secret, forno name appeared with her stories. Mr. Dashwood had ofcourse found it out very soon, but promised to be dumb,and for a wonder kept his word.She thought it would do her no harm, for she sincerelymeant to write nothing of which she would be ashamed,and quieted all pricks of conscience by anticipations of thehappy minute when she should show her earnings andlaugh over her well-kept secret.But Mr. Dashwood rejected any but thrilling tales, andas thrills could not be produced except by harrowing upthe souls of the readers, history and romance, land and sea,science and art, police records and lunatic asylums, had tobe ransacked for the purpose. Jo soon found that herinnocent experience had given her but few glimpses of thetragic world which underlies society, so regarding it in abusiness light, she set about supplying her deficiencies withcharacteristic energy. Eager to find material for stories, andbent on making them original in plot, if not masterly in612 of 861