Classic Stories: Little Women
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Hello, my name's Mariam. Today's story is all about sisters who begin as children and end up as adults. If you have any sisters, you'll know they can be friends, enemies and everything in between. And that's definitely the case in the story of Little Women.

In this story, there are four sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. Jo loves writing and encourages her sisters to be independent and creative. Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy live with their mother, Marmee. Their father, Mr March, is away from home in the American Civil War. The March sisters are poor.

and wake up on Christmas morning with a book each as a Christmas present. But even though the family does not have much, Marmee convinces the girls to give up their breakfast to help a poor family, the Hummels. A rich elderly neighbour, Mr Lawrence, who the March sisters have never met, notices their kindness and sends over a feast. He also later gives Beth, who loves music, his piano.

At New Year, Jo and Meg go to a dance, but Jo gets fed up with the party. Finding a quiet spot away from the dancing, she meets Mr Lawrence's grandson, Laurie, and they become friends. As children, the March sisters have lots of disagreements and sometimes wind each other up.

One evening, Joe won't let Amy go to the theatre with her. Amy gets worked up and burns the only copy of a book Joe has been writing. Joe is very upset and when she goes ice skating with Amy and Laurie, she doesn't give Amy the heads up about the thin ice in the middle of the lake and Amy nearly drowns.

The sisters also create their own club, the Pickwick Club, and write a family newspaper. Joe smuggles Laurie into a club meeting and he becomes a member. The girls' fun is interrupted when the family receive a telegram from Mr March to say he is sick and in hospital in Washington, D.C. Marmee goes to visit him and Joe sells her hair to pay for the trip.

Whilst Mammy is gone, Beth visits the Hummels and becomes very sick with scarlet fever. The sisters forget their disagreements and are worried Beth may die. Luckily, Beth gets better and is soon up and about. But the scarlet fever has made her weak and she is never quite the same as before.

Meg falls in love with Laurie's tutor, Mr Brooke, and Jo is angry because she wants her sister to stay independent and ambitious rather than getting married. But at the end of part one of the story, Meg and Mr Brooke are engaged. The story continues three years later, once Mr March has returned home from the war. Now the March sisters are growing up. Meg marries Mr Brooke and struggles with life as a new wife.

and soon she has twin daughters to look after too. Jo gets a novel published, but is asked to make changes. She hopes to travel with the family's rich Aunt March to Europe, but Aunt March decides Amy is more up to the trip because of her polite manners. Jo moves to New York and meets Professor Beyer, a German teacher. He convinces her to make her stories less sensational and more simple.

Beth's health is up and down and she becomes very ill again. When Joe returns home to visit her sister, Laurie brings up the fact that he is in love with her. He proposes, but Joe turns him down. Beth grows weaker and all the family, except Amy, who is in Europe and hasn't heard about her illness, gather to look after her. Amy and Laurie meet up in France and begin spending lots of time together.

Back home, Beth dies and her sisters are devastated. Laurie hears about Beth's death and goes to find Amy. They wind up falling in love and getting married. Jo hopes that Professor Bear might turn up to see her and when her wish comes true, she decides to marry him. The three remaining March sisters carry on with their lives after losing Beth.

Amy and Laurie have a daughter who they name after Beth and Joe inherits Aunt March's house and decides to turn it into a boarding school for boys. The family gather together and Meg, Joe and Amy catch up. They decide to be thankful for each other and the different lives they lead. Well, that story had some ups and downs. Were you happy with where all the sisters ended up?

I'll be back again soon with another story. I hope you'll join me then. Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest. Life comes at you fast, which is why it's important to find some time to relax. A little you time. Enter Chumba Casino. With no download required, you can jump on anytime, anywhere for the chance to redeem some serious prizes. So treat yourself with Chumba Casino and play over 100 online casino-style games all weekend.

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