Jo was the first to wake up on Christmas morning, but soon they were all awake and they went downstairs.
Mrs March was out. Meg looked at the gifts for her mother. The gifts were in a basket under a chair, ready to bring out at the right time. "Where is Amy's bottle of perfume?"
"She went to put some pretty paper round it, I think," said Jo.
Suddenly, they heard the outside door close.
"Here's Mother! Hide the basket, quick!" said Jo.
But it was Amy. She ran to the shop and changed the little bottle of perfume for a big one.
Then there was another bang from the front door, and the basketball was pushed back under the chair. The girls ran to the table, ready for their breakfast.
"Happy Christmas, Mother!" they shouted.
"Happy Christmas, little daughters!" said Mrs. March.
Then the smile disappeared from her face. "Girls, listen. Not far away is a poor woman, Mrs Hummel, with a new baby. Her six children are in one bed, trying to keep warm, as they have no wood* for a fire. There is nothing to eat and they are hungry and cold. Will you give them your breakfast as a Christmas gift?"
For a minute no one spoke. But a lot of words came into the girls' mind.
"Are they hungry to die?"
"Are their clothes all worn out?"
"Will you offer to help them?"…
Then Jo said, "Mother, I'm so glad you came back before we began to eat!" and the girls quickly began to put their breakfast in a basket.
"I knew you would do it," said Mr, March, smiling.
She took the girls to a cold, uncomfortable little room in an old building. There they found a sick* mother, a crying baby, and a group of children with white, afraid faces. The children were on the bed under a blanket*, trying to keep warm.
The girls couldn't believe what they had seen. They looked at the kids on the bed, open-mouthed.
The woman almost cried with happiness when she saw the girls. With wood for a fire, Mrs. March gave the mother tea and hot food, then she dressed the little baby gently. The girls put the children round the fire and fed them like hungry birds.
Although the girls ate nothing, no one was happier than those hungry young girls who gave away their breakfast on Christmas morning.
