I saw Demi this morning , and he said she was keeping house for Mother Bhaer . ' ` She always does when Aunt Jo gets into a vortex . Daisy is a model housekeeper ; and you could n't do better than make your bow to her , if you ca n't go to work and wait till you are grown up before you begin lovering . ' ` Nat would break his fiddle over my head if I suggested such a thing . No , thank you . Another name is engraved upon my heart as indelibly as the blue anchor on my arm . `` Hope '' is my motto , and `` No surrender '' , yours ; see who will hold out longest . ' ` You silly boys think we must pair off as we did when children ; but we shall do nothing of the kind . How well Parnassus looks from here ! ' said Nan , abruptly changing the conversation again . ` It is a fine house ; but I love old Plum best . Would n't Aunt March stare if she could see the changes here ? ' answered Tom , as they both paused at the great gate to look at the pleasant landscape before them . A sudden whoop startled them , as a long boy with a wild yellow head came leaping over a hedge like a kangaroo , followed by a slender girl , who stuck in the hawthorn , and sat there laughing like a witch . A pretty little lass she was , with curly dark hair , bright eyes , and a very expressive face . Her hat was at her back , and her skirts a good deal the worse for the brooks she had crossed , the trees she had climbed , and the last leap , which added several fine rents . ` Take me down , Nan , please . Tom , hold Ted ; he 's got my book , and I will have it , ' called Josie from her perch , not at all daunted by the appearance of her friends . Tom promptly collared the thief , while Nan picked Josie from among the thorns and set her on her feet without a word of reproof ; for having been a romp in her own girlhood , she was very indulgent to like tastes in others . ` What 's the matter , dear ? '
she asked , pinning up the longest rip , while XXXXX examined the scratches on her hands . '
Bhaer Daisy Jo Josie Nan Nat Parnassus Tom hawthorn kangaroo