I 'll go onto the porch and meet them . It looks hospitable , and I want the poor child to have a good time after all her trouble , '' said Mrs. March , suiting the action to the word . But after one glance , she retired , with an indescribable expression , for looking quite lost in the big carriage , sat Amy and one young lady . `` Run , Beth , and help Hannah clear half the things off the table . It will be too absurd to put a luncheon for twelve before a single girl , '' cried Jo , hurrying away to the lower regions , too excited to stop even for a laugh . In came Amy , quite calm and delightfully cordial to the one guest who had kept her promise . The rest of the family , being of a dramatic turn , played their parts equally well , and Miss Eliott found them a most hilarious set , for it was impossible to control entirely the merriment which possessed them . The remodeled lunch being gaily partaken of , the studio and garden visited , and art discussed with enthusiasm , Amy ordered a buggy -LRB- alas for the elegant cherry-bounce -RRB- , and drove her friend quietly about the neighborhood till sunset , when ` the party went out ' . As she came walking in , looking very tired but as composed as ever , she observed that every vestige of the unfortunate fete had disappeared , except a suspicious pucker about the corners of Jo 's mouth . `` You 've had a loverly afternoon for your drive , dear , '' said her mother , as respectfully as if the whole twelve had come . `` Miss Eliott is a very sweet girl , and seemed to enjoy herself , I thought , '' observed Beth , with unusual warmth . `` Could you spare me some of your cake ? I really need some , I have so much company , and I ca n't make such delicious stuff as yours , '' asked Meg soberly . `` Take it all . I 'm the only one here who likes sweet things , and it will mold before I can dispose of it , '' answered Amy , thinking with a sigh of the generous store she had laid in for such an end as this . `` It 's a pity Laurie is n't here to help us , '' began Jo , as they sat down to ice cream and salad for the second time in two days . A warning look from her mother checked any further remarks , and the whole family ate in heroic silence , till Mr. March mildly observed , `` salad was one of the favorite dishes of the ancients , and Evelyn ... '' Here a general explosion of laughter cut short the ` history of salads ' , to the great surprise of the learned gentleman . `` Bundle everything into a basket and send it to the Hummels . Germans like messes . I 'm sick of the sight of this , and there 's no reason you should all die of a surfeit because I 've been a fool , '' cried Amy , wiping her eyes .
`` I thought I should have died when I saw you two girls rattling about in the what-you-call-it , like two little kernels in a very big nutshell , and Mother waiting in state to receive the throng , '' sighed XXXXX , quite spent with laughter .
Amy Beth Eliott Hannah Hummels Jo Meg afternoon cherry-bounce days