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<v Speaker 1>Louisa may Alcott. As much as seventy years ago, in

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<v Speaker 1>the city of Boston, there lived a small girl who

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<v Speaker 1>had the naughty habit of running away. On a certain

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<v Speaker 1>April morning, almost as soon as her mother finished buttoning

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<v Speaker 1>her dress, Louisa may Alcott slipped out of the house

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<v Speaker 1>and up the street as fast as her feet could

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<v Speaker 1>carry her. Louisa crept through a narrow alley and crossed

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<v Speaker 1>several streets. It was a beautiful day, and she did

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<v Speaker 1>not care so very much just where she went, so

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<v Speaker 1>long as she was having an adventure all by herself.

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<v Speaker 1>Suddenly she came upon some children who said they were

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<v Speaker 1>going to a nice tall ash heap to play. They

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<v Speaker 1>asked her to join them. Louisa thought they were fine playmates,

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<v Speaker 1>for when she grew hungry, they shared some cold potatoes

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<v Speaker 1>and bread crusts with her. She would not have thought

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<v Speaker 1>this much of a lunch in her mother's dining room,

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<v Speaker 1>but for an outdoor picnic, it did very well. When

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<v Speaker 1>she tired of the ane, she bade the children good bye,

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<v Speaker 1>thanked them for their kindness, and hop skip to the common,

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<v Speaker 1>where she must have wandered about for hours, because all

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<v Speaker 1>of a sudden it began to grow dark. Then she

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to get home. She wanted her doll, her kitty,

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<v Speaker 1>and her mother. It frightened her when she could not

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<v Speaker 1>find any street that looked natural. She was hungry and

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<v Speaker 1>tired too. She threw herself down on some door steps

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<v Speaker 1>to rest and to watch the lamp lighter. For you

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<v Speaker 1>must remember this was long before there was any gas

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<v Speaker 1>or electricity in Boston. At this moment, a big dog

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<v Speaker 1>came along. He kissed her face and hands, and then

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<v Speaker 1>sat down beside her with a sober look in his eyes,

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<v Speaker 1>as if he were thinking, I guess, little girl, you

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<v Speaker 1>need someone to take care of you. Poor tired Louisa

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<v Speaker 1>leaned against his neck and was fast asleep in no time.

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<v Speaker 1>The dog kept very still, he did not want to

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<v Speaker 1>wake her. Pretty soon the town crier went by. He

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<v Speaker 1>was ringing a bell and reading in a loud voice

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<v Speaker 1>from a paper in his hand, the description of a

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<v Speaker 1>lost child. You see, Luisa's father and mother had missed

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<v Speaker 1>her early in the forenoon and had looked for her

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<v Speaker 1>in every place they could think of. Each hour they

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<v Speaker 1>grew more worried, and at dusk they decided to hire

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<v Speaker 1>this man to search the city. When the runaway woke

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<v Speaker 1>up and heard what the man was shouting. Lost, lost,

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<v Speaker 1>a little girl six years old in a pink frock,

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<v Speaker 1>white hat and new green shoes. She called out in

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<v Speaker 1>the darkness, why that's me. The town choir took Louisa

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<v Speaker 1>by the hand and led her home, where you may

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<v Speaker 1>be sure she was welcomed with joy. Mister and missus Alcott,

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<v Speaker 1>from first to last had had a good many frights

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<v Speaker 1>about this flyaway Louisa. Once, when she was only two

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<v Speaker 1>years old, they were traveling with her on a steamboat,

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<v Speaker 1>and she darted away in some moment when no one

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<v Speaker 1>was noticing her, and crawled into the engine room to

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<v Speaker 1>watch the machinery. Of course, her clothes were all grease

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<v Speaker 1>and dirt, and she might have been caught in the

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<v Speaker 1>machinery and hurt. You won't be surprised to know that.

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<v Speaker 1>The next day, after this last affair, Louisa's parents made

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<v Speaker 1>sure that she did not leave the house. Indeed, to

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<v Speaker 1>be entirely certain of her whereabouts, they tied her to

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<v Speaker 1>the leg of a big sofa for a whole day.

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<v Speaker 1>Except for this one fault, Louisa was a good child,

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<v Speaker 1>so she felt much ashamed that she had caused her mother,

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<v Speaker 1>whom she loved dearly, so much worry. As she sat there,

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<v Speaker 1>tied to the sofa, she made up her mind that

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<v Speaker 1>she would never frighten her so again. No, she would

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<v Speaker 1>cure herself of the running away habit. After that day,

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<v Speaker 1>whenever she felt the least desire to slip out of

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<v Speaker 1>the house without asking permission, she would hurry to her

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<v Speaker 1>own little room and shut the door tight. To keep

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<v Speaker 1>her mind from bad plans, she would shut her eyes

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<v Speaker 1>and make up stories, think them all out herself, you know.

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<v Speaker 1>Then when some of them seemed pretty good, she would

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<v Speaker 1>write them down so that she would not forget them.

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<v Speaker 1>By and by, she found she liked making stories better

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<v Speaker 1>than anything she had ever done in her life. Her

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<v Speaker 1>mother sometimes wondered why Luisa grew so fond of staying

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<v Speaker 1>in her little chamber at the head of the stairs

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<v Speaker 1>all of a sudden, but was pleased that the runaway

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<v Speaker 1>child had changed into such a quiet, like to stay

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<v Speaker 1>at home girl. It was a long time before Luisa

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<v Speaker 1>dared to mention the stories and rhymes she had hidden

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<v Speaker 1>in her desk, but finally she told her mother about them,

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<v Speaker 1>and when Missus Alcott had read them, she advised her

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<v Speaker 1>to keep on writing. Luisa did so and became one

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<v Speaker 1>of the best American story tellers. She wrote a number

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<v Speaker 1>of books, and if you begin with Lulu's Library, you

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<v Speaker 1>will want to read Little Men and Little Women and

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<v Speaker 1>all the books that dear Luisa Alcot ever wrote. At first,

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<v Speaker 1>Louisa was paid but small sums for her writings, and

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<v Speaker 1>as the Alcott family were poor, she taught school, did sewing,

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<v Speaker 1>took care of children, or worked at anything, always with

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<v Speaker 1>a merry smile, so long as it provided comforts for

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<v Speaker 1>those she loved. When the Civil War broke out, she

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<v Speaker 1>was anxious to do something to help, so she went

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<v Speaker 1>into one of the Union hospitals as a nurse. She

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<v Speaker 1>worked so hard that she grew very ill, and her

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<v Speaker 1>father had to go after her and bring her home.

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<v Speaker 1>One of her books tells about her life in the hospital.

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<v Speaker 1>It was soon after her return home that her books

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<v Speaker 1>began to sell so well that she found herself for

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<v Speaker 1>the first time in her life, with a great deal

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<v Speaker 1>of money. There was enough to buy luxuries for the

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<v Speaker 1>Alcott family. There was enough for her to travel, no doubt.

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<v Speaker 1>She got more happiness in traveling than some people, for

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<v Speaker 1>she found boys and girls in England, France and Germany,

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<v Speaker 1>reading the very book she herself, Luisa may Alcott, had

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<v Speaker 1>written then too, at the age of fifty. She enjoyed

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<v Speaker 1>venturing into new places just as well as she did

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<v Speaker 1>the morning she sallied forth to Boston Common in her

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<v Speaker 1>new green shoes and of Luisa may Alcott