Original subtitles

♪ Way back when in 1863, now part of the American lore ♪

♪ a young family must leave their home ♪

♪because of the civil war ♪

♪ living their lives in a brand new town ♪

♪doing the best they can ♪

♪ four little women are on their own ♪

♪ looking to make their stand ♪

♪ fortunes of war can change their way ♪

♪we imagine their lives will be ♪

♪ the march family are on their way ♪

Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy ♪

Last night, as we went to bed on Christmas Eve,

marmee told us we should look under our pillows first thing

in the morning because we'd find our presents there.

It's my very own holy Bible.

Morning. Will you be coming back right away, ma'am?

I'm not sure.

I have an important errand to run, Hannah.

I'll be back as soon as I can.

That's good because I'm preparing a big meal,

and Christmas breakfast won't be the same

without you there.

Now you hurry back lickity split.

I'll try.

Let's be kind and not wake the girls so early.

After all, it is a holiday.

Whatever you say.

Those girls of ours are gonna wake up hungry.

Uh-huh.

I'll tell them to wait.

Oh, oh, my!

Look, if I'm not back, eat without me.

But Christmas time is family time.

It just wouldn't be right without the

whole family at the table.

Now you hurry back, miss march.

Uhh, Amy? Amy?

What in the world are you doing up so early?

And where did you get that book you're reading?

I found it under my pillow when I woke up.

Remember what marmee promised?

Right.

Hey! I received a book too,

but mine's a different color than yours.

You got a book too, huh?

It's not just a book. It's a Bible.

Hey, what are you doing?

There's something i have to do.

And what I had to do was sneak into Jo's room

to get the small bottle of perfume I bought for marmee

which just happened to be under Jo's bed.

I had to be really careful and quiet

so as not to wake Jo. Sure enough, there it was.

So I took it and tip-toed quietly out of the room.

Jo was sleeping like a log,

so she never knew i was there.

Huh?

The pillow.

Marmee said a present would be under the pillow.

Oh, it's a Bible!

Meg, are you up?

The door's open.

Morning. Merry Christmas.

And a merry Christmas to you.

Did you find that under your pillow?

Yes, marmee gave each of us one.

I can't imagine a more thoughtful gift.

She's given us each a different colored Bible.

I'm going to read some of mine this morning.

I'm going to try to read mine whenever I can.

I bet marmee will be surprised

by our presents, don't you?

Uh-huh.

Huh, where did Amy go, Beth?

She went out.

- She went out? - Yes.

Where in the world would she go on Christmas morning?

Oh, Beth, I was looking for Amy's gift for marmee.

Have you seen it?

If it's not in the basket, I don't know.

I haven't seen it.

It's not in the basket.

I wonder if Amy might not have something else

up her sleeve possibly.

The last thing your mama said was if she wasn't back

in time that we should start without her.

And she said it like she meant it.

Yes, she may very well have said that she wanted us

to start without her, but Amy isn't here.

Well, I'm hungry, aren't you Beth?

I'm starving.

Then what are we waiting for?

How can you be so selfish? I say we should wait.

I'm hungry too.

Oh, marmee!

Hi, everybody. Merry Christmas!

Where have you been?

I exchanged the bottle of perfume I got for marmee.

See? I bought her a much bigger one.

Well, what was wrong with the other bottle, Amy?

Well, I was reading the Bible this morning and I felt

guilty and ashamed because we were supposed to spend the

dollar aunt march gave us to buy marmee a gift,

and I didn't. I only spent 30 cents.

See, it's like this.

I wanted to have the 70 cents to spend on myself.

When I realized I was being selfish and I wasn't acting

in the spirit of Christmas.

- Amy. - What?

Amy, I'm so proud of you.

You're such a good girl!

I feel much better about myself now.

We're all proud of you, Amy.

My! Now how about some breakfast?

I'm starving half to death.

Were you waiting for me before you ate?

We were waiting for marmee as well.

Where is she?

She tried keeping it a secret from you but she

went to the hummels.

Oh.

Well, did she say when she would be coming back?

She should be back directly.

Amy, why don't you go put marmee's present

with the rest of them.

All right, I will. But I'm hungry.

When I come back, let's eat.

I can't blame her, poor thing.

I know, why don't we go to the hummel place

and fetch marmee.

We can't do that.

But Meg, if we want marmee to have breakfast here with

us, what's the matter with going... oh, here she is.

Everybody to the table now.

Hannah, you haven't started yet?

No, ma'am, we sure haven't.

All the girls have been waiting patiently

for you to come back.

That's nice. Thank you.

Marmee, come on! Let's eat!

Get ready, marmee's here.

Merry Christmas, marmee.

Merry Christmas.

Thank you for our bibles, mother.

We've already been reading from it, marmee.

And Amy's already been influenced by it.

- I should hope so. - We all have.

And we've decided to read a passage from it every day.

I'm pleased.

And I'm glad to hear you girls have made a commitment

to reading the Bible regularly.

Wait, before you sit down, i have something

important to say and i want you all to listen.

Now you all know about our neighbors the hummels

who are terribly poor.

She has three children and a little baby,

and they're all cuddled in a bed suffering from cold and

hunger needing help.

This morning, her son came to me asking for that help.

I must ask this of you.

Would you be willing to give up your Christmas breakfast

for other less fortunate souls?

Children, they've asked for our help and I don't think

we should pass up the opportunity of

giving them a hand.

What?

Well, I...

Oh.

There's no denying it would be a sacrifice.

Well, I'm all for it.

It's lucky you came before we started eating.

Well, you're willing to help then?

Marmee, I'll help you pack it and take it

over to the hummels.

Thank you, Beth, very much.

Maybe I could help the hummels by carrying

the muffins and cream.

Oh, how nice.

Yeah.

Amy, that's wonderful!

Will you help me?

I'm gonna go bake some fresh hot muffins

in the kitchen now.

Do you think these are enough cookies for them?

Oh, marmee, shouldn't we take them some firewood too?

Absolutely. I almost forgot.

Let's be sure to gather some

and take it along with us, all right?

Oh!

Hmmm, the muffins smell so wonderful.

Do we really have to give the hummels everything?

No, darling. When we come back from the hummels,

we'll have some bread and milk.

I promise you we'll make up for it at dinner time with

a big meal, all right?

And so our family was off to make somebody else's

Christmas a little brighter.

My stomach was still growling and the smell of those

muffins I was carrying only made me think even

more of how hungry I was.

In my heart though, I knew we were doing the right thing,

and marmee was sure we'd feel a lot better afterwards.

Hi. Merry Christmas, Laurie.

The play starts at 3:00.

I know. I wouldn't miss it for anything.

So where are you and your family off to, Jo?

We're taking some gifts to friends.

We're coming right back.

Isn't that firewood you're carrying?

Yes.

You mean to tell me that's a present?

Why not?

Uh-oh, I think your grandfather wants you

and I should be going.

I'm coming, grandfather.

I'll be there at 3:00.

See you.

I was so hungry i couldn't stand it anymore.

The aroma of those fresh baked muffins was

driving me crazy.

I have to admit I was feeling a little guilty,

but I didn't care.

I had to have a bite and at least taste one.

Amy.

Oh.

Huh-uh.

Oh, what Jo? I wasn't doing anything.

When we arrived at the hummel house,

Mrs. hummel called us angels.

Fire's ready.

I'll be right there.

In no time, it really did seem as if Christmas

spirits were at work.

Jo had the fire started, Hannah was cooking,

Meg was stopping up a broken pain,

and the hummel kids were eating up a storm.

More!

It warmed my heart to see those poor kids

eating a good hot meal.

Mmm, boy!

It almost made me forget about how hungry I was.

But not quite.

Watching that hummel boy satisfy his hunger just made

me long to eat some of Hannah's cooking,

and when he licked the bowl, that was it.

I had to have a taste.

Mrs. hummel, you needn't worry.

I've made arrangements for further food deliveries to be

made to you and your family.

Oh, I'm so deeply appreciative.

Dear lord, please bless and keep these fine folks

helping my family.

Marmee was as good as her word.

As soon as we got back home,

we sat down to a breakfast of bread and milk.

Later, we gathered our gifts for marmee and set them

all on a table as we waited for her to return from going

out on another errand.

Won't marmee be pleased?

Hey everybody, marmee's here!

Oh, I'll start playing.

Surprise!

What in the world?

Go on in, marmee. Go on.

I can't believe it. Are those my presents?

Yes, marmee. They are.

We know it's not very much, but merry Christmas.

But I thought this year we agreed not to buy

presents for each other.

We changed our mind.

Humble though they may be, here's your presents.

Amy got you this bottle of Cologne.

It's your favorite.

And it's the very biggest bottle anyone can buy.

I picked it out myself.

Thank you, dear.

This handkerchief's from Beth.

Oh, another present?

This is a pair of slippers.

It's from Jo.

Thanks.

Hope you like them, marmee.

You can throw that ragged old pair of yours out now.

Thank you very much.

Don't forget your present.

And a pair of gloves from me.

Thanks, Meg.

Beth, come here darling.

Yes, ma'am? What is it?

Amy, come here.

I want you to know i love you very much.

Come on in.

I hope I didn't disturb you, grandfather.

I just want to tell you something.

Yes, what is it?

Just that I'm going next door.

What for? Are they having a party?

Actually, they're putting on a play.

- Really? - Uh-huh.

That's right sir,

and I'm the only guest they've invited.

Is that so?

Grandfather, may i ask a big favor of you?

When you hear what it is, I'm sure you won't mind.

That is, I don't think you will.

What? You want me to go with you to see their play?

No sir, I wouldn't ask you to do that.

I wouldn't mind doing that.

As a matter of fact, I'm rather fond of that young

lady who lives next door.

I was thinking of going over anyway to wish them

a happy holiday as any good neighbor should.

You don't really mean that, grandfather.

What do you take me for, a hypocrite?

Somehow I find it difficult to believe you.

Somehow I don't think that's in keeping with your

character, but I could be wrong I suppose.

You are wrong.

And I hope you don't consider me a heartless person.

No, by no means, grandfather.

Anyway, what's this favor you want?

Well, I'm glad to hear you say you like them because I

found out that our next door neighbors have given away

their own breakfast this morning so that

a poor family could eat.

Their generosity is simply overwhelming, grandfather.

And they went hungry?

No, but when they got back home,

all they had was bread and milk for their breakfast.

How did you happen to hear about this?

I overheard the maids talking about it amongst

themselves in the kitchen.

I believe they heard about it from Hannah,

the maid who works next door.

Anyway, the favor i wanted is this.

My name is Hugo. Out of my way!

Those evil witches are here someplace,

I know they are!! Heh heh hah!

Huh? Anthony!

Oh, no.

Woe!

Anthony!

Hi, Jo.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to knock you down.

Uh-huh. Well that's you all over, Jo.

Afraid so.

But when did you get back from the battlefield?

Just this morning.

I was...

That mustache is very becoming, Jo.

When did you grow it?

Oh, this? We're putting on a play today.

Would you like to come in and see?

You bet I would. What is the play?

It's called a gloomy wood,

and yours truly is the author.

Oh. That's a very interesting title.

I just got back though, and maybe I can see it later.

Wouldn't you even stay to watch the first act

of my play, Anthony?

We only have one person in the audience so far.

Sorry, I can't.

Maybe I can catch it the next time.

But Anthony, we won't be doing the play again

until next Christmas.

Huh, I guess I'll miss it. I'm much too busy.

I've already been to the newspaper office to file my

story and now I'm on my way back to cover the

battlefields. To tell you the truth, I'm tired.

You're going back already?

I'm afraid so. Yes.

But I thought... why did you bother coming at all?

For this.

A letter? You brought us a letter?

Oh, golly! A letter from father!

I met him by chance at headquarters in Washington.

- What a surprise! - I agree.

I happened to be in headquarters getting some

field reports when someone shouted captain march,

whereupon I turned around and said that man just has

to be Jo's father because the resemblance

is simply uncanny.

Then you actually got to see him and talk to him?

Oh, yes.

It's not end of the world, Amy...

Wait Anthony, don't say another word.

Wait until everybody's hear so you can tell

all of us about father.

Hey, guess what? Anthony's met father.

He talked to him. And that's not all.

We have a letter from father.

My goodness, can we see it Jo?

Let me see the letter!

Anthony just returned from army headquarters and he met

father and he says... what's going on here?

Why aren't you three dressed for the play?

The show's supposed to begin at 3:00, isn't it?

Jo, listen.

I've been talking it over with Amy and Beth.

We've decided we want to postpone the show.

But why?

None of us have memorized our lines yet, Jo.

And we haven't had nearly enough rehearsal.

So we don't really feel very confident.

Is that right?

I'm sorry, but I agree.

I'm not very confident at all, Joe.

Amy, you and Beth disappoint me!

Jo, fortunately, the only one we've invited

to attend was Laurie.

We can put on the play another time

and it will be even better!

I have no choice.

I wasn't expecting anyone. Were you?

I wonder who that can be.

It's probably Laurie.

Hi. I'm not too early, am I?

Oh, no Laurie. We've canceled the play.

But please come in anyway.

But why have you canceled it?

Well...

My husband asked you to deliver the letter for him?

Yes. Exactly.

When I told him I was going to be back about Christmas

time, he petitioned me to bring you the letter

saying the mail service was quite bad.

He went on to say if I could deliver it by Christmas,

it would be a wonderful present to him.

And I'm very happy to be able to play Santa claus

under the circumstances. It's a good feeling.

What happened?

Surely the play can't be over already.

They had to cancel the play

and they didn't tell me the reason why.

I'm sorry.

What about my favor?

I've taken care of it.

Oh, thank you.

As soon as everything is ready,

it will be delivered just as you requested.

Goodbye now and thank you again.

Merry Christmas!

Bye!

As the Bible says, the lord works in mysterious ways

and promises blessings.

Oh!

What is it, Jo?

I'm seeing it, but i don't believe it.

My word, it's beautiful!

What are you waiting for? Sit down, girls.

Marmee, I know you didn't have time to prepare this

feast. Where in the world did it come from?

Thank Mr. Laurence.

He heard about our Christmas gift to the hummel family

this morning and he wanted to express

his feelings for what we had done.

He had this meal prepared and sent over to us

in honor of the day.

When marmee looked at father's picture on the

mantle of the fireplace, we all knew how she felt.

We all longed for father to be home once again.

We all still missed him dearly.

In my prayer, I thanked god for everything and hoped the

war would soon be over.

Then I told god I was sorry my prayer was so short but

that I was hungry and i was sure he'd understand.

All things considered, it really was a wonderful

Christmas and a great time was had by all.

But the best part of the whole day was that we all

knew that the hummels were having a happy Christmas too.

Awe!

♪ Fortunes of war can change their way ♪

♪we imagine their lives will be ♪

♪ the march family are on their way ♪

Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy ♪