第8章 Susie Sunbeam 阳光苏茜

Susie Sunbeam was not her real name; that was Susan Brown. But every one called her Susie Sunbeam, because she had such a sweet, smiling face, and always brought brightness with her when she came.

Her grandfather first gave her this name, and it seemed to fit the little girl so nicely that soon it took the place of her own.

Even when a baby, Susie laughed and crowed from morning till night. No one ever heard her cry unless she was sick or hurt.

When she had learned to walk, she loved to go about the house and get things for her mother, and in this way save her as many steps as she could.

She would sit by her mother's side for an hour at a time, and ask her ever so many questions, or she would take her new book and read.

Susie was always pleasant in her play with other children. She never used an unkind word, but tried to do whatever would please her playmates best.

One day, a poor little girl with a very ragged dress was going by and Susie heard some children teasing her and making fun of her.

She at once ran out to the gate, and asked the poor little girl to come in. "What are you crying for?" Susie asked.

"Because they all laugh at me," she said.

Then Susie took the little girl into the house. She cheered her up with kind words, and gave her a nice dress and a pair of shoes.

This brought real joy and gladness to the poor child, and she, too, thought that Susie was rightly called Sunbeam.

其实阳光苏茜并不是她的真名，她的名字应该是苏珊·布朗。但人人都叫她阳光苏茜，因为她有一张看起来很甜美而且总是带着微笑的面孔，她时时刻刻都带着灿烂的笑容。

“阳光苏茜”最初是爷爷这样叫她的，而这个名字也的确很适合这个可爱的小姑娘，所以从那以后她就有了这样一个名字。

当苏茜还是个婴儿时，从早到晚都能听到她银铃般的笑声，除非只有在苏茜生病或受伤的时候才会听见她的哭声。

学走路的时候，苏茜喜欢去房子里帮妈妈拿东西，这样不停地走来走去，使得她很快就学会了走路。

有时候，小苏茜会花一个小时坐在妈妈身边，问她好多问题，或者她会拿着自己的新书，安安静静地坐在一边津津有味地读着。

苏茜经常和小伙伴们玩的不亦乐乎，她从来不说恶言，总是想着法子逗玩伴们开心。

一天，一个衣衫褴褛的小女孩从她家门前经过时，苏茜听见一些孩子在嘲笑她，于是她跑到门口，让那个小女孩进来。“你怎么了，为什么要哭呢？”苏茜关切地问。

“他们都在嘲笑我。”小女孩伤心地答道。

苏茜将小女孩带进房间，给她讲笑话，逗她开心，还送给她一套漂亮的裙子和一双鞋子。

这让那个可怜的小姑娘感到特别高兴，她也认为给苏茜起“阳光苏茜”这个名字真的是名副其实。