星期五

叔叔，您覺得如何？英文指導教授說，我上一篇文章顯出一種不尋常的原創力。她真的這么說！她的原話就是這么講的。想想我這18年來受的訓練，這似乎不太可能，不是嗎？約翰·格利爾之家的目的，就是要把97個小孤兒變成97個相貌、言行舉止都一樣的人。

我不尋常的藝術天分倒是在很小時就通過在門板上畫李皮太太展現出來了。我希望當我說我幼年的家的壞話時，您不要不高興。不過您有權利在我變得太惡劣時，隨時停止您的支持。這樣說是不太好聽，不過您不能期望我太有禮貌，孤兒院畢竟不是淑女訓練學校。

叔叔，您知道，大學里難的不是功課，而是娛樂。大半的時候，我都不懂女孩們在談些什么，她們的笑話似乎都與她們相同的過去有關。我在她們的世界里就像是一個外國人，聽不懂她們的語言。這是一種很惆悵的感覺。我一生都有這樣的感覺。高中時，女孩們會站在一起冷眼看著我。我很奇怪，可能自己很與眾不同，而每個人都知道。我可以感覺“約翰·格利爾之家”就寫在我臉上。然后會有一些好人走來安慰我。我恨他們每一個人——尤其是那些好人。

這里沒有人知道我是在孤兒院里長大的。我告訴莎麗·麥克白我的父母雙亡，是一位好心的老先生送我上大學的——到目前為止，這都是事實。我不希望您覺得我很蠢，不過我真的希望跟其他女孩子一樣，但那可怕的“家”的陰影籠罩著我的童年，使我和大家完全不同。如果我能不去理這點，把它逐出腦海，我想我可以變得跟其他女孩一樣可愛。我不認為我們有任何區別，您覺得呢？

無論如何，莎麗·麥克白喜歡我！

您永遠的，茱蒂·亞伯特

（原名喬若莎）

星期六上午

我剛才又把信讀了一遍，這封信的基調好像很陰郁。但是您可能猜不到，我星期一早上要交一篇特殊的報告，復習幾何學，感冒還很嚴重。

Friday

What do you think, Daddy?The English instructor said that my last paper shows an unusual amount of originality. She did, truly.Those were her words.It doesn't seem possible, does it, considering the eighteen years of training that I've had?The aim of the John Grier Home(as you doubtless know and heartily approve of)is to turn the ninety-seven orphans into ninety-seven twins.

The unusual artistic ability which I exhibit was developed at an early age through drawing chalk pictures of Mrs. Lippett on the woodshed door.I hope that I don't hurt your feelings when I criticize the home of my youth?But you have the upper hand, you know, for if I become too impertinent, you can always stop payment of your cheques.That isn't a very polite thing to say-but you can't expect me to have any manners;a foundling asylum isn't a young ladies'finishing school.

You know, Daddy, it isn't the work that is going to be hard in college. It's the play.Half the time I don't know what the girls are talking about;their jokes seem to relate to a past that every one but me has shared.I'm a foreigner in the world and I don't understand the language.It's a miserable feeling.I've had it all my life.At the high school the girls would stand in groups and just look at me.I was queer and different and everybody knew it.I could FEEL'John Grier Home'written on my face.And then a few charitable ones would make a point of coming up and saying something polite.I HATED EVERY ONE OF THEM-the charitable ones most of all.

Nobody here knows that I was brought up in an asylum. I told Sallie McBride that my mother and father were dead, and that a kind old gentleman was sending me to college which is entirely true so far as it goes.I don't want you to think I am a coward, but I do want to be like the other girls, and that Dreadful Home looming over my childhood is the one great big difference.If I can turn my back on that and shut out the remembrance, I think, I might be just as desirable as any other girl.I don't believe there's any real, underneath difference, do you?

Anyway, Sallie McBride likes me!

Yours ever, Judy Abbott(Nee Jerusha.)

Saturday morning

I've just been reading this letter over and it sounds pretty un-cheerful. But can't you guess that I have a special topic due Monday morning and a review in geometry and a very sneezy cold?