弗高森大廈215號

9月24日

親愛的送孤兒來大學的好心董事：

我終于到了！昨天搭了4個鐘頭的火車，那真的很有趣，不是嗎？我以前從沒搭過火車。

大學真大，是個容易把人搞糊涂的地方——我只要一離開房間就會迷路。等我覺得不那么混亂時，我會再寫一封信給您，到時我會跟您談談我的功課。現在是星期六晚上，而星期一早上才開課。不過我還是想先寫封信讓我們彼此認識一下。

寫信給陌生人是件挺奇怪的事。寫信對我來說本來就夠奇怪的——我這輩子到現在就寫過3封信，所以如果寫得不是很標準，請您就睜只眼閉只眼吧。

昨天早上出發前，李皮太太跟我嚴肅地談了一會兒。她要我今后都要謹言慎行，尤其對有恩于我的好心先生更要注意自己的言行。我一定要“非常的尊敬”。

不過對一個叫約翰·史密斯的人，怎么尊敬得起來？您為什么不挑個有點兒個性的名字呢？我仿佛在寫信給親愛的拴馬柱或衣服架一樣。

這個夏天我想了很多關于您的事。這么多年來終于有人對我感興趣，這讓我覺得好像有了家一樣，感覺有了歸屬，這是種很舒服的感覺。不論如何，我必須承認，當我想到您的時候，我的想象力起不了什么作用，我只知道3件事情：

1.您長得很高。

2.您很有錢。

3.您討厭女孩子。

我想我可以稱您為“親愛的恨女人的先生”，不過這太侮辱我自己了。或許我可以稱您為“親愛的有錢人”，不過這樣又太侮辱您了，好像您唯一值得提的就是錢。此外，“富有”是一種很膚淺的特質。您也許不會一輩子都有錢，有很多聰明人也都在華爾街慘遭滑鐵盧。不過您這輩子應該都會長得一樣高吧！所以我決定稱您為“親愛的長腿叔叔”，希望您別介意。這只是個私底下的昵稱，我們不跟李皮太太說的。

再過兩分鐘，10點的鐘聲就要響了。我們的一天被鐘聲分成好幾段。我們吃飯、睡覺跟上課都照著鐘聲來。這讓我精力十足，隨時都像匹野馬。

來啰！熄燈了。晚安。

您看我多守規矩——全虧約翰·格利爾之家的訓練。

最尊敬您的，

喬若莎·亞伯特

致長腿叔叔——史密斯

215 FERGUSSEN HALL

24 th September

Dear Kind-Trustee-Who-Sends-

Orphans-to-College,

Here I am!I travelled yesterday for four hours in a train. It's a funny sensation, isn't it?I never rode in one before.

College is the biggest, most bewildering place-I get lost whenever I leave my room. I will write you a description later when I'm feeling less muddled;also I will tell you about my lessons.Classes don't begin until Monday morning, and this is Saturday night.But I wanted to write a letter first just to get acquainted.

It seems queer to be writing letters to somebody you don't know. It seems queer for me to be writing letters at all-I've never written more than three or four in my life, so please overlook it if these are not a model kind.

Before leaving yesterday morning, Mrs. Lippett and I had a very serious talk.She told me how to behave all the rest of my life, and especially how to behave towards the kind gentleman who is doing so much for me.I must take care to be Very Respectful.

But how can one be very respectful to a person who wishes to be called John Smith?Why couldn't you have picked out a name with a little personality?I might as well write letters to Dear Hitching-Post or Dear Clothes-Prop.

I have been thinking about you a great deal this summer;having somebody take an interest in me after all these years makes me feel as though I had found a sort of family. It seems as though I belonged to somebody now, and it's a very comfortable sensation.I must say, however, that when I think about you, my imagination has very little to work upon.There are just three things that I know:

I. You are tall.

II. You are rich.

III. You hate girls.

I suppose I might call you Dear Mr. Girl-Hater.Only that's rather insulting to me.Or Dear Mr.Rich-Man, but that's insulting to you, as though money were the only important thing about you.Besides, being rich is such a very external quality.Maybe you won't stay rich all your life;lots of very clever men get smashed up in Wall Street.But at least you will stay tall all your life!So I've decided to call you Dear Daddy-Long-Legs.I hope you won't mind.It's just a private pet name we won't tell Mrs.Lippett.

The ten o'clock bell is going to ring in two minutes. Our day is divided into sections by bells.We eat and sleep and study by bells.It's very enlivening;I feel like a fire horse all of the time.

There it goes!Lights out. Good night.

Observe with what precision I obey rules-due to my training in the John Grier Home.

Yours most respectfully,

Jerusha Abbott

To Mr. Daddy-Long-Legs Smith