Part 1: Chapter 2 Summary

Christmas morning arrives, and each March girl finds a small book under her pillow. Each book's cover is a different color. When the sisters go downstairs for Christmas breakfast, they discover that Marmee has left to assist a beggar. The reader then meets Hannah, the March's long-time domestic servant.

Marmee returns home and tells her daughters about the Hummels, a poor family with six children and no food. The girls agree to give their Christmas breakfast to the family, then gamely load up their holiday food and carry it down the road. Later in the day, the sisters present Marmee with the small gifts they've purchased for her.

On Christmas evening, the March girls perform a play, followed by an extravagant Christmas dinner. The dinner is a surprise gift from the March's wealthy neighbor, Mr. Laurence, who was touched when he...