爱丽丝玛瑞亚当斯，这本书被亲切地致力于通过她的父亲。
    前言。 ----
    鲍比明亮和哈里西，其历史在过去两年的“图书馆卷中的年轻伙计，”都是聪明的男孩。撰文，很和煦的热烈欢迎这些年轻的先生们表示感谢，不禁让他介绍一个聪明的女孩少年朋友， - 小姐卡蒂雷德本， - 他们的命运，他希望，将证明，以确保有足够有趣他们的注意力。
    如果我成年读者的任何处置，指责有点过分，我恐怕我必须让案件默认情况下，我去，但我会在减轻罪行辩护，我想是合理的，即使少数浪漫的元素颗粒引入，为吹牛男爵和信德巴德报水手都是标准的工程，我在童年货架，我也有可能具有其独特的熏陶精神一些。但我觉得，在生动的反映表示满意，无论夸大影评人可以决定我在本书行为，我曾在卡蒂雷德本能否成功将取决于她好的原则，她的礼貌，她的决心毅力，她克服这一愚蠢的这是一个骄傲陷阱的脚。在这些方面，她是一个值得年轻的典范。
    ====
    TO ALICE MARIE ADAMS, This Book IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED BY HER FATHER.
    PREFACE. ----
    Bobby Bright and Harry West, whose histories were contained in the last two volumes of the "Library for Young Folks," were both smart boys. The author, very grateful for the genial welcome extended to these young gentlemen, begs leave to introduce to his juvenile friends a smart girl,--Miss Katy Redburn,-- whose fortunes, he hopes, will prove sufficiently interesting to secure their attention.
    If any of my adult readers are disposed to accuse me of being a little extravagant, I fear I shall have to let the case go by defau< but I shall plead, in extenuation, that I have tried to be reasonable, even where a few grains of the romantic element were introduced; for Baron Munchausen and Sindbad the Sailor were standard works on my shelf in boyhood, and I may possibly have imbibed some of their peculiar spirit. But I feel a lively satisfaction in the reflection that, whatever exaggerations the critic may decide I have perpetrated in this volume, I have made the success of Katy Redburn depend upon her good principles, her politeness, her determined perseverance, and her overcoming that foolish pride which is a snare to the feet. In these respects she is a worthy exemplar for the young.