A poor boy once went to a ragged school, where his face was well washed.  一个贫穷的男孩在贫民儿童免费学校上学，在学校的时候把脸洗得很干净。

　　When he returned home, the neighbours looked at him with astonishment. 放学回到家后，邻居们难以置信地看着他说，

　　They said, "That looks like Tom Rogers, and yet it can' be, for he is so clean." “你看起来像汤姆罗杰斯，但是跟他还差一点，因为他比你更干净。”

　　Presently his mother looked at him, and seeing that his face was so clean,  过了一会儿，他母亲看到他那么干净的脸时，

　　she fancied that her own face was dirty, and forthwith she washed it. 意识到她自己的脸却脏兮兮的，便立刻转身洗脸去了。

　　The father soon came home from his work, and, seeing his wife and his son so clean,  过了不久父亲下班回家，当看到他的妻子和他的儿子梳洗地这么干净，

　　he thought that his face was dirty, and so he followed their example. 也同样意识到自己该以他们为榜样。

　　Father, mother, and son being clean, the mother began to think that the room looked dirty;  父亲，母亲，儿子都变得干干净净了，母亲开始觉得屋子也该收拾一下了；

　　so she went down on her knees and scrubbed the floor clean. 因此她跪下来开始擦洗地板。

　　A woman lived next door. Seeing so great a change in her neighbours,  住在隔壁女人看到自己的邻居家里发生了这么大变化，

　　she thought that her face and her room were very dirty; so she, too, speedily set about cleaning them. 她也开始觉得自己的脸，自己的房间相比之下是如此不堪；所以她也开始飞速的收拾并清洗起来。

　　This story shows how two houses and their occupants were made tidy and comfortable,  这个故事告诉我们相邻的两家住户是如何互相影响着来保持整洁舒适的家庭环境的，

　　simply by the example of the clean face of one ragged school boy. 起因只是一位在贫民学校上学的小男孩。

　　Children, as well as grown-up people, should always set a good example.  不单单是儿童，成年人也应该树立一个好榜样。

　　We never know how much good may be done in that way; nor can we tell how much harm results from a bad example. 我们永远意想不到自己文明的举动会给他人造成多大的影响，同样我们也不知道树立坏的榜样所带来的危害。