LESSON 14

HENRY, THE BOOTBLACK

擦鞋童亨利

1. Henry was a kind, good boy. His father was dead, and his mother was very poor. He had a little sister about two years old.

2. He wanted to help his mother, for she could not always earn enough to buy food for her little family.

3. One day, a man gave him a dollar for finding a pocketbook which he had lost.

4. Henry might have kept all the money, for no one saw him when he found it. But his mother had taught him to be honest, and never to keep what did not belong to him.

5. With the dollar he bought a box, three brushes, and some blacking. He then went to the corner of the street, and said to every one whose boots did not look nice, “Black your boots, sir, please? ”

6. He was so polite that gentlemen soon began to notice him, and to let him black their boots. The first day he brought home fiftcents, which he gave to his mother to buy food with.

7. When he gave her the money, she said, as she dropped a tear of joy, “You are a dear, good boy, Henry. I did not know how I could earn enough to buy bread with, but now I think we can manage to get along quite well, ”

8. Henry worked all the day, and went to school in the evening. He earned almost enough to support his mother and his little sister.

【中文阅读】

1. 亨利是个善良的好孩子。他的爸爸死了，妈妈也很穷，还有一个两岁大的小妹妹。

2. 他想帮助母亲，她时常赚不到足够的钱来为她的小家庭购买食物。

3. 一天，一个人给了他一元钱，因为他帮助那个人找到了丢失的钱包。

4. 亨利本可以拿走所有的钱，因为没有人看见他捡到钱包。但他妈妈告诉过他要为人诚实，不能拿不属于自己的东西。

5. 他用那一块钱买了一个盒子、三个刷子和一些黑鞋油。然后走到街角，对每个靴子看起来不漂亮的人说：“先生，求求您，让我为您擦鞋，好吗？”

6. 他很有礼貌，人们很快就开始注意到他，让他给他们擦皮鞋。第一天，他把五毛钱带回了家，让妈妈用这些钱去买吃的。

7. 当他把钱交给妈妈时，妈妈流下了高兴的眼泪：“亨利，你是一个可爱的好孩子。我不知道怎么赚足够的钱买面包，但我觉得现在我们可以很容易地买到了。”

8. 亨利要干一整天的活，晚上去学校上课。他赚的钱几乎足够用来供养妈妈和小妹妹。