第5章 The Charcoal-Burner And The Fuller 烧炭人与漂洗工

A CHARCOAL-BURNER carried on his trade in his own house. One day he met a friend, a Fuller, and entreated him to come and live with him, saying that they should be far better neighbors and that their housekeeping expenses would be lessened. The Fuller replied, "The arrangement is impossible as far as I am concerned, for whatever I should whiten, you would immediately blacken again with your charcoal."

烧炭人在一所房子里做生意，后来附近又来了一个漂洗工。于是，烧炭人就提议，漂洗工搬来和自己一起居住，既然挨得这么近，合住一间房子可以省掉不少开支。可是，他的建议被漂洗工拒绝了：“万万不可！如果咱们住一起，那么我刚漂白的东西，就会马上被你的煤烟弄脏的。”