Tom Brown's Schooldays is a famous novel by Thomas Hughes first published in 1857. Tom Brown was very popular at his Rugby Public School; he lived with about a dozen other boys in one of the school's dormitories. He was very influential and was the undisputed leader of his gang of friends. One day a new boy came to the school. When the bedtime came, the new boy innocently knelt down by his bed to say his prayers. Some of the other boys began to snigger, laugh and joke; one even threw a shoe at the praying boy.
That night Tom Brown could not sleep for a long time. He lay awake thinking about what had happened to the new boy. He also began to think about his mother and the prayers she had taught him to say each night before going to bed, prayers he had not said since he came to school. The next night several of the boys were looking forward to poking fun at the new boy. But that night something totally unexpected happened. When the new boy knelt down to say his prayers, Tom Brown knelt down too. The whole atmosphere of the dormitory changed. It also brought about a real change in the lives of all those young boys. That day they learnt something new, thanks to the newcomer.
It is said that actions speak louder than words. The simple act of the newcomer boy so touched the undisputed and even hard hearted Tom Brown that he perhaps bent his knees and raised his eyes heavenward for the first time. Today, how can I be an inspiration, a message, a life transforming agent to others around me?
