In the small muddy town of Sludge Hollow, Miss McNaught is the only school teacher. Her lessons are of acceptance, she teaches the children to look beyond a person's physical appearance and see their true beauty. One day, the Queen of Sludge Hollow visits the muddy town. 'Her finger nails were painted pink and she wore rings on her fingers that glittered and winked...she was most certainly the cleanest person the people had ever seen.' The Queen acts arrogantly superior towards the muddy people of the town until, 'her gumboot stayed stuck, stuck in the muddy muck of Sludge Hollow.' It is then that the Queen graciously realises the wisdom of Miss McNaught's lessons.