A few days ago we read A Word to Little Girls, advice from 1867 about being lovely, sweet, pleasant, kind, and helpful. The same page of the Juvenile Instructor, where that paragraph for little girls appeared, also offers a model for little boys to follow:

Little by Little.

A boy stood intently watching some brick layers at work. His father noticed him and said, “What are you thinking about, my son? Do you wish to become a builder of houses?”

The lad smiled, and then answered, “I was thinking what a little thing a brick is, and yet by laying bricks side by side, and on top of each other, great houses are built.”

“True, my son. And just so it is with all great works. You become a scholar by adding one lesson to another. If a man would walk around the world, he must do it by putting one foot before the other. Life is made up of little moments, and the ocean of drop after drop gathered together. So, never be discouraged because things look difficult. You cannot jump over a mountain, but step by step takes you to the other side.”