Читать книгу The Nursery, April 1873, Vol. XIII - Various - Страница 1

IT is a true story that I am going to tell you now. It is about a little boy whose name was William Ross. Having had a present of a pencil, he thought he would make use of it by trying to draw.

His first attempts were poor enough. One day, when he had been playing ball with a young friend, he stopped, and, taking out his pencil, began to draw a picture on the wall.

"What do you call that?" asked his friend. "Why, that is a horse!" replied William: "can't you see?"—"A horse! is it?" cried his friend, laughing. "Why, I took it for a donkey."

"You are quite right in laughing at it," said William. "Now that I look at it again, I see it is all out of drawing; but I will keep at it till I can make a good drawing of a horse."

William was not afraid of being laughed at; and he felt much obliged to those who pointed out any faults in what he did. He was not discouraged by failures. He kept trying till he had used his pencil nearly all up. Still he had not yet made a good drawing of a horse.

"You'll never learn to draw: so you may as well give it up first as last," said his friend to him one day, some six months after their last meeting. "Your horses are all donkeys still."

William opened a portfolio, and, taking out some pictures, said, "What do you think of these?"

"Ah! here is something like a horse," replied his friend, looking at one of the drawings. "You will never do any thing like this, Willy."

William smiled, but said nothing; though it was his own drawing that his friend was praising.

Well, by bravely keeping at it, William at last began to make pictures worth looking at. While yet a boy, he sent in a painting to the Society of Arts, for which he received a present of a silver palette. He rose to be Sir William Ross, miniature painter to Queen Victoria.

Don't be discouraged, my young friends, by failing in your first attempts. Learn to persevere. Keep at it. That's the Way.

Uncle Charles.