Character in Little Britches

At the encouragement of several friends I have begun reading Ralph Moody's Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers which was first published in 1950.

 

We are already enjoying many humorous parts. Tonight there was also a good lesson.  The main character, an eight year old boy, lied to his mother in order to cover himself and to get to try something with their horse.  Things went bad and in the end his lie was exposed.  His father's comments are well stated:

 

"Son, there is no question but what the thing you have done today deserves severe punishment.  You might have killed yourself or the horse, but much worse than that, you have injured your own character.  A man's character is like his house.  If he tears boards off his house and burns them to keep himself warm and comfortable, his house soon becomes a ruin.  If he tells lies to be able to do the things he shouldn't do but wants to, his character will soon become a ruin.  A man with a ruined character is a shame on the face of the earth." (41)

Two Kind of Men

We are still enjoying Little Britches.  It is a mixed bag with various weaknesses, including fairly frequent profanity (which I edit out).  However, when it is good it is various good, particularly in the interaction between the main character boy and his father.  In what we read this evening the boy has been told only fools work with their hands and others are owed a living.  When he shares this with his father as they are milking the cows, the father, who doesn’t typically say much, says:

“Son … There are only two kinds of men in this world.  Honest men and dishonest me.  There are black men and white men and yellow men and red men, but nothing counts except whether they’re honest men or dishonest men.

“Some men work almost entirely with their brains; some almost entirely with their hands; though most of us have to use both.  But we all fall into one of the two classes- honest and dishonest.

“Any man who says the world owes him a living is dishonest.  The same God that made you and me made this earth. And He planned it so that it would yield every single thing that the people on it need. But he was careful to plan it so that it would only yield up its wealth in exchange for the labor of man. Any man who tries to share in that wealth without contributing the work of his brain or his hands is dishonest.

“Son, this is a long sermon for a boy of your age, but I want so much for you to be an honest man that I had to explain it to you.”

That is a good word.  The son reflects,

“I wish I knew how Father was able to say things so as to make you remember every word of it.  If I could remember everything the way I remember the things Father told me, maybe I could be as smart a man as he was.” (177)

This is a good portrait of father son interaction reminiscent of Proverbs (cf. 3:1).

"10 Books Children Should Read"

Last month this article appeared, “10 Books Children Should Read.” The author briefly encourages parents to give some leeway in books their children read while also providing direction. Then she recommends ten books.

I agree with the general advice she gives on parental involvement. We need not allow only classics to our children, but we definitely must shepherd them in the choice of books. What you read shapes your thinking which shapes your living, so parents ought to guide their children in reading wholesome and helpful things.

Her list of ten books is interesting. We haven’t read all of them, but she lists some we have appreciated, including Little Britches and Tale of Desperaux. We have read Gordon Macdonald’s At the Back of the Northwind, which she lists, but didn't enjoy it as much. We much preferred The Princess and the Goblin.

I pass on this article and her list, not because I can recommend all the boos myself but because I found it useful in finding recommendations from someone else.