The Nursery, April 1873, Vol. XIII. / A Monthly Magazine for Youngest Readers

VOLUME XIII.—No. 4 BOSTON: JOHN L. SHOREY, No. 36 BROMFIELD STREET. 1873.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, By JOHN L. SHOREY, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. Boston: Rand, Avery, & Co., Stereotypers and Printers.

TRY, TRY AGAIN.

T 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?