Do the Best You Can
Suppose, my little lady.
Your doll should break her head;
Could you make it whole by crying
Till your eyes and nose were red?
And wouldn’t it be pleasanter
To treat it as a joke,
And say you’re glad ’twas Dolly’s,
And not your head, that broke?
Suppose your task, my little man,
Is very hard to get,
Will it make it any easier
For you to sit and fret?
And wouldn’t it be wiser
Than waiting like a dunce,
To go to work in earnest,
And learn the thing at once?
Suppose that some boys have a horse,
And some a coach and pair,
Will it tire you less while walking
To say it isn’t fair?
And wouldn’t it be nobler
To keep your temper sweet,
And in your heart be thankful
You can walk upon your feet?
And suppose the world don’t please you,
Nor the way some people do,
Do you think the whole creation
Will be altered just for you?
And isn’t it, my boy or girl,
The wisest, bravest plan,
Whatever comes or doesn’t come,
To do the best you can?
—Phoebe Cary.
Be good, sweet maid, and let who will be clever;
Do noble things, not dream them all day long:
And so make life, death and that vast forever
One grand, sweet song.
—Charles Kingsley.
Alternate Reading: Galatians 5:13-24.