The Little Boy Who Was a Coward

Name: The Little Boy Who Was a Coward
Author: Anna Laetitia Barbauld

The Little Boy Who Was a Coward is a children’s book written by Anna Letitia Barbauld. It tells the story of a young boy named Tom who is afraid of everything. He is so scared that he won’t even go outside to play with his friends. His parents try to encourage him to be brave, but nothing seems to work. One day, Tom’s parents take him to the circus. While there, he meets a brave lion tamer who helps him to overcome his fears. With the lion tamer’s help, Tom learns to be brave and eventually becomes a brave lion tamer himself. The Little Boy Who Was a Coward is a heartwarming story about overcoming fear and finding courage. It is a great book for children of all ages and is sure to inspire them to be brave and face their fears.

By Anna Laetitia Barbauld · First published 1847 · Genre: Children's Fiction, Fantasy, Adventure · 506 words

First lines

There was once a little boy, who was a sad coward. He was afraid of every thing almost. He was afraid of the two kids, Nanny and Billy, when they came and put their noses through the pales of the court; and he would not pluck Billy by the beard. What a silly boy he was! Pray what was his name? Nay, indeed, I shall not tell you his name; for I am ashamed of him. Well, he was much afraid of dogs, too: he always cried if a dog barked, and ran away, and took hold of his mamma's apron like a baby. What a foolish fellow he was! for the dogs do not hurt, you know; they love little boys and play with them. Did you ever see a dog eat up a little boy? No, never, I dare say. Well; so this simple little boy was walking by himself one day, and a pretty black dog came out of a house, and said, bow, wow, bow, wow; and came to the little boy, and jumped upon him, and wanted to play with him; but the little boy ran away. The dog ran after him, and cried louder, bow, bow, wow; but he only meant to say, Good-morrow, how do you do? but this little boy was sadly frightened, and ran away as fast as ever he could, without looking before him, and he tumbled into a very dirty ditch, and there he lay crying at the bottom of the ditch, for he could not get out: and I believe he would have laid there all day, but the dog was so good-natured that he went to the house where the little boy lived, on purpose to tell them where he was. So, when he came to the house, he scratched at the door, and said, Bow, wow; for he could not speak any plainer. So they opened the door.

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The Little Boy Who Was a Coward is listed on Textopian as a short story by Anna Laetitia Barbauld, dated 1847 CE.

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Work type: Short story
Author: Anna Laetitia Barbauld
Date: 1847 CE
Language: English
Genres: Children's Fiction, Fantasy, Adventure, Historical Fiction
Length: 506 words
Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

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Genres

Children's Fiction — The title of the book implies that it is a story about a young child, making it a children's fiction book.
Fantasy — The title of the book implies that the story may contain elements of fantasy, such as talking animals or magical creatures.
Adventure — The title of the book implies that the story may contain elements of adventure, such as a journey or quest.
Historical Fiction — Anna Letitia Barbauld was a British poet and novelist who wrote during the 18th century, making this book a historical fiction.