A young boy in the German town of Weser demonstrates remarkable bravery when a mad dog charges toward him and his sister. Rather than fleeing to safety, he wraps his coat around his arm and presents it to the animal, allowing the dog to tear at it while the men in pursuit catch up and kill the beast. When questioned about why he did not simply run away, the boy explains that he could not abandon his sister to the danger, and that his deliberate sacrifice of his coat was meant to protect her from harm. This act of selfless courage in the face of genuine physical danger, performed calmly and without hesitation by a child, establishes the central theme of the narrative: that true heroism is not the absence of fear but the willingness to place the safety of others above one's own.
By Madeline Leslie · First published 1880 · Genre: Children's Literature, Moral Fiction, Coming-of-Age