I was very little when my father and mother died; so little, indeed, that I never knew them, nor the place where I was born. I strolled around the country, ragged as a colt, until I met with a wagoner who was going to London. He gave me leave to walk beside his wagon and I didn’t even have to pay for my passage! I was very pleased. I had longed to see London. I had heard that the streets were paved with gold, and I was going to get a bushel of it!

I can’t tell you how disappointed I was when I saw that the streets were covered with dirt instead of gold. I found myself in a strange place, without a friend, without food, and without money.

The wagoner had been so charitable to let me walk beside his wagon, but when we got to town, he pretended not to know me. I was left out on the street, and after a little while, I became so cold and hungry that all I could think of was a kitchen and a warm fire.

I asked charity of several people who refused me. One man said, “Go to work for an idle rogue.”

“That I will,” I said. “With all my heart! I will work for you if you will let me.”

Dick Whittington in The History of Dick Whittington, Blue Fairy Book. Illustration by Frank Adams.