1.It is very difficult to get some people to be careful in doing little things.“Oh，it does not matter！”they say.“Wait till we have something great to do，and then we shall show how well we can do it.”
2.What a mistake this is！We must do the small things well before men will trust us in the greater things.It is a grand rule of life to be faithful in little things.
3.“One morning，some years ago，”said a merchant ，“I was about to start for business，when the servant told me that a man was waiting at the front door to see me.
4.”On my going to the door，the man asked me for help.He said that he had a large family，and a sick wife，and no money to get food for them.
5.“’You seem to be strong and healthy；why don‘t you work？’I asked.
Simply because I cannot get work，sir.
If I give you work，what pay do you want？
Anything you like to give me，so that I can get bread for my family.
6.I thought I would try to find out if he really meant what he said.‘Very well，’I said，‘I shall give you a shilling an hour，if you will carry a brick under your arm around this square for five hours without stopping.’
Thank you，sir；I will do it.
7.I got a brick，and placed it under the man‘s arm，started him on his walk，and then went to my business.I never thought that the man would keep on all day doing what he had promised to do.I did not expect to find him there when I came back in the afternoon.
8.“But，as I came in sight of my house，I saw him walking steadily along，with the brick under his arm.A lot of boys were following him and making fun of him.But if any one spoke to him，his only answer was，-“’Don‘t stop me；it’s all right.‘9.”I went up to him，and taking him quietly by the arm，walked with him to my house，and gave him five shillings for what he had done.He said that in one of his walks a lady came out of a house and asked him what he was carrying that brick for.He told her the reason，and she gave him a shilling.And when it was known why he was doing this，others had helped him.
10.“’But what am I to do to-morrow？‘he asked.
“’Why，‘I said，’go to some of those from whom you got help to-day and ask for work，and come to-morrow afternoon and tell me how you get on.‘11.”The next afternoon he came，and told me that he had found steadywork at four shillings a day.
Before leaving，he asked for the brick.I gave it to him，and he took it away with him.
12.“Three or four years after this，”said the merchant，“I was in a tramway-car，when a well-dressed man spoke to me with a smile，and asked if I knew him.Seeing that I was not sure，he said，’Don‘t you remember the man who carried the brick？’He then told me that he had a business of his own，and was getting on well.
13.”‘And what became of the brick？’I asked.
“‘That brick，sir，always stands on our mantel-piece.
But it was not the brick that made the man‘s fortune；it was his faithfulness in doing even a very little thing.