The Nursery, February 1873, Vol. XIII.: A Monthly Magazine for Youngest Readers

In Short

This volume is an issue of a monthly American periodical designed for young children, containing illustrated short stories, moral fables, nature lessons, and simple verse. Readers follow a soap bubble's brief life, a duckling's journey out of its shell, a family's Thanksgiving spent feeding hungry neighborhood boys, and a mischievous girl who tries to paint a mustache on a portrait. Its appeal endures because it speaks to children with quiet warmth and respect, treating their domestic play, small anxieties, and everyday observations as things of genuine value.

The Story

The volume opens with a father reflecting on how to write for the very young, choosing to explain difficult words rather than talk down to his readers. He tells the life of a soap bubble named Diamond, blown for his daughter Grace, who floats down to land gently on the girl's cheek instead of popping against the cold ceiling like her predecessor, Napoleon. A rhyming poem follows, describing a backyard play menagerie where children charge thirteen pins to show off their pets as exotic wild beasts, until the dog playing the elephant breaks loose and wrecks the whole exhibit.

From the outdoors, the focus shifts to a newborn duckling describing its expanding universe. The chick grows up believing the world consists of a lawn and a pond, marveling at the giant boy who lifts the coop, and surviving the terror of a four-legged dog before its siblings are carried off in a basket by a farmhand named Bob. The issue moves into human homes with the story of a family near Cincinnati. Finding themselves alone for Thanksgiving, the parents invite twelve poor, hungry street boys to join them for a meal of roast turkey, pie, and piano music, transforming a lonely day into a joyful memory.

Bedtime bring stories within stories: a mother tells her son Harry about a trip to his grandfather's farm, complete with carriage rides, sugar-plums, a giant black dog, and cookies with holes in the middle. Winter arrives through a poem welcoming Jack Frost, who pinches toes and freezes the local pond for skating. In a playful piece of flash fiction, four-year-old Edith May dresses up in her mother's shawl and spectacles, visits a photography studio, and presents herself to the artist as an old lady named Miss Jones.

Artistic mishaps continue as little Bessie visits her uncle's painting studio. Believing her uncle is overworked, she picks up a brush and paints a thick, blue-tinted mustache onto a portrait of a family friend, only to be forgiven with a laugh and a kiss when her uncle discovers the sabotage. A moral reflection considers a boy overwhelmed on Christmas morning by an excess of toys, advising him that true pleasure comes from giving extra gifts away to children who received nothing. The issue closes with a traditional fable about a greedy dog who loses his meat to a reflection in the water, followed by an expanded, three-verse musical score for "Jack and Jill."

How It Unfolds

The bubble's brief life A father blows soap bubbles for his young daughter Grace, giving each one a grand name. The smallest bubble, Diamond, avoids high ceilings and ends her short existence safely on the child's cheek.

A backyard spectacle Children set up a makeshift menagerie beneath a cherry tree, casting household pets as bears, eagles, and elephants. The playful display falls into total chaos when the family dog gets restless and knocks over the cages.

The duckling's expanded world A newly hatched duck explores beyond its coop, learning to swim in the farm pond despite the anxiety of its adoptive mother hen. The duckling grows, discovers it can fly, and assumes humans are exceptionally kind for carrying its siblings away in lidded baskets.

A generous Thanksgiving A family living far from their relatives cooks a large holiday turkey with no guests to share it with. They invite twelve impoverished neighborhood boys into their home for a feast, apples, candy, and a piano sing-along.

Country visits and cold winters A mother tells her son a bedtime story detailing a past carriage ride to his grandfather's country home. Meanwhile, seasonal poems celebrate the cold arrival of Jack Frost, describing sledding, frozen ponds, and steam rising from winter breath.

Artistic endeavors Young Edie poses in an adult's cap and spectacles for a studio photograph, while little Bessie sneaks into her uncle's art studio to add blue paint to a finished portrait. Both girls test the boundaries of adult play, meeting good-natured affection from their parents.

Lessons in generosity An advice piece addresses a boy paralyzed by having too many Christmas presents, urging him to share his extra toys with less fortunate children. The volume concludes with a classic lesson on greed and a set of musical verses.

The People

• Grace's Papa: A thoughtful father writing his very first biography. He defends his choice of sophisticated language to adult critics, wanting to engage his daughter's mind while entertaining her with simple home amusements.
• Grace: A patient, innocent little girl who loves naming her pets and watching her father blow soap bubbles in the afternoon.
• Jack: An imaginative boy who organizes a neighborhood menagerie under a cherry tree, charging thirteen pins for admission and managing a unruly cast of household pets.
• The Little Duck: A curious farm bird who views the barnyard as a grand, expanding universe, remaining blissfully oblivious to the true destination of the farmhands who carry off its family.
• Robert: An eager young boy who receives a red, iron-runner sled for Christmas and learns to steer down the icy hills of Boston Common under the guidance of older boys and his uncle.
• Edith May (Edie): A creative four-year-old girl who loves to "play people," disguising herself as an elderly woman named Miss Jones to have her picture professionally taken.
• Bessie: A well-meaning, confident child who tries to help her painter uncle by using blue paint to touch up a portrait's mustache.

In Its Own Voice

"Was it not much better than mounting to the cold, white ceiling, and living to a dull old age, like the big bubble whose name was Napoleon?"

A father reflects on the short, gentle end of a soap bubble floating against his child's face.

"How grand a duck feels when gaining useful knowledge!"

A young farm duck celebrates its growing understanding of the wide world beyond its wooden coop.

"I am sorry to say he did not agree with Bessie that the picture was improved. At first he was vexed; then he laughed; then he gave Bessie a kiss."

A narrator describes the reaction of an artist uncle after his young niece secretly repaints one of his portraits.

What It's Really About

At its heart, this collection examines how young children encounter, interpret, and learn to navigate the boundaries of their environment. The selection contrasts a child’s limited perspective—where a backyard dog is a wild elephant or a basket ride is a gesture of human kindness—with the broader reality understood by adults.

It repeatedly circles around themes of quiet empathy, hospitality, and unselfishness. Whether through a family sharing their holiday meal with street children or a commentary urging a wealthy child to give away surplus toys, the text argues that happiness is found in looking outward rather than hoarding joy. It frames childhood not as a period of strict discipline, but as a time of guided discovery, where mistakes are met with patience rather than anger.

Why Read It Today

Modern readers interested in historical children's literature, nineteenth-century American culture, or domestic life will find this periodic volume remarkably charming. It lacks the heavy-handed, punitive moralizing common to earlier nineteenth-century children's books, offering instead light humor, gentle lessons, and an honest appreciation for a child's imagination.

The language is clear, accessible, and intentionally designed for early readers, making it a fast, comfortable read. While some modern audience members might find the short, episodic structure fragmented or the period sensibilities—such as the romanticized view of farm life or historic street life—somewhat dated, the core stories remain warm and relatable.

What lingers after reading is the text's deep respect for its audience. The writers never talk down to young readers, choosing instead to explain complex terms while painting a vivid picture of winter coasting on Boston Common, domestic play, and small acts of household kindness.

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