Nobody's Boy / Sans Famille

Nobody's Boy" is a human document of child experiences that is fascinating reading for young and old

He was an easy going man who, above all, liked peace: He never complained; if he had a remark to pass it was said in a quiet, gentle way.

There were some who came and shook me by the hands with tears in their eyes, and there were others who turned away their heads. These were in mourning, and they asked themselves bitterly why this orphan child had been saved when their fathers and sons were still in the mine, ghastly corpses, drifting hither and thither in the dark waters.

As I am not able to pay with my money, I have to pay with my liberty."

If I fell I should go down, down, down, and I might not be able to pick myself up again. I was afraid. I knew the dangers that beset me.

I knew later that if you live with wicked people you get to be like them in time.

When you see something that you do not understand, do not be afraid to ask me questions.

A blow hurts, but it hurts more to have things like that said, and before a lot of people! You don't know that because no one has ever told you that you are ugly.

One gains very little by being cruel, but one can obtain a lot, if not all, by gentleness.

fear paralyzes the intelligence.