A careful man I want to be,
   A little fellow follows me;
I do not dare to go astray,
   For fear he’ll go the self-same way.

I cannot once escape his eyes.
   Whate’er he sees me do, he tries;
Like me he says he’s going to be,
   The little chap who follows me.

He thinks that I am good and fine,
   Believes in every word of mine;
The base in me he must not see,
   The little chap who follows me.

I must remember as I go,
   Through summer's sun and winter's snow;
I’m building for the years to be
   That little chap who follows me.


This poem appeared in a publication from The Grolier Society, Inc.
It is now in the public domain.