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Summary
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Little Britches, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Fathers, Sons, and Growing Up
Honesty and Pride
Work and Society
Community, Resources, and Conflict
Home and the American West
Summary
Analysis
Ralph describes not knowing his father before moving to their family ranch in Colorado in 1906. He explains how Cousin Phil, who lives in Colorado, had visited Ralph and his family at their home in New Hampshire. Promising them great prosperity and work to make Ralph’s ailing father a “new man,” he convinces Ralph’s mother, Molly Moody, and father, Charles Moody, to move their family there. They sell their house and travel to their new home, renting a room in Denver when they first arrive. Ralph visits the ranch with his parents who are shocked by how small and dilapidated it looks. Ralph’s father is angry and wants to return home, but his mother convinces him to stay, as she sees it as their God-given fate to stay in Colorado.
Ralph details his family’s move to Colorado and the motivations behind it. Cousin’s Phil’s grandiose promises of prosperity seem too good to be true—and they are—but Ralph’s mother and father seem to overlook it. Ralph is too young and naïve to notice it, but Cousin’s Phil’s promise to make Ralph’s father a “new man” seems to hint that Ralph’s father poor health may be more of a motivating factor than he suspects. This suspicion is confirmed by Ralph’s mother commitment to staying in Colorado despite the poor condition of their new house.
Themes
For a few days, Ralph stays in the hotel room with his mother and four siblings while his father works to figure out their new life. Ralph’s mother complains about being cooped up with the children, however, and his father begins bringing Ralph with him on his errands. They buy two horses, which Ralph names Bill and Nig; and they work on digging a well and fixing up the house. With Cousin Phil’s help, they also build a privy. Before leaving, they tie Bill and Nig up in their new barn. Ralph watches the sunset and decides he would not trade their ranch for anything on earth.
Despite Cousin Phil’s exaggerated promises, he makes up for them by helping fix the house and build essential infrastructure. Ralph, presumably due to the time he has gotten to spend with his father since moving to Colorado, reflects happily on his new life. Where before Ralph’s father spent all day working away from home, he now spends all day with Ralph, and Ralph is clearly enjoying the attention.
Themes
On Saturday morning, Ralph and his family hitch a ride on the train that crosses through their ranch. As they get off, the conductor points out a horse stuck on the trestle on the track ahead, which Ralph and his family recognize as Nig. Ralph and his father ride the train to the trestle, and then they get off. Ralph’s father and the trainmen work to remove Nig from the tracks, knocking him out and pushing him off the trestle. Ralph pees his pants, but he’s impressed with his father, likening him to George Washington. The train passes safely, and Ralph and his father return home. Ralph’s father maintains a positive attitude about the episode, telling Ralph that he and his siblings know how dangerous the trestle is.
Though the experience of rescuing the horses from the train track is scary, Ralph is impressed with his father’s leadership and feels proud to be his son. Ralph’s father, in the first of many impactful parenting lessons, pulls a learning moment out of the experience. It’s essential, he implies, that his children understand how dangerous trains and tracks can be—and while trains are dangerous everywhere, this lesson is particularly important here in Colorado, where the family has tracks running through their land.
Themes
Once home, Ralph’s father informs the family that the horses are alive with no broken bones, blaming coyotes for the incident. Ralph and his father then go to the barn to bandage the horses. Ralph’s father speculates about what happened, telling Ralph that everything leaves “marks” from which a person can glean what transpired. Ralph’s mother comes out to help, expressing worry over Nig’s wounds. Ralph’s father is more worried over Bill, however, who seems to have something wrong with his stomach.
The lesson that Ralph’s father imparts here seems to be a novelty to Ralph, having spent so little time with his father previously. Ralph’s father soon shows the value of this very skill. Though his mother worries over’s Nig’s surface wounds, Ralph’s father discerns a more concerning set of symptoms from Bill. This highlights not only his knowledge of horses, but also his ability to look beneath the surface of things to see what is really going on.
Themes
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