--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The mouse and his child, who had learned…" description: "\"“The mouse and his child, who had learned so much and had prevailed against such overwhelming odds, never could be persuaded to teach a success course...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29c/russell-hoban-7835_children_the-mouse-and-his-child-who-had-learned_2568349.png" --- # The mouse and his child, who had learned so much and had… ![“The mouse and his child, who had learned so much and had prevailed against such overwhelming odds, never could be persuaded to teach a success course... The whole secret of the thing, they insisted, was simply and at all costs to move steadily ahead, and that, they said, could not be taught.” quote by Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29c/russell-hoban-7835_children_the-mouse-and-his-child-who-had-learned_2568349.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29c/russell-hoban-7835_children_the-mouse-and-his-child-who-had-learned_2568349.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29c/russell-hoban-7835_children_the-mouse-and-his-child-who-had-learned_2568349.png) > ““The mouse and his child, who had learned so much and had prevailed against such overwhelming odds, never could be persuaded to teach a success course... The whole secret of the thing, they insisted, was simply and at all costs to move steadily ahead, and that, they said, could not be taught.”” [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage warns that success cannot be taught directly; it must be earned through persistent effort despite obstacles. **In simple terms:** Success isn’t taught, it’s earned by steady effort. Key Takeaway Embrace perseverance over shortcuts. Themes perseverance learning resilience wisdom Mood reflective encouraging Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - career advancement - personal recovery - creative projects Key Concepts growth mindset self‑efficacy oral tradition Questions to Reflect On - What habits keep you moving forward? - How do you handle setbacks? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on shortcuts can breed complacency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Overwhelming odds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overwhelming-odds/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) ## Related quotes > [Teach success before teaching responsibility. Teach them to believe in themselves. Teach them to think, 'I'm not stupid'. No child wants to fail. Everyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-green/teach-success-before-teaching-responsibility-teach-them-to-believe-in/) [Al Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-green/) > [“If you teach success, you will taste success!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-van-der-merwe/if-you-teach-success-you-will-taste-success/) Jacques van der Merwe > [Failures teach you. Success makes you arrogant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reuben-singh/failures-teach-you-success-makes-you-arrogant/) Reuben Singh > [“Instead of asking your child what they learned today, ask them who they helped today.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/instead-of-asking-your-child-what-they-learned-today-ask-them-who/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [By the age of six the average child will have completed the basic American education… From television, the child will have learned how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/by-the-age-of-six-the-average-child-will-have-completed-the-basic/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As a military child I first learned how to deal with different types of people and how to deal with order.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/as-a-military-child-i-first-learned-how-to-deal-with-different-types/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [“I'm just a child who's learned to impersonate an adult.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/i-m-just-a-child-who-s-learned-to-impersonate-an-adult/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [As a child, I learned hundreds of poems by heart, which I can recite to this day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caterina-fake/as-a-child-i-learned-hundreds-of-poems-by-heart-which-i-can-recite-to/) [Caterina Fake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caterina-fake/) > [As a child I learned what it meant to be persecuted. But, even then, at the worst of times, I knew there was good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lowy/as-a-child-i-learned-what-it-meant-to-be-persecuted-but-even-then-at/) [Frank Lowy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lowy/) > [“The perception of a child who has not yet learned to protect itself by developing the tunnel vision that keeps out ninety percent of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-perception-of-a-child-who-has-not-yet-learned-to-protect-itself/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [I know of no higher fortitude than stubbornness in the face of overwhelming odds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-nizer-american-lawyer/i-know-of-no-higher-fortitude-than-stubbornness-in-the-face-of/) Louis Nizer (American Lawyer > [To place your dreams before the crowd is to risk ridicule. To go forward in the face of overwhelming odds is to risk failure.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-carayol/to-place-your-dreams-before-the-crowd-is-to-risk-ridicule-to-go/) Rene Carayol > [The act of facing overwhelming odds produces greatness and beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/the-act-of-facing-overwhelming-odds-produces-greatness-and-beauty/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [Being a member of the labor force and a full-time parent means trying to manage against overwhelming odds in an unresponsive society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-a-member-of-the-labor-force-and-a-full-time-parent-means-trying/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Success is not measured by what a man accomplishes, but by the opposition he has encountered and the courage with which he has maintained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/success-is-not-measured-by-what-a-man-accomplishes-but-by-the/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) ## More by Russell Hoban > [Sometimes there's nothing but Sundays for weeks on end. Why can't they move Sunday to the middle of the week so you could put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/sometimes-there-s-nothing-but-sundays-for-weeks-on-end-why-can-t-they/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) > [Too-lateness, I realized, has nothing to do with age. It’s a relation of self to the moment. Or not, depending on the person and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/too-lateness-i-realized-has-nothing-to-do-with-age-it-s-a-relation-of/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) > [If the past cannot teach the present and the father cannot teach the son, then history need not have bothered to go on, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/if-the-past-cannot-teach-the-present-and-the-father-cannot-teach-the/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) > [“I had a salad. If I were to say that today's tomatoes were an index of the decline of Western man I should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/i-had-a-salad-if-i-were-to-say-that-today-s-tomatoes-were-an-index-of/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) > [“What do you do when you're wound up?' she asked. 'Do you play that drum?'. 'No,' said the child. 'We used to dance.' 'But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/what-do-you-do-when-you-re-wound-up-she-asked-do-you-play-that-drum/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) > [“He was thinking what a long and wide thing time is, to have so many happenings in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/he-was-thinking-what-a-long-and-wide-thing-time-is-to-have-so-many/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) > [Who is Alice?" asked mother. "Alice is somebody that nobody can see," said Frances. "And that is why she does not have a birthday.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/who-is-alice-asked-mother-alice-is-somebody-that-nobody-can-see-said/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) > [“Mark you that and noat you wel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/mark-you-that-and-noat-you-wel/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) > [“Seed of the little Seed of the wyld Seed of the berning is Hart of the chyld . . . Out goes the candl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/seed-of-the-little-seed-of-the-wyld-seed-of-the-berning-is-hart-of/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) > [Nothing to be done really about animals. Anything you do looks foolish. The answer isn't in us. It's almost as if we're put here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/nothing-to-be-done-really-about-animals-anything-you-do-looks-foolish/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) > [Sometimes I think that the biggest difference between men and women is that more men need to seek out some terrible lurking thing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/sometimes-i-think-that-the-biggest-difference-between-men-and-women/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) > [“Before the motorcar replaced the horse, and for some years after there were many illustrators who drew horses with the same authority with which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/before-the-motorcar-replaced-the-horse-and-for-some-years-after-there/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) > [When I write a book, I don't have a plan or an outline. The characters move the action, and the action develops the characters.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/when-i-write-a-book-i-don-t-have-a-plan-or-an-outline-the-characters/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) > [“Sometimes I think that the biggest difference between men and women is that more men need to seek out some terrible lurking thing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/sometimes-i-think-that-the-biggest-difference-between-men-and-women-2/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) > [If reality had a stage door I'd hang around there to see what comes out after the show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/if-reality-had-a-stage-door-i-d-hang-around-there-to-see-what-comes/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) [Explore all 86 Russell Hoban quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/) [Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. You are surrounded by nature - cats, dogs, birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/my-school-was-one-of-the-most-beautiful-places-a-child-can-grow-up-in/) [Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/) > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“Children's lives are always beginning and adults' lives are always ending. Or is it the opposite? 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