In her short story “Nelly’s Hospital,” Louisa May Alcott shows how the kind and simple actions of a child have a long-ranging effect. When little Nelly opens a hospital for hurt animals, she uplifts and inspires those around her.
One day, as Nelly sits with her mother, she is inspired. Witnessing her brother Will go to fight in the Civil War and return injured, Nelly aspires to work as a nurse in one of the hospitals, ministering to the hurt and fighting soldiers. However, since she is young and clumsy, she needs practice.
