"We had a tall tree in the yard of our home," related Rebbetzin Chana, the Rebbe's mother. "The children used to climb up and would often fall down. My six-year-old Mendel'e, [the Rebbe,] would climb up and reach the top of the tree without falling. When I asked him, 'How is it that you don't fall and all the other children fail to make it to the top?' he responded, 'As they climb, they look down and get frightened and fall. When I climb, I continually look upward. As such, I don't get frightened and I don't fall down.'"

Sefer HaToldos (Rabbi Levi Yitzchok), vol. 2, p. 345