Youthful rulers are common in literature and history. If children, they are depicted as adorable; if in their teens or twenties, they simply create a sense of awe and protectiveness in their older advisers. Their naive simplicity may in fact make them good (and sometimes ruthless) rulers, as they prefer to cut through the red tape of court etiquette. The Trope Namer is a line from Isaiah 11:6 in the Bible ("...and a little child shall lead them.") May stem from the parent's having refused to leave In Its Hour of Need. (The child may have attempted to do the same, but forced to do so.)