Richard arrived
home from
school, threw
his backpack on
a chair and went
straight to the
kitchen where
his mother fixed
lunch.
- Hi, Mom!
- Hello,
Richard! What
happened, dear?
- she asked as
she looked at
him and noticed
that something
was not right.
Looking unhappy,
the boy said:
- Nothing.
Everything's all
right.
- Then why the
long face?
- It’s George,
Mom. I cannot
stand his lies
anymore!
- Have patience,
honey. Life will
teach George
that he should
not lie. The
truth always
appears.
- I know, Mom,
but I cannot
bear to hear so
many lies. Do
you want to know
what he said
today? Our
teacher asked us
about our
families and he
said that his
father is a very
rich man, that
they live in a
beautiful house
and that they
have a brand new
car! But I know
that it is all a
lie! I want to
expose him to
the class.
Dona1 Flora
looked at her
son in his
eight-year-old
indignation and
said:
|
- Lying is a
very ugly thing
to do but George
certainly does
not do it to be
mean,
sweetheart.
Moreover, he
does not only
have flaws. We
all have good
qualities and
flaws. He must
also have a good
side, like
everyone else.
Let's see: What
do you think are
his good traits?
Richard thought
hard and
answered,
surprised:
- I do not know.
I have never
noticed!
- There you are,
dear. You just
look at the
negative side of
George. Begin to
observe him and
you will
discover good
|
 |
|
qualities
in him.
Then
we'll
talk
again,
okay? |
The boy agreed.
The next day he
remembered the
conversation he
had had with his
mother and began
to pay attention
to his
classmate. Right
at the entrance
he saw a
hurriedly little
boy who dropped
all his
belongings on
the ground.
George ran and,
bending down,
collected the
boy's things.
"Point for
George," Richard
thought. At
recess, a girl
fell and began
to cry. Their
classmates found
it amusing and
laughed. George,
however,
approached and
helped her to
her feet, asking
gently:
- Did it hurt?
Come here. I'll
take you to get
a bandage.
- It was
nothing. Thank
you, George.
The bell rang
and they all
went back to
their
classrooms. Even
after the class
was over,
Richard
continued to
watch his
friend. He saw
when a boy said
he did not
understand the
maths lesson.
George promptly
volunteered to
help him.
 |
- Later on I'll
come to your
house and
explain the
lesson to you.
You'll see how
easy it is. Soon
you will
understand
everything.
Richard was more
and more
surprised. He
got home and his
mother asked:
- So? Did you do
what we agreed?
- Mom, you were
right! He is
gentle,
generous, kind,
helpful...
|
|
- Wow! Did you
realise all this
in a single day? |
- I did. I
really misjudged
him! I admit I
was wrong.
He told his
mother
everything he
had seen during
the day in
school, and
ended by saying:
- You know that
even his lies do
not bother me
anymore?
- I believe you,
honey. The flaw
of lying has
become something
small in the
face of his
other qualities.
I'm just sorry
that someday
he's going to
suffer for it.
A week later,
they were in
class when
someone knocked
on the door. It
was a simple man
with the
appearance of a
labourer that
had a small
package in his
hands. Timidly,
he excused
himself and
entered.
- Good morning,
teacher. I'm
George's father.
I am late for
work but I
realised he had
forgotten his
lunch and I came
to bring it to
him. Here it is.
George, blushing
with
embarrassment,
cringed in his
desk trying to
go unnoticed.
But there was no
way. He was
forced to get up
and fetch his
snack from his
father.
The man thanked
them and said
good-bye.
Feeling
humiliated,
George did not
even have the
guts to look
around but could
hear muffled
giggles.
Richard,
sympathetic to
his friend's
situation,
turned to him
and said in a
loud voice:
- I really liked
your father,
George. He seems
very nice and
has shown that
he cares about
you. Even though
he was late for
work, he put his
son first.
Congratulations!
The others
students, seeing
Richard’s
attitude, began
to change their
behaviour and
agreed with him.
Someone asked:
- What does your
father do?
- He's a
builder. He
works for a
major
construction
company -
answered George,
still
embarrassed, but
now more at
ease.
- A builder?!
... Is he
helping to build
houses and those
huge buildings?
- a girl asked.
- Yes, he is. My
father often
works there on
top of the
buildings. And
he is not
afraid!
- Wow! But then
he must be very
brave!
- How important
he is! - another
kid exclaimed
and then said -
You know,
teacher, I saw
the other day in
the television
news that a
building
collapsed and a
lot of people
died. Many of
the survivors
lost everything
they had. You
have to be able
to trust the
people who build
the buildings!
- That’s right.
Everyone has to
take
responsibility
for what they
are doing. Be it
the engineers
who make the
plants or those
who work in the
construction.
The conversation
spread to
everyone in a
friendly and
pleasant way.
While the others
talked, George
exchanged a
grateful look
with Richard.
As they leaving
school, George
approached
Richard.
- Thank you,
friend. You got
me out of a
difficult
situation. But
today I learned
a lesson. Lies,
never again.
They are not
worth it.
Besides, you
made me
understand
something
important.
- What?
- I should be
proud of my
father.
- That’s correct!
Friends?
- Friends!
- Would you like
to have lunch at
my house today?
I want to
introduce you to
my mother. She
wants to meet
you.
- Really? Why?
- Because now I
admire you
greatly.
Happily, they
both embraced
each other like
true friends.
AUNT CELIA
(1)
In Brazilian
society, Dona is
a term of
respect that is
used with the
woman’s first
name.
