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Joe was coming back from school with his school bag on his back and a ball on his hands. Playing, he kicked the ball and broke the window of a house he was passing by.
Afraid of what he had just done, he left away running and turned the corner, quickly.
Seth, his classmate, was coming behind; worried about a test he would take the day after, not even noticed what had happened.
As he passed by the house, he ran into a very
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angry man,
who,
grabbing him
by the arm,
yelled: |
— Gotcha, naughty boy!
Scared, he couldn’t understand what happened, Seth said:
— I didn’t do anything! I don’t know what you’re talking about.
— How come? You’ve just broken my window and don’t know?
— I don’t know, sir. It wasn’t me! It wasn’t me!
— Oh, no? What about this ball, whose is it?
Seth recognized the ball, new and beautiful, which belonged to his friend Joe. But he didn’t tell on his buddy. He just answered:
— It’s not mine, sir, I swear!
— If you’re lying to me, you’ll regret. Come on! I’m going to your house and talk to your parents.
— Please, sir, let me go! My parents are working and there’s nobody home.
Seth cried and begged on his knees, so the man gave in. He let go off his arm and asked his address, which the boy said. Later, a bit calmer, he said:
— Tomorrow morning I’m going to school to talk to your teacher. What is your name?
— Joseth Brown, but people call me Seth.
— All right, Seth. You may go now.
Seth kept walking, relieved. On the following day everything was going to be okay, he was sure. Certainly Joe would be there for him.
In the morning, Seth got up confident, and went to school.
It was ten o’clock when the man appeared at the door of the classroom.
Teacher Deborah welcomed him and asked what he wanted. He came in and said what happened in front of the whole class.
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Joe was afraid at his desk.
As this man told the story, Seth thought Joe would give away his identity, leaving him out of this.
As Joe kept his mouth shut, Seth got sad and disappointed.
Teacher Deborah, as she saw the situation, defended his
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— You have your reasons to complain and even ask for a refund, but you can’t come here and accuse my student if you’re not sure. Besides, this ball is not Seth’s, I can assure you that.
— But someone broke my window with this ball and I want to know who did it.
She looked at the whole class, student after student. However, no one said anything. Angry, he said:
— All right. You’re hiding it, but I’ll find out who it was and, then, I’ll take measures. I’ll leave the ball right here. May the owner get it here, if he will. Have a nice day.
The man left the room fuming. After he left, Deborah looked at her class, sad, and considered:
— I’m really disappointed with you guys. No matter what we did, we have the moral duty to take on the responsibility. Lying is so bad and, omitting our responsibility, letting someone be accused in our place, is even worse.
Seth was crying, with his head down.
At this moment, Joe stood up, shy and ashamed:
— Teacher, I did it. But it wasn’t on purpose! It was an accident!
Then, turning to his friend, he said:
— Seth, I’m so sorry! I never meant to hurt you; I just got scared of my parents’ reaction if they came to know it. But, you knew I was the one who did it and even so, you didn’t tell on me, and so I get even more ashamed. Could you please forgive me?
Seth wiped his tears away and smiled:
— Of course, Joe. I knew I could trust you. We are friends, after all!
Joe came up to Seth and both hugged, happy to find a solution.
Then, Joe promised:
— Teacher, I promise when I leave here I’ll go straight to that man’s place, tell him the truth and take on the responsibility.
— Great, Joe. There you go! — agreed Deborah.
And Seth, by his side, said:
— I’m going with you, Joe.
The teacher hugged them both, and then looking at the other students, she informed:
— On this day we had a live lesson. A hard situation was solved in a peaceful way, and everybody matured a little more. Joe learned that lying is never good, and could feel Seth’s generosity as he was never betrayed, even though he was the culprit.
She stopped speaking for some seconds, and then went on:
— Joe is still facing some difficulties with this man, and also with his parents, but everything will get easier since he decided to be honest. I hope we all have learned the lesson.
As the class finished, Seth accompanied Joe, who explained to the man what had happened, apologizing and promising to pay what he had to, using his allowance to do so.
He would tell his parents what had happened, and he was sure everything would turn out well in the end.
The most difficult thing was to admit it. Everything else would be easier.
Calm and confident, Joe came home, and he was sure that, from that day one, there would be no problem he couldn’t solve.
He also learned that a sincere friendship like Seth’s, was invaluable and could not be taken for granted.
And from that day on, they would be even more friends.
Aunt
Célia
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