Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1909-05-06

49, ? uolng. 1t Was his duty To
: ~ horse and pigs each even,nc
aiiu 70 cut the kindling wood for the
noinings fres. He would run down
70 the barn ard busy himself n3a v,rg
Win MS dog lover, often forgetting
tnerplgs and horse till he hoard his
motner calling him to supper. And
"nen n asked him If he had ner.
iormed his chores Jimmy, wishing to
eat MS supper without delay. and then
learlng the dark after. supper fall had
cnlldren e the dark, would tell .
story, saying that he had fed tho
morse and pigs. But his father. having
caught Jimmy telling a falsehood
once was always on the watch of
MS son., and would go to the barn and
the plgpen to see whether or not the
ANIMALS were eating their D And
so 1t always turned out that Jimmy
was caught In the act of falsifyine.
ana often his poor father felt forced
20 punish him, either sending him to
PED without his supper or denying
MIN some little innocent pleasure he
nad been anticipating. But punish
n1ent Or coaxing seemed of no avail
IN Jlmmy's case. And the parents were
all but distracted over their only
child's sinful ways.
One evening Jimmy's mother called
MIN to her, saying: "Son. do o re-
member the story about our great
George Washington and how he once
tnoughtlessly cut down a cherry tree
In his fathers orchard just to try the
blade of his little Ratchet? And do
you recall how that honest boy con-
fessed his wrongdoing to his father.
VINO was very stern and severe? But
George Washington was not a boy to
fear punishment when he knew he de-
served 1t, and to his stern father said:
I cut down the cherry tree, father.
and l cannot tell you a lie about it.
Punish me if you think I deserve It.
but let me first tell you that l did not
realize that I was doing any harm
Well, of course, the father did not
punish his son for having cut down
the cherry tree, for his heart swelled
with pride over his sons honesty. And
from that day to the end of the elder
Washington's life only the closest and
sweetest intimacy existed between
that grave, stern sire and the noble
son who could not tell a lie. And
George Washington became great be-
cause he could not tell a lie,' he could
not deceive in any manner, and all
who knew him admired and respected
him."
Then Jimmy's mother arose and
left the room, leaving Jimmy in a
meditative state of mind. For a long
time he sat there, thinking, and as he
thought there came to his mind the
life history of many great men and
among them all not one could be
pointed out a. having been dishonest.
A blush covered Jimmy's cheek. Il
never meant to lie, to really lie," he
whispered to himself. But l guess fib-
bling grows to be lies after one gets
older, and then one might be ruined
by lying. l never thought of that. OF
course, nobody would trust a man
that told falsehoods, and nobody
would give a dishonest boy employ
ment."
Then Jimmy arose and went out to
do his chores, and he performed them
with a new interest. And somehow,
now that he had begun to realize what
it meant to tell ~,falsehoods, he found
a great pleasure in doing the work as
| signed him, and doing it honestly and
well.
A little later his mother called him
to supper, and Jimmy called back to
her: I'm not quite through with my
chores, mamma, but will come to sup
per as soon as l have finished them"
Then his heart felt so light, and a new
sense of pride and responsibility came
to him. After all, it was a glorious
thing to be truthful, to be trusted
and believed.
At the supper table Jimmy said to
his father and mother: "I've made up
my mind, papa and mamma, to never,
never deceive you, or any one, in any
thing again, and from this day I in
tend to be like George Washington
to be able TO say, / cannot tell q
lie!"
"A LIN 4O0OAuC4OA1 0OAS
the father, a slight Quaver In his
voice, land I know you will keep it.
And your mother and l shall never
forget this day, and shall help you in
your good resolution"
"And to think that u dear Jimmy
should have made us SO happy on this
day Of all days." smiled the happy
mother, "for this is the anniversary
of the great George Washington'a
BIRTH"
Maybe it was the day that helped
me to see the error of my ways" con-
fessed Jimmy. Anyway, the story OF
the cherry tree and the Ratchet made
such an impression on my mind, nam
ma, that it set me to thinking, and
thinking made me ashamed of my
past Hbbing.' So, the truth for me in
future, no matter what the conse-
quences."
"The consequences of truth telling
are always good" declared the father.