The Liars’ Box
I was travelin’ thru Virginia in the mid 1700s and when I rode into a new town, I met up with some kids what had their own special little liars club. They all lied fer differnt reasons, but their fate was equally rewarded.
On my way into town, I stopped my wagon to pick up a box in the road what seemed to have fallen offa another wagon.
“That’s my box,” said a young feller named Oliver. “I left it there while we were playing street games.”
He grabbed the box outta my hands and, bop! He turned into a monkey. Monkeys are generally fun-loving animals, but they do like to steal things. Oliver was a lying monkey, the kinda liar what lies in order to git what they want.
“Is that true what he said?” I asked a gal, and then handed the box to her. Athelia seen the group stare her down, willing her to protect Oliver.
“I think so, yes,” she said.
Then, bop! Athelia turned into a groundhog. Groundhog liars dig into the ground and hide to avoid trouble.
I picked up the box. “It says here, ‘Mr. Smithers,’” I said. “Any of ya know Mr. Smithers?”
“Yeah, we do,” Luella said. “I yelled to Mr. Smithers when the box dropped off his wagon, but he didn’t hear me. Give it to me, and I’ll take it to him.”
I gave Luella the box and, bop! She turned into a peacock. Peacock liars lie just to impress others and to look good.
Then Walter grabbed the box. “I saw Oliver steal this box from Mr. Smithers’ wagon,” he said. Bop! He turned into a bulldog. This is the kind of liar that likes getting others into trouble. The term “lying dog” originated with Walter, short fer lyin bully dog, and he was a bully.
Then Ursula spoke up. “I saw the box fall off Mr. Smithers’ wagon. It bounced up and spun around ‘til it flew over the moon and back.”
I was skeptical, so I handed her the box. When she touched it, bop! She turned into a weasel. She was a weasel of a liar – she lied neither to gain nuthin’ nor avoid nuthin’. They just lie fer sport.
George was the last of the kids.
“Lying is the easy way to accomplish yer objective,” I said to him, “but in the long run it catches up on ya. Biggest thing folks want out of others is to trust ‘em. Might take more effort to be truthful, but in the long run ya become mighty respected fer it. Do you know whose box this is?”
“No,” George said. “We were playing street games and didn’t notice it until you discovered it.”
Curious to see what would happen, I handed the box to George. He took it in his hands. And then … nothing. He was still a boy.
“Why don’tcha go find Mr. Smithers and bring it to him,” I said.
George did just that, and became known as the person everbody could trust. Over the years, many good things happened in George Washington’s life, as he became one of the most respected men in the country.
Buscrat’s Fables are simple stories that teach a moral. Visit buscratsfables.com for the full version and other fables.
