In a quiet village, where life was good, lived a little boy whom I will call Eliott. I will tell you why I chose not to disclose his name later on.
Eliott thougt that he was the most intelligent person of all the villagers, either young or old ones. He was pleased to tell them things that were not true. He said that he was born when the rainbow was still in black and white, and that he was bedside the Dead Sea during his agony. He said that he had kicked the tower of Pisa in Italy which caused it to be tipped, and that he had planted his pencil in the muzzle of the rhinoceros which had made a horn that had been transmitted from father to son. He bragged that during his trip to Germany, he had sprinkled a whole lot with black ink, and that’s why it was called the ‘Black Forest’ etc… What a reckless boy!
Eliott could not give up this mania of telling nonsense things that were not true. When he felt bored, he thought for a moment. A very startling thought crossed his mind, and he smiled. He waited for his mother to fall asleep, and shouted with all his might. When she jumped and ran to help him, he burst out laughing, because there was nothing wrong. He just managed to deceive the adults. When his dad came home from work, he told him that a stranger was hiding on the roof of the house, and savored the time when he saw his father set up the ladder and check if there was really anyone. He told his sister that her best friend had had an accident and was between life and death in the hospital. He did that so as to laugh later when he would see her crying hard. In class, he never failed to tell the teacher, when a classmate was absent, that he had been bitten by a big dog or that he had been run over by a motorcycle. He might even say that the student had drowned in the river on his way to school. What a reckless boy !
In the morning of a nice Sunday, Eliott got up as usual. He was full of life and happy. After having breakfast, he went out to play in the garden. An idea even worse than the previous ones passed through his mind. He went into the garage, laid on his back and pretended to be dead. However, things at that time did not happen as usual. A big black rat jumped to his knees. It bit him and wanted to tear his nose. Eliott got up quickly. He struggled and shouted with all his might: “Moooooom! A rat is attacking me!” But no one came to help him. He got up and put both hands on his face for the mad rat was only trying to grab his nose. He wanted to open the workshop door and run away, but he could not because the rodent was blocking his way. He shouted louder and louder: “Daaaaaad! I beg you! A rat wants to tear off my nose! Daaaaaad …” His dad opened the window and said, “stop your nonsense Elliot. You made us worse than that. Let me prepare the meal quietly!” He pleaded again, but this time in tears: “Moooooom! I beg you. I am not lying. A rat is biting me, and he wants to tear off the tip of my nose! Moooooom!” His mother who was upstairs opened the window and said, “Eliott, when are you going to stop? Lying is not a game. It’s serious. It will come the day when no one will believe you. Stop it Eliott, and come help me give a bath to your little sister.”
The neighbor, who was arranging the rose bush, heard Eliott’s call for help. He leaned over the hedge and said with an amusing tone: “Eliott, do you want me to call the police to put handcuffs on the rat’s feet and take him to the police station? Come on my boy. Stop screaming. It’s inconvenient what you do to us, joker!”
He went to fetch a wheelbarrow to pick up flowers and faded leaves. After several attempts, Eliott jumped out the window and fell on his buttocks. The noise attracted the attention of the neighbor and the parents …
Eliott was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. He had several injuries in his knees and arms, but nothing was serious. He had managed to protect the tip of his nose from the rodent bites, but after getting a morbid fear, he learned a good lesson. You must never have fun by lying. Always tell the truth, and nothing but the truth, to be a good citizen.
While I was spending my holidays in my second house, I met Eliott. I was expecting him to tell me that he had seen thieves devastate my house during my absence where they had stolen everything, but he did not say anything about it. When I asked him why he was no longer lying, he told me what he had gone through and begged me to never reveal it. He explained that he had turned a new leaf, and that he did not want us to talk about him. I asked him if I could write his story by changing his first name. In this way, all the children and adults who would try to lie would know that lying leads nowhere, if not to cause troubles … He had accepted. Thank you … Eliott.
