Honest Jenny
Once upon a time, in a small town called Riverdale, lived three friends: Monica, Jenny, and Gloria. On the day our story begins, Monica was very happy because her mom had brought her a special gift.
A Special Gift
— Monica, hurry up! Or you'll be late for school!
— I thought you wanted to show it to your friends on the bus.
— I'll show them at school! What if it falls out of my hands and breaks?
— Thank you, Mom! It's the most beautiful, cutest, most wonderful pencil in the world!
— You're welcome. Come on, hurry up, go! You'll miss the bus!
And so, that's how we'll handle it...
— I want to show you something!
— Wow! Is it a pencil or a doll?
— It's the doll pencil or the pencil doll.
— I've never seen a pencil like this before. I wish I had one too.
— Don't touch it! It will break!
— Pencils don't break just because you touch them.
— What if it breaks?
— What's all that commotion, Monica?
— Sorry, ma'am!
Recess and the Disappearing Pencil
— It's recess! Everyone outside! But be back in time for English class, okay?
— Come on, Monica, let's play tag!
— No! I have to stay in class and look after my pencil!
— Nonsense! Come on, let's play!
— If you don't come, I'll take your pencil and break it!
— Gloria! Don't say such terrible things!
— I'm just kidding with you! Come on!
— I forgot my glasses in the classroom. Gloria, can you please bring them to me?
— Yes, ma'am!
Gloria went to get the teacher's glasses. Meanwhile, the bell rang, and all the children returned to class. Monica searched for the pencil in her backpack, but couldn't find it.
— Where's my pencil? It's not here!
— It must be somewhere. Come on, look for it!
— What's all this noise?
— Ma'am! My doll pencil! My pencil doll! I can't find it!
— Where did you keep it?
— I kept it in my backpack, and now it's not there!
— Are you sure you didn't take it to the playground or to lunch?
— I'm sure, ma'am! Someone definitely stole it!
— Monica, before you accuse anyone of stealing, go and look for your pencil.
— I'll go with her, ma'am.
— Check Gloria's backpack first, ma'am! I saw her looking at the pencil when she came into class to bring you your glasses!
— What do you mean? See? It's not on me!
— How can you accuse someone of stealing like that, Monica?
They searched everywhere, but the pencil was nowhere to be found.
— The pencil is stolen, ma'am!
— I'm sure it's just lost, Monica. If anyone finds Monica's pencil, please give it back to her.
Jenny's Confession
That evening, Jenny was at home crying. Her mom came to see what had happened.
— Jenny! Dinner's ready! What's wrong? Why are you crying?
— I'm not a thief, Mom!
— I know that, Jenny. Tell me, what happened at school today?
— I took Monica's doll pencil. After we came back from recess for English class, I saw her pencil fallen under the desk and I hid it in my backpack as a joke. I swear!
— Then give it back to her, and that's that!
— I can't! I was just about to give it back when she suddenly said someone stole her pencil! She even said Gloria stole it! And I got scared, Mom! Who will believe me if I tell them I only hid the pencil as a joke? Everyone will think I stole it!
— It doesn't matter what others think, Jenny.
— Jenny, tell me. Do you want your friend to be sad?
— Never! But what do I do now, Mom?
— You go to school tomorrow and tell everyone what you did. You apologize and give the pencil back.
— If I do that, everyone will say I'm a thief. Monica and Gloria will never talk to me again!
— That's a risk you have to take. Do you want to do what's right or not? The truth has great power, Jenny. If you tell the truth, even if others are upset with you for a while, eventually they'll start to like you again.
— Mom, I'm scared! Please, come with me to school tomorrow!
— No. If I come with you, you'll never know the price of courage. You'll have to do this on your own. I love you, Jenny, and I'm on your side, okay?
— Okay.
The Truth Comes Out
The next day at school, the teacher asked about the pencil again.
— Has anyone found Monica's pencil?
— It's with me, ma'am.
— My pencil! Thank you, Jenny! You found it!
— No, I didn't find it. I— I took it.
— Pardon?
— Yesterday, Monica's pencil fell out of her backpack during English class, and I thought it would be a good joke to hide it for a while. But just when I was about to give it back, she said someone stole it, and I got scared.
— And you kept quiet when she said I stole it?
— I'm very sorry. You showed what was in your backpack, and everyone believed you, but I was scared. What if someone saw my backpack and found the pencil? I apologize, Gloria.
— Jenny, I'm never talking to you again!
— Jenny is a thief!
— Enough! Quiet everyone! Don't you realize that Jenny didn't have to give the pencil back? But she did anyway. She could have lied and told us she found the pencil fallen somewhere, couldn't she? It's easy to point out others' mistakes, but it takes a lot of courage to admit our own mistakes. And Jenny did exactly that. We should be proud of her. Tell me, children. Isn't Jenny a good girl and your friend? Hasn't she always been a hardworking student and a good classmate who always helps all of you?
— Yes, ma'am! Jenny is always nice to everyone. She's kind, friendly, and hardworking.
— Yes, ma'am. Jenny is always nice to everyone. She's kind, friendly, and hardworking.
— And Monica, you adore your pencil. But that doesn't mean you have to panic like that if it gets lost. How could you think someone in your class stole it?
— I'm sorry, ma'am. It's my fault Jenny got scared. Anyone would have been scared if they thought they'd be called a thief just for playing a joke. I'm sorry, Jenny. I apologize to everyone.
— We're sorry, Jenny! You're very brave. Sorry, Jenny!
The Moral of the Story
Only courageous people are capable of accepting their mistakes and telling the truth. Remember: honesty is always the best choice.
