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The Birthday Lie

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The Birthday Lie

By Ellen

It was the summer of 1955. The little girl I write about was 5 years old. She was a cheerful little child who went to kindergarten each day. She was also a cute one, but with a tendency to lie.
	One day while eating breakfast, the kindergarten teacher said, “Hi kids, today is an important day because we celebrate the birthday of three of you. Manuela and Thomas, you are two of them, but who is the third child? I don’t know, I have forgotten. Sorry, but… who is it?”
A little finger went in the air and a little voice whispered, ”Here I am.” “Oh, it’s you. Come here, sit down next to the other two.” The table decorations were fantastic and lots of candles shone around them. It was a wonderful birthday celebration. All the kids sang songs and played games together, but these special kids were the center of attention. What a feeling! After siesta, all kids played in the big playground until their parents picked them up. At 5:00 pm, the parents of that little child arrived. The kindergarten teacher said, “It is very nice to pick up your daughter on her birthday. She enjoyed the day so much.” “Whose birthday?” the mother asked. “Well, your little girl’s,” the teacher said. “It isn’t my daughter’s birthday today, her birthday is in April, you should know that,” the mother answered. “Oh, my goodness, what have I done?” Normally a teacher should know all the birthdays of the children she cares for. Actually, it was a nice evening, still a little sunny. The parents had wanted to go for a walk around the small lake, which was located right in the middle of that small town. But ….this evening was completely ruined. Mom and Dad were very annoyed, and the child was sad. At home, Mom asked, ”Why did you lie? Please explain.” Tears ran down the face of that little girl while she said, “Mom, please don’t be cross with me anymore. All birthday children got a wonderful present, a present I really wished to have.” “What present, Child?”, Dad asked. “Sandbox toys,” she whispered through her tears. “What do you want with sandbox toys? We don’t have a garden, we don’t have a sandbox.” Mom said. The child answered, ”I know, but it was so nice.” That evening the girl had to go to bed very early, because of that lie. The moral of the story is, nothing, absolutely nothing is worth lying for.