One Halloween long ago, in a small town in the middle of nowhere, a boy went out with his friends…
The boy, of course, did a bit more tricking than treating on that night.
As he returned home after a long night of mischievous activities, he was confronted by his father.
“Were you out tipping outhouses? Because our outhouse got tipped over earlier this night,” his father said.
“Of course not dad, why would I do such a thing?” he replied.
“Son, did you ever hear the story of our great president George Washington and the cherry tree?” the father asked.
“No, I haven’t” was the reply.
“Well, it goes like this: one day George Washington was out and he decided to chop down his family’s cherry tree.
Upon discovering this, his father asked him if he had done this. President Washington was transparent with his father and admitted to cutting down the tree.
Because of his honesty, his father did not punish him.
Now that you’ve heard what our first president did, is there anything you’d like to say to me?” the father asked.
“Well, I suppose I’ll tell you that I did tip over the outhouses with my friends,” the boy admitted.
He was then severely punished by his father for tipping the outhouses.
“Hey, why are you punishing me, I thought you said I would go unpunished if I was honest like George Washington!” the boy exclaimed.
“Well Washington’s father wasn’t in the tree when he chopped it down!”
