One night after we set up camp, (when Carter and I traveled beyond Dead Forest) Carter told me a story about a boy he met at summer camp. This story was not included in the book about our adventures, but it is a story that should be shared. I think about it sometimes, and it reminds me how important it is to tell the truth. This is what happened.
***
Trevor Hays, along with several boys from his cabin, went to the swimming pond right after first day orientation at the Dusty Hills Summer Camp. Even though the counselors emphasized that throwing rocks anywhere on the campgrounds was forbidden, the boys decided to have a rock-skimming contest.
Soon after the start of the contest, a counselor approached them. All the boys, except for Trevor, saw him and ran. Trevor was so focused on skimming a rock better than anyone else, that he did not realize the counselor was right behind him watching him. He threw a flat rock that skipped eight times, and he shouted, “Did you see that one?” He turned around excitedly only to discover that he was alone with the camp counselor. The boy immediately said, “I didn’t throw any rocks.”
“Who said you did?” the counselor asked.
Trevor shrugged and looked down at the ground.
“Trevor, did you know that it is very dangerous to lie?” The counselor put a gentle hand on the boys shoulder.
The nine-year-old boy looked up into the counselor’s eyes and said, “I’m not lying. I was just pretending to throw the rocks into the pond. I didn’t really throw any. The other boys were doing it, not me.”
The counselor ignored this and said, “The problem with lying is that people stop believing you, even when you tell them the truth. There will come a time when you will need someone to believe you, but even though you are telling the truth, you will not be able to convince them.”
Trevor insisted, “I’m not lying.”
The counselor looked at the boy with a sad expression and said, “Okay son, go get washed up for lunch.”
Trevor figured that the counselor knew that he was lying, but he was afraid that he would get into trouble if he admitted the truth.
He ran into his cabin. Each cabin had enough bunk beds for twenty boys. Feeling relieved that he did not get into trouble, Trevor playfully banged the bedposts as he walked by them. One of the beds he hit was Big Burt’s. Burt was on the top bunk and had just taken off his new digital watch and laid it on his bed. When Trevor hit the bedpost, the watch fell onto the floor and shattered. Burt yelled, “Who hit my bed? Someone hit my bed and knocked my new watch on the floor. My grandmother gave me that watch for my birthday! Who did it?” he demanded, looking at each kid in the room.
Trevor figured that if one of the boys had seen him hit Burt’s bed, he would have told on him by now. Since no one said anything, Trevor said, “It wasn’t me, but I saw Leon Lipzer kick the bottom of your mattress.”
Burt jumped down ready to grab Leon and take him outside to teach him to be more careful, but when he looked in the bottom bunk, Leon was not there. Just then, Leon came walking out of the bathroom and saw everyone standing around his bed. “Hey, why’s everyone around my bunk?”
Burt asked Leon, “How long have you been in the bathroom?”
The confused boy shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe ten minutes. I was feeling a little carsick from the ride up here, so I thought I would stay in the bathroom until I was feeling better. I didn’t want to hurl in the cabin and stink up the place.”
All eyes turned to Trevor. Bert was furious. “It was you wasn’t it Hays? You hit the bed and tried to blame it on Leon. What kind of a liar are you?”
“It wasn’t me, honest. I didn’t even touch the beds when I came in here.”
Two boys who had bunk beds by the door said, “That’s not true, Burt. Hays hit our beds when he came in the cabin. We can’t see your bunk from where we are, but he might have hit your bed too.”
Burt said, “I think you did it, Hays. You lied about not hitting any of the beds. You lied about Leon kicking my mattress. I know you did it, but since I can’t prove it, I’m not going to pound you.”
Trevor felt relieved that Burt was not going to hurt him, but he did feel bad that Burt’s watch was broken. Trevor was starting to think that he needed to do something to get the heat and attention off himself. Everyone was starting to think that he was a lying creep, so he cooked up a plan. He decided that when everyone was taking their showers before bed, he would take some money out of a couple of the guy’s packs and put it in Leon’s pack. Trevor didn’t feel too bad about setting up Leon. He didn’t like him. Leon wore thick glasses and had bushy black hair. Trevor thought that Leon was a geek, and it didn’t matter what he did to him.
That night, Trevor made sure he was the first one done showering. He hurried back to the cabin and went through the packs closest to Leon’s bed. He found about twenty dollars in each pack, and put the money into Leon’s pack.
Later, while everyone was getting ready for bed, one of the guys yelled, “Who took my money?” Then another yelled, “Somebody took my money too!”
Everybody looked right at Trevor. “What? Why is everyone looking at me? I didn’t take anything. Why don’t you look in Leon’s pack?”
Burt said, “What’s with you and Leon? This is the second time you have tried to blame him for something.”
“Just look in his pack,” Trevor insisted.
Leon said, “It’s okay; I’ll look.” He opened his pack, rooted around his things. “Nothing but the fifteen dollars I brought.”
Trevor shouted, “You’re lying. Someone check his stuff; look in the red money pouch under his socks.”
Leon asked Trevor, “How would you know I had a red money pouch under my socks unless you were in my pack?”
Everyone turned back to Trevor. “Uh…oh yeah…I saw it earlier when you were going through your stuff.”
“I haven’t unpacked my stuff yet, and I never took my red money pouch out of my pack. No one knows about it, except me and someone who put stolen money in it to make it look like I took it.”
Trevor clammed up. “That does it Hays,” said Big Burt. “You’re a lying creep, and we don’t want to have anything to do with you.” After that, no one would play with or even talk to Trevor unless they had to.
During free times when everyone was allowed to play and do what they wanted, Trevor would walk out into the forest behind the swimming pond. He would sit and think about how everyone was being mean to him. On one of these trips he heard someone walking behind him. He turned hoping to see one of the boys from his cabin coming to play with him. Instead, he saw a little dog with floppy ears, a long nose, and short, brown on white spotted fur. It was a happy, energetic animal with a long tail that never stopped wagging.
Trevor called to the dog, and it ran to him. Trevor petted and loved on the friendly animal. “What’s your name boy? I think I’ll call you Buddy because you’re my buddy. Yeah, you’re my buddy aren’t you boy? You’re the only friend I have at this awful place,” the lonely boy said as he loved on the dog. They played for a long time. Buddy fetched sticks; they chased each other, and even played catch with a pinecone.
Trevor was feeling better now that he had someone to play with. He told his friend everything that was happening to him. He told him that the other kids were mean to him and hated him for no reason at all. The dog just listened, licked Trevor’s hand, and then rested his head in the boy’s lap.
Time was getting late when Trevor said, “Come on and let’s play a little more before I have to leave for dinner.” Buddy jumped up and started running into the forest. Trevor shouted, “I’m going to get you; you better run.” Laughing he chased after Buddy. Then something unexpected happened. Trevor heard a loud yelp, and then he heard the dog crying in pain.
“Oh no!” the boy yelled. “Are you hurt? Where are you boy? I’m coming! I’m coming!” He followed the cries and found Buddy in a deep pit. Someone had dug a hole and covered it with branches and leaves. When the dog run onto the covering it collapsed, and he fell. Trevor could see that Buddy was badly hurt. He was bleeding, and it looked like one of his legs was broken. It was too deep for the boy to climb down to the dog, so he said, “Don’t worry boy; I’ll get help.”
Trevor ran as fast as he could back to camp. He ran up to the children who were waiting in line for dinner. He told them about the dog falling into the pit, but the kids just laughed at him. “Get in line Hays. We don’t want to hear any more of your lies.”
“It’s true; I’m telling the truth. Buddy will die if you don’t help me.”
Leon heard what Trevor was saying and responded with, “Shut up liar, no one believes you. You just want to trick us into the forest so you can get first in line.”
“He’s going to die, you stupid people! Why won’t anyone believe me?” He was crying now in frustration. He ran to the office to see if he could find a counselor because he knew a counselor would help. Trevor found the man who had caught him throwing rocks in the pond.
“Hi Trevor, why aren’t you in line for dinner?” Trevor told the counselor about the dog and begged him to come and save him. The counselor shook his head sadly and said, “That is some story, Trevor. Son, as I told you at the pond, someday your lies are going to catch up with you. Now run along and get in the dinner line.”
Before Trevor could say anything else, the office phone rang and the counselor answered it. He said to Trevor, “I have to take this call. Run along and no more lying.”
Trevor felt like he was in a nightmare. His only friend at camp was dying, and he could do nothing to save him. He ran into the cafeteria and begged, “Please, please won’t anyone believe me? I’m telling the truth. I lied before, but now I’m telling the truth. There is a dog in a pit trap, he is bleeding, and I think one of his legs is broken. Please, someone help me save him.”
Trevor had told too many lies and had done too many dishonest things. No one trusted him. They started throwing food at him and yelled, “Sit down and shut up, Hays.”
Trevor ran out of the cafeteria and went back to the pit. The dog was no longer moving or making any sounds. The boy sat on the edge of the pit and cried. “Those people are horrible. They won’t even help a little dog. I hate them!”
It was dark now, and Trevor heard a councilor call his name. “I’m over here; please help me!”
The counselor arrived with a flashlight. He pointed the light down at the dog, and he could see that it was dead. “Trevor, I am sorry about the dog.”
“It’s their fault. It’s your fault. No one would help me,” Trevor said bitterly, and then wiped his nose on his sleeve.
The counselor sat beside Trevor and put his arm around his shoulders. “Trevor, do you remember what happened the first day of camp when you were throwing rocks in the swimming pond? Do you remember me telling you what would happen if you continued to lie? I’m not saying you are responsible for the dog’s death. He was too badly hurt. But the reason nobody believes you is because you made it impossible for people to trust you. That’s what I meant when I said it’s dangerous to lie.”
***
We do not know what happened to Trevor after camp. I just hope that he understands now why being truthful is so important.
***
Trevor Hays, along with several boys from his cabin, went to the swimming pond right after first day orientation at the Dusty Hills Summer Camp. Even though the counselors emphasized that throwing rocks anywhere on the campgrounds was forbidden, the boys decided to have a rock-skimming contest.
Soon after the start of the contest, a counselor approached them. All the boys, except for Trevor, saw him and ran. Trevor was so focused on skimming a rock better than anyone else, that he did not realize the counselor was right behind him watching him. He threw a flat rock that skipped eight times, and he shouted, “Did you see that one?” He turned around excitedly only to discover that he was alone with the camp counselor. The boy immediately said, “I didn’t throw any rocks.”
“Who said you did?” the counselor asked.
Trevor shrugged and looked down at the ground.
“Trevor, did you know that it is very dangerous to lie?” The counselor put a gentle hand on the boys shoulder.
The nine-year-old boy looked up into the counselor’s eyes and said, “I’m not lying. I was just pretending to throw the rocks into the pond. I didn’t really throw any. The other boys were doing it, not me.”
The counselor ignored this and said, “The problem with lying is that people stop believing you, even when you tell them the truth. There will come a time when you will need someone to believe you, but even though you are telling the truth, you will not be able to convince them.”
Trevor insisted, “I’m not lying.”
The counselor looked at the boy with a sad expression and said, “Okay son, go get washed up for lunch.”
Trevor figured that the counselor knew that he was lying, but he was afraid that he would get into trouble if he admitted the truth.
He ran into his cabin. Each cabin had enough bunk beds for twenty boys. Feeling relieved that he did not get into trouble, Trevor playfully banged the bedposts as he walked by them. One of the beds he hit was Big Burt’s. Burt was on the top bunk and had just taken off his new digital watch and laid it on his bed. When Trevor hit the bedpost, the watch fell onto the floor and shattered. Burt yelled, “Who hit my bed? Someone hit my bed and knocked my new watch on the floor. My grandmother gave me that watch for my birthday! Who did it?” he demanded, looking at each kid in the room.
Trevor figured that if one of the boys had seen him hit Burt’s bed, he would have told on him by now. Since no one said anything, Trevor said, “It wasn’t me, but I saw Leon Lipzer kick the bottom of your mattress.”
Burt jumped down ready to grab Leon and take him outside to teach him to be more careful, but when he looked in the bottom bunk, Leon was not there. Just then, Leon came walking out of the bathroom and saw everyone standing around his bed. “Hey, why’s everyone around my bunk?”
Burt asked Leon, “How long have you been in the bathroom?”
The confused boy shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe ten minutes. I was feeling a little carsick from the ride up here, so I thought I would stay in the bathroom until I was feeling better. I didn’t want to hurl in the cabin and stink up the place.”
All eyes turned to Trevor. Bert was furious. “It was you wasn’t it Hays? You hit the bed and tried to blame it on Leon. What kind of a liar are you?”
“It wasn’t me, honest. I didn’t even touch the beds when I came in here.”
Two boys who had bunk beds by the door said, “That’s not true, Burt. Hays hit our beds when he came in the cabin. We can’t see your bunk from where we are, but he might have hit your bed too.”
Burt said, “I think you did it, Hays. You lied about not hitting any of the beds. You lied about Leon kicking my mattress. I know you did it, but since I can’t prove it, I’m not going to pound you.”
Trevor felt relieved that Burt was not going to hurt him, but he did feel bad that Burt’s watch was broken. Trevor was starting to think that he needed to do something to get the heat and attention off himself. Everyone was starting to think that he was a lying creep, so he cooked up a plan. He decided that when everyone was taking their showers before bed, he would take some money out of a couple of the guy’s packs and put it in Leon’s pack. Trevor didn’t feel too bad about setting up Leon. He didn’t like him. Leon wore thick glasses and had bushy black hair. Trevor thought that Leon was a geek, and it didn’t matter what he did to him.
That night, Trevor made sure he was the first one done showering. He hurried back to the cabin and went through the packs closest to Leon’s bed. He found about twenty dollars in each pack, and put the money into Leon’s pack.
Later, while everyone was getting ready for bed, one of the guys yelled, “Who took my money?” Then another yelled, “Somebody took my money too!”
Everybody looked right at Trevor. “What? Why is everyone looking at me? I didn’t take anything. Why don’t you look in Leon’s pack?”
Burt said, “What’s with you and Leon? This is the second time you have tried to blame him for something.”
“Just look in his pack,” Trevor insisted.
Leon said, “It’s okay; I’ll look.” He opened his pack, rooted around his things. “Nothing but the fifteen dollars I brought.”
Trevor shouted, “You’re lying. Someone check his stuff; look in the red money pouch under his socks.”
Leon asked Trevor, “How would you know I had a red money pouch under my socks unless you were in my pack?”
Everyone turned back to Trevor. “Uh…oh yeah…I saw it earlier when you were going through your stuff.”
“I haven’t unpacked my stuff yet, and I never took my red money pouch out of my pack. No one knows about it, except me and someone who put stolen money in it to make it look like I took it.”
Trevor clammed up. “That does it Hays,” said Big Burt. “You’re a lying creep, and we don’t want to have anything to do with you.” After that, no one would play with or even talk to Trevor unless they had to.
During free times when everyone was allowed to play and do what they wanted, Trevor would walk out into the forest behind the swimming pond. He would sit and think about how everyone was being mean to him. On one of these trips he heard someone walking behind him. He turned hoping to see one of the boys from his cabin coming to play with him. Instead, he saw a little dog with floppy ears, a long nose, and short, brown on white spotted fur. It was a happy, energetic animal with a long tail that never stopped wagging.
Trevor called to the dog, and it ran to him. Trevor petted and loved on the friendly animal. “What’s your name boy? I think I’ll call you Buddy because you’re my buddy. Yeah, you’re my buddy aren’t you boy? You’re the only friend I have at this awful place,” the lonely boy said as he loved on the dog. They played for a long time. Buddy fetched sticks; they chased each other, and even played catch with a pinecone.
Trevor was feeling better now that he had someone to play with. He told his friend everything that was happening to him. He told him that the other kids were mean to him and hated him for no reason at all. The dog just listened, licked Trevor’s hand, and then rested his head in the boy’s lap.
Time was getting late when Trevor said, “Come on and let’s play a little more before I have to leave for dinner.” Buddy jumped up and started running into the forest. Trevor shouted, “I’m going to get you; you better run.” Laughing he chased after Buddy. Then something unexpected happened. Trevor heard a loud yelp, and then he heard the dog crying in pain.
“Oh no!” the boy yelled. “Are you hurt? Where are you boy? I’m coming! I’m coming!” He followed the cries and found Buddy in a deep pit. Someone had dug a hole and covered it with branches and leaves. When the dog run onto the covering it collapsed, and he fell. Trevor could see that Buddy was badly hurt. He was bleeding, and it looked like one of his legs was broken. It was too deep for the boy to climb down to the dog, so he said, “Don’t worry boy; I’ll get help.”
Trevor ran as fast as he could back to camp. He ran up to the children who were waiting in line for dinner. He told them about the dog falling into the pit, but the kids just laughed at him. “Get in line Hays. We don’t want to hear any more of your lies.”
“It’s true; I’m telling the truth. Buddy will die if you don’t help me.”
Leon heard what Trevor was saying and responded with, “Shut up liar, no one believes you. You just want to trick us into the forest so you can get first in line.”
“He’s going to die, you stupid people! Why won’t anyone believe me?” He was crying now in frustration. He ran to the office to see if he could find a counselor because he knew a counselor would help. Trevor found the man who had caught him throwing rocks in the pond.
“Hi Trevor, why aren’t you in line for dinner?” Trevor told the counselor about the dog and begged him to come and save him. The counselor shook his head sadly and said, “That is some story, Trevor. Son, as I told you at the pond, someday your lies are going to catch up with you. Now run along and get in the dinner line.”
Before Trevor could say anything else, the office phone rang and the counselor answered it. He said to Trevor, “I have to take this call. Run along and no more lying.”
Trevor felt like he was in a nightmare. His only friend at camp was dying, and he could do nothing to save him. He ran into the cafeteria and begged, “Please, please won’t anyone believe me? I’m telling the truth. I lied before, but now I’m telling the truth. There is a dog in a pit trap, he is bleeding, and I think one of his legs is broken. Please, someone help me save him.”
Trevor had told too many lies and had done too many dishonest things. No one trusted him. They started throwing food at him and yelled, “Sit down and shut up, Hays.”
Trevor ran out of the cafeteria and went back to the pit. The dog was no longer moving or making any sounds. The boy sat on the edge of the pit and cried. “Those people are horrible. They won’t even help a little dog. I hate them!”
It was dark now, and Trevor heard a councilor call his name. “I’m over here; please help me!”
The counselor arrived with a flashlight. He pointed the light down at the dog, and he could see that it was dead. “Trevor, I am sorry about the dog.”
“It’s their fault. It’s your fault. No one would help me,” Trevor said bitterly, and then wiped his nose on his sleeve.
The counselor sat beside Trevor and put his arm around his shoulders. “Trevor, do you remember what happened the first day of camp when you were throwing rocks in the swimming pond? Do you remember me telling you what would happen if you continued to lie? I’m not saying you are responsible for the dog’s death. He was too badly hurt. But the reason nobody believes you is because you made it impossible for people to trust you. That’s what I meant when I said it’s dangerous to lie.”
***
We do not know what happened to Trevor after camp. I just hope that he understands now why being truthful is so important.
Good lesson Stephen!
ReplyDeleteJust like Aesop's Fable of The Boy Who Cried Wolf, "A liar will not be believed even when he speaks the truth."
ReplyDelete