The naughty boy

Sri Chinmoy: Now I want to tell you about a naughty boy. You are all very nice, good children, but this particular boy was very naughty. Every day after school he used to go to a park and play for hours with his friends. The park was only ten minutes away from his house and he knew it quite well.

One day, after playing in the park, all his friends left and went home. But he did not want to go home. He just stayed in the park and started crying and crying. A policeman saw him and said, “What is the matter?”

The boy said, “I don’t know.”

The policeman said, “How did you come here?”

The boy said, “With my friends,” which was a lie.

The policeman said, “Do you know where you live?”

The boy said, “I don’t know.”

The policeman said, “What are your parents’ names?”

The boy told his parents’ names correctly, so the policeman got the address and brought him home in his car.

The boy’s mother gave the policeman some gifts because he was so kind to her son. After the policeman left, she asked her son, “How is it that you didn’t come back home by yourself? Every day you go to and from the park and you know the way well. You went all by yourself. You could easily have come back alone. For the last two years you have been coming back by yourself. What is wrong with you today?”

The boy said, “I was very tired. I didn’t want to walk home. So I cried and told the policeman that I didn’t know the way.”

So, are you going to be that kind of naughty child? If you go to a park and do not want to come back with your friends, will you be sincere and tell the police that you are tired, exhausted, or will you cry and lie to the police so that you can get a ride? Will you fool the police or will you be sincere enough to tell the police that on that particular day you are tired and you need a ride? Which will you do?

[All the children say they will tell the truth.]

Sri Chinmoy: Very good, very good. I am happy to hear that. Always tell the truth to the police.