"Yes, I know but from now on we must encourage him to be truthful. Okay, guys?" Said Shaver.

"Si, amigo." Pedro mumbled under his breath as James was approaching.

The boys drew straws to see who was going to shoot first...it was Shaver. He drew back and slung the ball. It bounced off the roof, off the gutter and, believe it or not, in the hoop. Now, of course this was an accident but it was James' turn next and he had to make the same shot.

He hemmed and hawed a few minutes wiping his hands then pulling up his socks...anything to stall for time. Then, in disgust, he threw the ball down on the ground and said, "Ah...I'm not going to play basketball with you guys, it wouldn't be fair."

"But why, amigo?" Asked Pedro.

"I was the best basketball player in our whole school before we moved here." He boasted. "I'm probably the best basketball player in the world."

Shaver and the boys looked at one another kind of sadly. They knew that statement wasn't true. Shaver remembered what his mother had told him about trying to encourage him to tell the truth so he stood quietly for a moment trying to think of what to say. Then...

"James... Pedro, Bobby and I are your friends. We like playing with you very much and we will always play with you...no matter what." He said. "You don't have to try to impress us with tall tales about being the greatest ball player in the world. We...er...we know it isn't true. We know you lied to us but it wasn't necessary for you to. Do you understand what I mean?"

James' face turned red from embarrassment and he got really mad.

"I don't care if you believe me or not!" He hollered as he turned to run home.

"I am afraid we have lost a friend, amigo." Pedro said sadly.

"Maybe so, Pedro. I hope I said the right thing." He wondered.

"As soon as he gets over being mad he'll want to play with us again...don't you guys think so?" Bobby asked.

"I don't know Bobby...I hope so." Splinter said.

Nearly a week passed before the boys saw James again. They tried being friendly to him but to no avail. James was still mad.

James had been sitting around the house for days not wanting to go outside and play. This was unusual his mother thought but boys go through funny stages at this age.

"James," Mrs. Wilson said, "I must leave for awhile to go marketing. Your father was sent home from work early, he isn't feeling well. Would you mind listening for him while I'm gone? He may wake up wanting something and you can get it for him. Do you mind?"

"No Mother," he said, "I will take good care of him, don't worry."

As Mrs. Wilson was going down the front steps Shaver, Bobby and Pedro was coming up.

"Hi Mrs. Wilson," Shaver said, "we've come to visit James."

"He's in the house boys, please be quiet because Mr. Wilson is napping." She remarked to the lads.

"Hi James, we haven't seen you in a long time, want to play on the sand lot next to Mr. Mike's toy shop?" Shaver asked.

"I can't play with you today. My father is real sick and I have to take care of him." James answered.

"Okay, that's enough, James." Shaver frowned. "Your father is not sick, he's just taking a nap. Your mom already told us. Come on guys, I'm getting tired of these lies. Let's go."

"No wait, it's true...he is very sick. Come back." He nearly cried.

James' father awoke from the conversation the boys were having. He was perspiring badly, sick to his stomach and having a hard time breathing. Then out of the blue...Wham! Mr. Wilson grabbed his chest and fell to the floor.

"Go get help, James!" Mr. Wilson moaned with pain. "Hurry!"

James thought for a moment then realized he didn't know any adults except for Mr. Mike and Mrs. Hardy. He hadn't met any other grown ups since he moved here.

"Who will I get?" He worried. "Mr. Mike's toy shop is just around the corner, I'll get him."

James beat and beat on Mr. Mike's door. Nobody was home. Now what? What could he do? He ran down the street to Shaver's house screaming his name as he was running.

"Shaver, Shaver!" He cried.

"James...why what's the matter?" Shaver asked.

"My father...my father is very sick! He sent me to get help...where's your mother?" He questioned.

"Oh no you don't, James!" He remarked. "I'm not bothering my mother again. You told me before your mother was sick and it wasn't so. Mother rushed all the way over there to help, she's not a young woman anymore and I'm not putting her through that again so just for-get it!"

Hearing the boys quarreling, Mrs. Hardy stepped out on the porch.

"Here now, what kind of talk is all this among friends?" She asked.

"James is telling more lies, Mother. This time he said his father is sick. I told him we didn't believe him but he is still lying." Shaver said.

"James, is this really true? Is your father really sick?" Mrs. Hardy asked.

"Yes Mrs. Hardy, I promise." He pleaded.

"Very well, I'm trusting you to be telling the truth." She said.

"Shaver, you and the boys run over to Dr. Green's clinic, bring him to James' house and hurry!" She commanded.

"But Mother..." Shaver started.

"Now son...now!" She snapped.

Mrs. Hardy ran as fast as her tired old legs would carry her to the Wilson house. She was so out of breath she could hardly speak.

"Oh good heavens." She screamed when she saw Mr. Wilson lying on the floor.

"Mr. Wilson, Mr. Wilson...please Mr. Wilson, talk to me."

She raced in the bedroom and got a blanket to cover him up. Then, as she was looking around the room for a pillow for his head, Doctor Green and the boys came rushing in.

"Okay Mrs. Hardy, I'll take it from here." Dr. Green told her.

Quickly, he pulled out of his black bag an instrument called a stethoscope to listen to Mr. Wilson's heart. It was a funny looking thing that you stick in your ears to hear with. The other end goes on the chest of the sick person.

He listened for the longest time then he pulled out another funny looking instrument to take Mr. Wilson's blood pressure.

He wrapped what looked like a bandage around Mr. Wilson's arm. It had a long rubber hose with a bulb on the end of it that looked like a rubber ball.

He kept squeezing that little rubber ball while he put the stethoscope under the bandage. The boys were really scared. They didn't know what was happening and Mrs. Hardy looked awfully worried but then...

"This man had a heart attack, Mrs. Hardy." The doctor told her. "He's going to be okay now but if help hadn't come when it did...well, I hate to think what might have happened.

"He will have to go to the hospital for awhile, James, but he will be fine in no time. Mrs. Hardy, can you care for James until his mother returns?" He asked.

"Of course. Come boys, let's go home and let the doctor do what he must." She said.

All the boys were unusually quiet on the walk home. Mrs. Hardy was studying them, wondering what effect all this had on them.

"What are you youngsters so quiet for?" She asked. "Even Splinter is dragging his tail behind him. You heard Dr. Green, Mr. Wilson will be fine."

"Oh Mother," Shaver started, "I'm so ashamed for not believing James."

"Si Mrs. Hardy, I too am ashamed." Said Pedro as he hung his head.

"I didn't believe him either, Mrs. Hardy." Bobby said sadly.

James interrupted loudly. "No...no, you have no reason to feel badly guys, it's all my fault. I've told so many lies to so many people, it's no wonder you didn't believe me. If anything had happend to my father it would have been my fault."

"Well now," Mrs. Hardy said, "it is a wise man who can recognize his own faults, James. Now that you see how telling lies can actually hurt someone I know you will never tell another one."

"One more thing," she told Shaver and the boys, "you can never take for granted someone is telling a lie. In a situation like this one it would have been awful. I'm sure you all see that now, don't you?"

"Yes Mother." Answered Shaver.

"Si Mrs. Hardy." Nodded Pedro.

"Yes ma'am." Answered Bobby.

"Gruff...gruff." Barked Splinter.

Suddenly a butterfly landed on top of Splinter's rump and he began looking back trying to see it. In a flash, that wooden dog was running around and around and around in circles chasing his tail.

"Look at your silly dog, amigo." Said Pedro.

"Yeah, I see him. I guess some things never change." He answered.

The end

~Webrings~

~Index~