Wally and Marty were two boys who lived in the same, small town. Marty came from a poorer family. His clothes didn't look as nice, his shoes always seemed to be worn out, he always looked a little dirty, and he was much too thin.
Wally was the opposite. He came from a wealthy family. He always had the newest clothes, he was proud of the way he took care of himself, and he showed no signs of not having enough to eat.
Wally did not like Marty. Wally seemed to go out of his way to make things more difficult for Marty. Wally would sometimes gather several other boys to call Marty names: Dumb, filthy pig. Can't your mama dress and feed you? Sometimes they might circle around Marty and kick more mud on him. Or at other times, especially when it was cold outside, as Marty was walking down the street, some of them hid behind a bush or around a corner and then they would throw buckets of water on him, and they would run away shouting, "Just trying to help you get clean!"
One day, Wally came up with an idea to make Marty's life even more miserable. Later that day, as he saw Marty coming down the road, he went up to Marty. When Marty saw Wally coming towards him, he started to cross over to the other side of the road. But Wally called out, "Hey, Marty! I need to ask you something. Don't worry, no mud or water today."
Marty stopped, and still wary began to turn around to try to walk away. Wally called out again, "Don't worry. I won't do anything to you today. I swear on my mom's apple pie that nothing will happen."
Well, who can argue against a vow like that? So Marty stopped to find out what Wally wanted. Wally came up to Marty and said, "Marty, I'm sure you're tired of what some of us have been doing to you. So here's the deal. We'll stop and we'll even let you into our group. Just bring me one of the large candy bars with the chewy caramel inside. Old man Johnson has some in his store. I'll be waiting here tomorrow."
Marty looked at Wally in shock. Wally, seeing Marty hesitate, continued, "Honest, really. You can be a part of us. I just need something that shows me you really want to."
Marty thought about this offer. He really was tired of all the harassing, and he did want to be accepted. But how could he get the candy bar? He had no money… He said to Wally without looking at him, "Okay…"
Marty turned and slowly walked away. His feet led him to Johnson's Grocery, inside the doors, and then to the candy aisle. His eyes looked at the selection. In his life he's only tasted candy bars like these a handful of times, on special occasions. He could see the one Wally wanted him to get. It was large. If Marty had one of those, it would last him a year. He would just nibble a small bit at a time, carefully keeping the rest wrapped and savoring every nibble.
How could he afford to buy it? And then a thought entered his mind: Mr. Johnson didn't seem to be minding the store. Marty could just slip the candy bar into his pocket and walk out. His heart started to pound, his hands began to sweat and tremble. He had never done or even thought about stealing before. His mother had always told him that even though they were poor, they always lived honestly.
But Marty was so tired of being bullied and excluded. His thoughts turned back to all the times when he had dirt literally thrown at him. He thought of all the times he had been called names and other boys had laughed at him. He didn't want to be afraid of walking down the street. He wanted friends. And his resolve crumbled. He reached out and took the candy bar and quickly slipped it into his pocket.
Marty paused to look around and listen. He could see no sign of Mr. Johnson nor hear him in the store. Marty began to quietly walk towards the exit. As Marty began to exit the store, Wally and several other boys came running around the corner.
One of them grabbed Marty as Wally went in the store and shouted, "Mr. Johnson! Mr. Johnson! We caught someone stealing from your store!"
Mr. Johnson came running out to see what was going on. He saw Wally pointing to Marty. He saw Marty, face full of fear and his body trembling, being held by two other boys.
"Mr. Johnson," Wally began, "We saw this filthy dirtbag taking a candy bar out of your store without paying for it."
Mr. Johnson made no reply but looked at each of the boys in turn, starting with Wally and then looking at Marty. Marty turned to face the ground.
One of the other boys reached into Marty's pocket and pulled out the candy bar. "See? Here it is," he said.
Mr. Johnson could guess what had happened. He knew about Marty and his family. He knew how Marty was regularly bullied by Wally and his gang. He wondered how he should respond. Wally and the others were getting impatient. "Mr. Johnson, call the police," they insisted.
After a few minutes, Mr. Johnson turned to Wally and the boys. "Boys, this candy bar is paid for."
Wally and the boys looked at one another in shock and disbelief. "But," Wally began to protest.
Mr. Johnson cut Wally off, saying, "Wally. Am I going to have to have a talk with your father about what you've been doing? And the rest of your fathers, too?" Wally and the others quickly turned and ran out of the store and down the street.
Marty was left alone with Mr. Johnson. Marty turned to Mr. Johnson and in a trembling and sobbing voice said, "Mr. Johnson, I did steal this. How can you say it was paid for?"
Mr. Johnson gently took Marty by the shoulder, walked to the till and from his own pocket took out some money and placed it in the till. "See," he said, "It's paid for. Now go on home. Listen to your mother. Nothing is worth selling your honesty."
As Marty began to walk out the store, Mr. Johnson called out to Marty. "Oh, Marty. One more thing. Your mother doesn't like to ask for help. Ask her if she'll let you work here, at my store. I could use a couple hours of help each afternoon."
Marty turned around, surprise and disbelief painted across his face. His mouth was wide open. He could see Mr. Johnson smiling and nodding. "Go on," he added encouragingly. "I'm offering you a job so you can help your mother out. But don't let her know that, or she might not let you work."
Marty ran back to Mr. Johnson. "I'm sorry, Mr. Johnson, for stealing the candy bar. And thank you!" And then he raced back home.
I thought about adding lessons/morals to be drawn from this story at the end but decided against it. It is left as an exercise for the reader/hearer to draw their own lessons.
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