If you buy a child a piece of candy...

Someone once told me, "If you let someone borrow something, make sure that you'll be okay with it if he/she never returns it." Of course, I, being the amazingly skilled decision-maker that I am, chose not to think too much of this advice at the time. And as all stories that begin with a moral go, I learned my lesson the hard way.

It was on a slightly cloudy Monday afternoon. I was volunteering at the middle school when a group of three little boys came up and asked me if they could each have a piece of candy. Now, let me say first of all that I am usually very much immune to wheedling and the like, and second of all that the candy I had was supposed to be sold for no less than a dollar a piece, mister.

But can you blame me for cracking under the weight of the expectation in those children's eyes? When one of them beseechingly said, "I didn't have lunch today," I sighed and reluctantly allowed each of them one piece of candy, thus eliciting seemingly earnest promises to pay me back just as soon as possible. The kids then proceeded to inhale the chocolate bars in the span of fifteen seconds and then bounce around in a state of sugar-induced enthusiasm for the next hour.

As you can guess from the quote that began this post, I didn't get the money back the next time I saw them. In fact, I still don't have the money back today, almost two weeks later. Heck, I've come to terms with the fact that I'll probably never get the money back.

In the end, I lost three dollars and some faith in the honesty of children, but I've decided to consider that the price of the lesson learned. What lesson, you ask? Why, simply this:

"If you give a mouse a cookie, you can write a fun and whimsical book about it. If you buy a child a piece of candy, not so much."