Theme: Example

The example is worth more

Thais was playing in her room when her little brother Peter appeared at her door.

– Thais, can you get the chocolate for me?

Thais knew there still was some chocolate in the kitchen cupboard, but she didn't want to share it with her brother.

– There's no more chocolate, Peter. It's all over - she lied.

- There is chocolate, yes - he replied, annoyed. – I saw when Mom put it back.

Thais was irritated by her brother's insistence, and shouted:

- Go away! There's no chocolate and even if there was, Mom wouldn't let you eat it now and I won't help you!

Peter also left screaming, complaining about the words of Thais, and went to the kitchen. He was going to get the sweet himself. He dragged a chair over, climbed up and finally achieved what he wanted so badly. Happy, he ate all that was left of the chocolate.

Afterwards, he left satisfied to play with his toys in the living room.

The mother arrived soon after. There was no one in the kitchen, but she found the chair leaning against the cupboard, the empty chocolate paper, and lots of crumbs on the floor. Going to meet Peter, she asked:

– Son, did you eat more chocolate without Mom letting you?

- No, Mom - he lied.

The mother was already getting ready to have a conversation with Peter, when the gardener appeared at the door, worried, saying:

– Miss Cristiana, I went to move a stone and found a scorpion under it. I'm warning you because his sting is very dangerous.

– My God, what a danger! Even more for Peter, who is still little. We need to pick it up and take it to the city's surveillance service. They need to know where scorpions appear to control neighborhoods.

The two went out into the garden to see the scorpion. Little Peter went too. The curious boy wanted to know what was going on, so he went after them. Even Thais, who managed to hear the conversation, came running to check the news.

Mrs. Cristiana found a glass pot and the gardener, very carefully with a stick, placed the scorpion inside. The glass was then tightly closed with the lid.

After the danger had passed, Mrs. Cristiana, still worried, called her children and said:

– Take a good look at this little animal in the glass. If you find one like this here in the garden or even indoors, don't touch it. Get Mom or some adult right away, okay?

And to make sure her son understood, she asked:

– Peter, so, what do you have to do if you find a scorpion?

- Take a stick and put the animal in a pot - replied the boy.

– No, no, darling! Pay attention, you shouldn't try to catch him, okay? Must call Mom.

Thais, who was at their side and following the conversation, was surprised by his brother's response. She recalled that her mother always asked her to be careful with her attitude towards her younger brother. She talked about how examples influences people, especially children.

Now she realized it was true. Little Peter had kept the gardener's actions more than his mother's words.

Thais was thoughtful about that event and started to give importance to the value of the example.

After that day, every time she felt like screaming, lying, hitting or doing wrong things, she wondered if that was what she wanted other people to do too.

Thais had learned that example is worth more than words.

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