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Once upon a time
there was a
group of
children who
were returning
home from school,
walking around
and laughing
together. One of
the boys
suddenly said:
— Hey, stop
please! We are
now near the
house where
there is a
jaboticaba
tree.
The group kept
quiet and got
near by the
house where
there was this
beautiful tree
of the myrtle
family,
cultivated in
warm regions for
its edible
usually purplish
fruit... The
fruit looked
quite delicious
and ready to be
eaten...
Two boys from
the group
decided to jump
the fence and
get some fruit
from the tree.
They were soon
followed by the
others. They
began to get the
fruit but heard
noise coming
from inside the
house.
— Who is there?
— a woman
shouted.
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They grabbed
their bags,
laughed quietly
and started to
run away from
the house. They
ran until they
found a safe
spot where they
sat down at the
pavement and
laughed together
at what just
happened.
As soon as he
got home,
Juliano told his
mom
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what they
did. He then
took two
beautiful
jaboticabas from
his bag and
offered them to
her: |
— Try mom. They
are delicious! I
am sure you will
love it!
She looked at
him quite
seriously and
asked:
— Juliano, my
son, do you
really think
it’s right what
you have just
done?
The boy then
thought for a
moment and said:
— We were just
kidding, mom!
Everyone does
that!...
— Everyone does
that??? You have
stolen something
from someone’s
house. These
fruit could have
been easily
bought at our
local
supermarket, my
son! Do you
think it’s right
to steal
something? Is
this what your
dad and I taught
you?
The boy looked
down and
regretted his
behaviour. He
recognised his
mom was right
and promised
never to do that
again.
— Very well,
Juliano. I am
very glad to see
you want to do
the right things
from now on.
On the following
day, he had
already
completely
forgotten about
the jabuticabas.
Therefore, he
would avoid
returning home
from school with
the group of
boys, as his mom
suggested to him.
Three days
passed by and
once again
Juliano was
standing in
front of the
tree. He then
saw the amount
of fruit that
was available
there.... They
looked so juicy
he felt tempted
to get one....
He thought for a
while and....
He decided to
risk it. “No one
will see me
grabbing the
fruit from the
tree! It won’t
make a
difference
anyway since
there are so
many available
here!” — he
thought to
himself.
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He didn’t even
question it. He
jumped the fence
and grabbed
jabuticabas.
Once he was
getting away
from the house,
he heard a voice
just behind
him:
— So, you are
the one stealing
my fruit? My son!
If you asked me
I would have
given you as
many fruit as
you wanted! I
could even give
you more:
oranges,
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mangos
and bananas! |
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He felt
extremely
ashamed of
himself. Juliano
didn’t even know
what to say to
the lady who was
standing right
in front of him...
— I am deeply
sorry, ma’am.
This will never
happen again. I
promise.
The lady looked
at him with
kindness and
invited him to
come into the
house:
— Come on in,
soon. You don’t
seem to be a bad
boy. I will give
you some fruit
to take home
with you. My
name is Dora.
How are you
called?
— Juliano.
She asked him to
come inside and
talked to him.
She showed him
her garden, her
parrot and her
dog. The talked
for a long time
and became
friends. Juliano
left Dora’s home
with lots of
different types
of fruit.
Once he got home,
he told his mom
what just
happened:
— You were right,
mom. I felt so
ashamed today I
will never ever
forget it. What
a lesson! There
was a good side
to what just
happened, though.
I met lady Dora,
who is a very
nice person! Oh!
She wants to
meet you, by the
way!
Juliano grew up,
but kept that
experience in
his mind. He
began to nurture
good actions
wherever he was;
he would always
value honesty
and truth in his
life.
Meimei
(Received by
Célia X. de
Camargo, in
20/9/2010.)
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