Winch enjoyed going to the park Saturday mornings, but he didn’t like hearing his older sister, Nance, complain about having to go with him.
“I have to leave for work! Everybody in the car in one minute!” shouted the mother.
“I need more time!” fussed Nance.
“We’re leaving now!” insisted the mother.
“OK! OK!” shouted Nance as she came into the kitchen in a huff.
“Winch and I have had cereal. Take some fruit, Nance,” ordered the mother as Winch waited at the front door.
Aggravated, Nance grabbed an orange from a bowl on the kitchen table.
After arriving at the park, Winch spotted a boy, Roney, he’d met the previous Saturday. Roney was scampering in a large playground fort that had ladders, slides and tunnels.
“I’m gonna play in the fort,” said Winch.
“First take and eat this, will ya?” asked Nance as she held out her orange.
“I don’t want sticky fingers,” said Winch.
“Worry about the sticky fingers of the kids you play with, not your own,” warned Nance.
“You mean they’re eating gooey food,” replied Winch.
“I mean they’re snatching things that belong to others. You heard me griping all week about having my phone stolen here last Saturday,” pointed out Nance as she folded her arms.
“So fingers are sticky because they stick to stuff that belongs to others,” understood Winch.
“I discovered my cell missing soon after I made a call while walking around. When I retraced my steps; it was nowhere to be found. I call that quickly sticky fingers!” complained Nance.
“The money in my pocket oughta be safe,” said Winch.
“You shouldn’t have brought money,” said Nance with a scowl.
“I thought treating you to an ice cream on the way home might show you I’m sorry your phone was taken,” replied Winch before heading for the fort.
“Having a phone taken is a big deal1” carried on Nance.
Glad to have a playmate, Winch waved as he approached Roney.
“Is your sister with you?” asked Roney as he waved back.
“Yeah, She’s still mad about losing her phone here last Saturday? I brought money to treat her on the way home, but I don’t think it’s going to help much,” said Winch.
The boys were soon enjoying a game of hide-and-seek. When it was Winch’s turn to hide, he crawled into one of the fort’s tunnels.
Sneaking up on Winch from behind him, Roney pounced. During the playful wrestling that followed, Winch felt fingers slip into his pants pocket.
Once the boys slid through a shoot to start a new game, Winch checked his pocket and found his money was gone! “Did you make seeing if you could take my money part of the game,” he anxiously asked, trying not to call Roney a thief.
“Uh-uh!” claimed Roney. “It must have fallen out. I’ll help you look for it,” he offered
Though Winch was sure of what he felt while they were tumbling in the tunnel, he didn’t want to call Roney a liar. I can’t prove the money didn’t fall out of my pocket, Winch told himself.
“You look inside the fort, and I’ll look on the ground under and outside of it,” said Roney.
After a short search, Winch gave up. “I don’t feel like playing anymore. I’m gonna have to tell my sister I can’t treat her because I lost the money.”
“Will I see you next Saturday?” asked Roney, sorry Winch was leaving.
“I guess so,” muttered Winch.
“I’m ready to go home,” moaned Winch as he approached Nance.
“So soon?” she asked.
Winch dropped his head. “I had my money stolen.”
“Who knew you had it besides me?” asked Nance.
“Roney—the boy I was playing with. He got his sticky fingers into my pocket while we were play-wrestling,” explained Winch.
“Take me to him!” demanded Nance.
“I can’t prove it was him,” said Winch.
“Don’t be a wuss!” snapped Nance.
“I just wanna to go home,” said Winch with his head hung.
“Is he bigger than you?” asked Nance.
“No, but he’s really good at lying,” answered Winch.
“That’s probably because he steals a lot. I bet he’s the one who took my phone. I bet his whole family steals,” accused Nance.
“Maybe they’re poor,” posed Winch.
Nance was stern. “That doesn’t make stealing OK!”
“Please don’t tell Mom,” pleaded Winch.
“She needs to know,” insisted Nance.
Winch was sure he didn’t want that to happen. “Promise you won’t tell Mom,” he again begged.
“We can’t just forget about it. We’ve gotta do something!” carried on Nance.
“OK, but I need time to think. I’ll do something next Saturday when I see him again.”
“If you don’t stand up for yourself next Saturday, I’m telling Mom,” threatened Nance.
Winch had trouble getting to sleep throughout the week that followed. The night before going to the park, he tossed and turned for close to an hour.
After getting dropped off at the park by their mother, Winch and Nance sat on a bench.
Maybe Roney won’t show up, privately wished Winch just before he spotted Roney heading for the fort.
“Isn’t that Roney?” asked Nance.
“Yeah,” weakly said Winch as he stood.
Nance was firm. “You have to learn to stand up for yourself, Winch. Just let him know you’re going to tell on him if he doesn’t return your money. Make sure you sound like you mean it,” she coached.
“I’ve got a plan. Please stay put!” pleaded Winch.
“OK, but don’t chicken out,” warned Nance.
Seeing Roney climb on to the fort, Winch trudged toward him.
Spotting Winch, Roney leaped to the ground, ready for fun. “You can hide first,” he offered.
“Before we play, I have something to give you,” said Winch as he pulled a few one-dollar bills from his pocket. “After thinking a lot, all I could guess is your family is poor. Four dollars is all I have left,” he awkwardly offered while lifting the money,” said Roney while putting hands on hips.
“My older brother says only those who don’t have the guts to steal take handouts,” said Roney while putting hands on hips.
He’s angry,, thought Winch, as he put the money back into his pocket.
“No way I’d take your lousy four bucks,” grumbled Roney.
I made things worse, Winch told himself, before making sure he understand what Roney had said. “You’re saying that, though stealing isn’t very nice, it’s better than charity, right?”
“Sort of,” mumbled Roney.
“How about getting money in a way that is very nice?” suggested Winch.
“Huh?” replied Roney.
“My next door neighbor is paying me 10 dollars to paint her backyard fence this afternoon. The job will take me at least four hours. If you’ll do a nice thing and work with me, it’ll take half the time. I’ll split the money with you.”
Roney was surprised. “You want me to work with you?”
Winch quickly answered. “I think you’re a nice person who’d be nicer if he was dared to be nicer. So, I dare you to help me.”
Roney’s shoulders sank and his head dropped as he shoved hands into pants pockets. No one had ever told him he was a nice person. “I’ll help you, if you’ll wait here while I get something from home,” answered Roney.
A short while later, Roney returned to the park. “Here’s your sister’s cell. I was going to sell it,” he revealed as he handed it to Winch. “My mom bought food with your five bucks. I’m going to pay you back with my half of the fence painting money.”
“And I’m treating us to ice cream when we’re done,” said Winch with a smile.
1. Why was or wasn’t Winch a wuss?
2. Should Nance have told her mother about the stolen money? Why or why not?
3. Why do you think Roney gave back the phone?
4. Why is telling others they’re nice sometimes helpful?
5. What keeps people from telling someone she or he is nice?