One day, a little boy named Sam was playing in the backyard when, during an intense pretend battle, he accidentally knocked over the outhouse.

Panicked, he ran into the woods, hiding until after dark. When he finally came home, his pappy was waiting for him with a suspicious look.

“Son, did you knock over the outhouse this afternoon?”

Sam gulped. “No, pappy,” he lied.

His father sighed and said, “Let me tell you a story, son.

A long time ago, young George Washington got a brand-new axe. Excited, he tested it out… and accidentally chopped down his mother’s favorite cherry tree. Realizing what he had done, he ran off, just like you.

When he came back, his father asked, ‘George, did you cut down the cherry tree?’

And do you know what he said? ‘Father, I cannot tell a lie. I did indeed chop down the tree.’

And because he was honest, his father forgave him and let him go without punishment.”

Pappy leaned in and asked again, “Now, son, did YOU knock down the outhouse?”

Sam took a deep breath and said, “Pappy, I cannot tell a lie. I did indeed knock down the outhouse.”

Then… Pappy tanned his hide red, white, and blue!

Through teary eyes, Sam cried, “But Pappy! George Washington’s father forgave him! Why did you spank me?”

Pappy shook his head and said, “Because, son, George Washington’s father wasn’t sitting in that cherry tree when he chopped it down!”