by Maritza Brunt
Jack was so excited. Tomorrow was his turn for show and tell at school! Jack had been looking forward to this for months, because he knew exactly what he was going to bring to show: the mini palaeontologists kit he’d gotten for his birthday.
It was a dinosaur lover’s dream, with a special lift-the-flap book, a chisel, brush, and best of all, a real life dinosaur bone. Well, Jack wasn’t 100% sure it was real… but it sure looked real! He couldn’t wait to show his class.
“Jack?” called his mum. “Time to come down now for the party!”
Jack carefully set his palaeontologist kit back on the dresser and raced out his bedroom door and down the stairs. Most Sunday afternoons were spent preparing for school the next day, but today was special, because his older brother Leo was having his birthday party.
Over the next few hours, Jack had a blast with Leo and his friends. They splashed in the pool and played volleyball with a net the boys’ dad had set up. There were games, and cake, and after all the guests had left, Leo settled down in the living room to open his presents.
One by one he opened them as Jack and his mum and dad looked on and made exclamations.
“Look at how cool that one is!” Dad said about a multicoloured soccer ball.
“You’ll have lots of fun building this one, Leo,” said Mum, as she picked up a Lego kit Leo had just opened.
Finally, Leo got to his last present. It was a very big box, and it looked heavy. Leo blew a breath out as he dragged it over to where he’d been sitting.
“This one is from Grandma and Grandpa,” he said, reading the card.
Right away, Jack began to feel something funny in his heart and tummy. Grandma and Grandpa didn’t get ME something that big, he thought. But he didn’t say anything out loud.
Leo ripped the wrapping paper away and gasped.
“Wow! Look at this model train! It’s incredible!” he cried, pushing the heavy box around so the family could see.
Jack’s eyes opened really wide. It was, by far, the coolest toy he’d ever seen! The train was made of metal with red and gold trim, with a black chimney and black and silver wheels. And best of all, it was battery powered, so it could run on the tracks that also came in the box.
Leo instantly pulled everything out. “Want to play, Jack?” he asked.
“Sure!” Jack replied.
The boys spent over an hour playing with the train, making it go around and around the tracks. Jack put some of their Lego people on as passengers, and together the boys built a little village to surround the train. When Mum called for dinner, Jack and Leo didn’t want to stop playing with the train, but they knew they’d better listen.
“It’s okay, Jack,” said Leo, as the boys packed up the train. “It lives here forever now, so we can play with it whenever we want!”
Jack watched as Leo took the train off to his room to put it away. That’s the best toy ever, he thought.
During dinner and bath time, Jack couldn’t stop thinking about Leo’s new train. As he was putting on his pyjamas, Jack looked at the palaeontologist kit on his dresser. Suddenly, he wasn’t as excited about taking it for show and tell tomorrow.
I wish I had Leo’s train, Jack thought. Then I’d be the coolest kid at show and tell for sure!
An idea slowly slithered into his mind. What if… I took Leo’s train for show and tell? Jack thought. I’d bring it back, of course…
Jack let the idea sit for a little bit. He liked the idea of showing off the train, but at the same time, he felt that funny feeling in his tummy again. Almost as if his body was trying to tell him something.
Pushing that funny feeling down, Jack rolled over and went to sleep.
The next morning, the funny feeling was back, but Jack pushed it away again. He waited until he and Leo had eaten breakfast, brushed their teeth, and put on their school uniforms before creeping across the hall to Leo’s room. Opening Leo’s door, Jack saw the beautiful train on the floor on its tracks. Jack took one step into the room when he heard Leo thundered back up the stairs. Quick as a flash, Jack scurried out of the room, closed the door, and back into his own room.
“I forgot my Math textbook!” called Leo, as he ran into his room.
Jack couldn’t speak. He was too nervous at nearly being caught.
“Jack! Leo! We need to go!” yelled Dad from downstairs.
“Coming!” Leo puffed, closing his door again, this time with his book in hand. He hurried back down the steps.
Jack took a deep breath. It was now or never. He grabbed his backpack, ran into Leo’s room, and stuffed the train and the tracks into his backpack as quick as he could. Struggling with his now very heavy backpack, Jack closed Leo’s door again and hustled down the steps.
Leo was already buckled into the car and Dad was waiting outside to strap Jack in. Taking Jack’s backpack, Dad looked surprise.
“Whoa! What are you taking to school today, buddy? Rocks?” he joked.
Jack laughed, but it sounded forced, even to him. The whole time he was thinking, Please don’t open the backpack, please don’t open the backpack.
The ride to school seemed to take ages. Leo chattered the whole way, excited about his day. Jack stayed quiet. As soon as they got to school, everything would be okay, and the funny feeling in his tummy would go away… he hoped.
Jack was right. As the school day started, the funny feeling got smaller and smaller until he barely noticed it. He was too busy playing with his friends. Then, it was show and tell time. When it was his turn, Jack carefully pulled the train and the tracks out and set them up. He explained to the class how the train worked, and all of the kids let out an excited noise when the train started to go around the tracks.
Well… nearly all the kids. Jack looked at his best friends, Alex and Emma. They were smiling, but the smile didn’t reach their eyes.
After show and tell was over, Alex and Emma came over to Jack and the train.
“Where was the palaeontologist kit?” asked Alex.
“Yeah,” said Emma. “I was really looking forward to seeing it!”
Jack felt those funny feelings in his tummy again.
“But look at this train!” he said to his friends. “Isn’t it the best?”
Alex and Emma looked at each other, and then looked at the train. They didn’t seem convinced.
Just then, their teacher called them outside for an activity. The rest of the day passed quickly, and soon, Jack was in the car on the way home.
When Jack and Leo came into the kitchen, their Mum was waiting for them with an afternoon snack.
“Thanks, Mum!” Jack exclaimed, sitting right down to eat.
“I’ll be back,” called Leo, dashing up the stairs.
Jack was munching on an apple when the family heard a wail from Leo’s room.
“Leo? What’s wrong?” Mum called anxiously.
Leo appeared at the bottom of the stairs, his face scared.
“My train!” he cried. “It’s gone!”
Jack froze in his seat. His heart nearly stopped, then started thumping so loudly he was sure his family could hear it.
Oh no! thought Jack. I left the train at school! How could I have forgotten? Now Leo is angry and sad, and it’s all my fault.
“Your train is gone?” Dad asked Leo.
“Yes!” cried Leo. He was really upset now. “It was on the floor this morning, I’m positive of it, and now it’s not!”
Dad was about to say something when Mum noticed Jack’s face.
“Jack?” she asked. “Do you know where Leo’s train is?”
Jack couldn’t speak. He felt like he had swallowed the entire apple whole and it was stuck in his throat.
Leo and Dad turned to look at Jack. With all of his family looking at him, Jack couldn’t take it anymore. He jumped up from the table and ran upstairs, all the way to his room, and shut the door. Then he threw himself on his bed and cried into his pillow.
Soon there was a soft knock at the door, and Dad poked his head in the door.
“Jack, I think we need to talk,” he said.
Jack nodded, and Dad sat down at the end of the bed.
“Did you take Leo’s train set?” Dad asked.
Jack nodded again.
“Why?” Dad asked.
So Jack told his Dad everything. How he’d seen the train set when Leo opened it, and thought it would much more impressive for show and tell than his little palaeontologist kit.
“So you took it… without asking Leo,” Dad finished up.
“Yes,” Jack whispered. He felt awful, but, he noticed, the funny feeling in his tummy wasn’t there anymore.
Dad shook his head.
“Jack, it isn’t right to take someone’s things without them knowing, or without them saying you can have it,” Dad said. “That’s called stealing.”
Jack’s eyes opened really wide.
“I’ve heard that word in Bible class at school!” he said.
“That’s right,” Dad said. “That’s because it’s part of the Ten Commandments, which you’re learning about.”
“So there’s really a Commandment that says ‘don’t take other people’s stuff?’” Jack asked.
“Yes!” Dad said. “You took Leo’s train set today, but imagine if Leo hadn’t found out. You might feel like you can take something again next time—something bigger. And then something even bigger than that. And then you might even think you can take something from Mum or I. Stealing can start really small, but quickly turn into something bigger. That’s why Jesus tells us in the Ten Commandments not to do it at all.”
Jack swallowed hard.
“I’m sorry, Dad. I should have asked Leo first instead of just taking it from his room without him knowing.”
Dad hugged Jack.
“Thanks for saying sorry, Jack,” he said, “but I think there’s someone else who needs an explanation and a sorry.”
Jack ran downstairs to find Leo, and explained everything again to his brother.
“I’m really sorry, Leo,” he said. “I promise I won’t take anything from you again.”
“Thanks, Jack,” said Leo. “I just wish we could play with the train together tonight.”
Jack thought for a moment.
“Hey, Leo,” he said. “How would you like to dig up a dinosaur bone with me?”
PICTURE CREDIT: pexelsfreeimages
