A Lie Is Forever

A little girl came very early one morning to her mother, saying, “Which is worse, Mama, to tell a lie or to steal?”  The mother replied that both were so sinful she could not tell which was worse.

“Well, Mama,” replied the little one, “I’ve been thinking a good deal about it, and I think it’s ever so much worse to lie than steal.”

“Why, you see, Mama it’s like this,” said the little girl. “if you steal a thing you can take it back, unless you’ve eaten it, and if you’ve eaten it, you can pay for it; but a lie is forever.”

                                                                                                              from A Better Understanding