The Thief and His Mother
Once upon a time, in a pretty village full of singing birds, there lived a little boy. One day at school the boy quietly put his friend's fine pencil into his bag. In the evening he came home and showed the stolen pencil to his mother. His mother did not scold him; she smiled and praised him. The little boy took courage from this, and he felt very happy. The years passed, and the boy grew into a strong young man.
Now he stole not only small pencils, but gold and expensive things. His mother was quietly glad about every big theft he brought home. But one night the guards caught the bad man in a great palace. The judge of the city gave the thief a very hard punishment. All the people of the town and his crying mother came to the square. Before the punishment, the young man wanted to speak with his mother one last time.
The old woman came near her son with tears in her eyes. The young man bent to his mother's ear and bit it hard. The woman screamed with pain, and everybody looked at them in shock. The young man said, "You did not stop me at the first pencil, so today I am here." His mother understood her great mistake, but now it was too late. Correct small mistakes in time, and big disasters never come. Bend the tree while it is young.