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HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY
Ravi:
Ummm, I've had it for a little while.
Rohit:
Why didn't you take it out at Ram's house? We could have played with it.
Ravi:
(Lowering his voice) I'll tell you something if you promise not to tell anyone. This toy was Ram's, but now it belongs to me.
Rohit:
Did Ram let you have it?
Ravi:
No, he didn't give it to me. (hesitates) I...J... I found it outside in the yard.
Rohit:
(Getting suspicious) Where did you actually find it?
Ravi:
(In a whispering tone) Well, actually, I found it in his toy box.
Rohit:
(In shock) Ravi, did you steal this army man from Ram?
Ravi:
No way! I don't call it stealing. Have you heard of "Finders keepers, losers weepers”?
Rohit:
Oh man, I am so ashamed to be your friend.
Ravi:
When I was playing in his room, I counted his toys. Would you believe he has eleven of these army men? Now I have one of them. He doesn't need that many army men.
Rohit:
Don't you remember what we discussed about stealing at Päthashälä?
Ravi:
Yeah. That we should not steal, and we should not take anyone else's things without permission. We should not keep things that we find, because they do not belong to us.
Rohit:
That's right.
Ravi:
But, sometimes we take things and it's called borrowing. Yes, but then we give back whatever we took. That stuff we learn in Päthashälä was for people in India. We are in America and we are free to do what we want; so we don't have to listen.
JAIN MORAL SKITS
27
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