Wednesday morning grin

ONCE IN THE 1820'S...

Once, in the 1820's, a little boy called Sam was
playing in the yard behind his house. During his
pretend fighting game, he knocked over the outhouse.
Now Sam was upset and worried that he would get into
trouble so he ran into the woods and didn't come out
until after got dark. When he arrived back home, his
pappy was waiting for him. He asked suspiciously,
"Son, did you knock over the outhouse this afternoon?"
"No, pappy," Sam lied.
"Well, let me tell you a story," said the father.
"Once, not that long ago, Mr Lincoln received a shiny
new axe from his father. Excited, he tried it out on a
tree, swiftly cutting it down. But as he looked at the
tree, with dismay he realized it was his mother's favorite
cherry tree," his pappy paused." just like you, he ran
into the woods. When he returned, his pappy asked,
'Abraham, did you cut down the cherry tree?' Abraham
answered with, 'Father, I cannot tell a lie. I did indeed
chop down the tree.' Then his father said, 'Well, since
you were honest with me, you are spared from punishment.
I hope you have learned your lesson, though.' So," the
Sam's father asked again," did you knock down the outhouse?"
"Pappy, I cannot tell a lie any more." said the little
boy. "I did indeed knock down the outhouse."
Then his pappy father spanked Sam boy red, white, and blue.
The boy whimpered, "Pappy, I told you the truth!
Why did you spank me?"
Pappy answered, "That's because Abraham Lincoln's father
wasn't in the tree when he chopped it down!"