One day, Sara woke up with a big idea. She was going to bake cookies and share them with her sister. It sounded like the perfect thing to do! But there was one rule—her mom said she could have a cookie only after lunch.
Lunch was rice, broccoli, and fish. Sara didn’t like fish, and she definitely didn’t like broccoli. She made a face just thinking about it. Her little sister, Lily, though, loved both of them. Sara couldn’t understand how Lily could enjoy eating them.
They went downstairs, and their mom served the food with a big smile. Sara stared at her plate and poked at the food with her fork. She wasn’t excited about this lunch at all. She sighed. How could she get out of eating it?
As she looked around the kitchen, Sara noticed the window was open. That gave her an idea. What if she just threw the broccoli and fish out the window? Then, she wouldn’t have to eat them, and her mom would never know! It seemed like a perfect plan.
Without thinking twice, Sara carefully pushed the broccoli and fish off her plate and onto the floor. With a quick glance to make sure no one was watching; she tossed the food out the window. She smiled to herself, proud of her cleverness. The food was now far away, and she wouldn’t have to eat it!
But just as she was feeling proud, she heard Lily’s voice.
“What did you just do?” Lily asked, staring at Sara with wide eyes.
Sara froze. She didn’t want Lily to tell their mom. “Please don’t tell Mum!” Sara begged, her voice small. “I’ll do anything. You can have my cookie later, I swear!”
Lily crossed her arms and looked at Sara with a smirk. “Fine, but you owe me one. Big time.”
Sara breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks!” she whispered, feeling lucky that Lily had agreed to keep quiet.
She quickly finished the rice on her plate, hoping her mom wouldn’t notice anything. “I’m done!” Sara said, trying to sound casual. She grabbed one of the cookies she’d baked earlier and rushed to her room.
But once she was in her room, nibbling on the cookie, she started to feel a little guilty. The cookie tasted sweet, but something inside her didn’t feel right. She had lied to her mom and thrown food out the window without asking. It was just a little thing, but it still felt wrong. What if her mom found out? Or what if Lily decided to tell on her?
The more Sara thought about it, the worse she felt. The cookie didn’t taste so good anymore. It was like the guilt had made the sweetness disappear.
Just then, there was a knock on her door. It was Lily.
“You know,” Lily said, leaning against the doorframe, “you really owe me now. What are you going to do for me?”
Sara looked at her sister, and the guilt grew stronger. She couldn’t just let this slide. “Lily, I think I need to tell Mum,” Sara said quietly.
Lily looked surprised. “Tell her what?”
Sara sighed. “Tell her what I did. I don’t want to keep this secret anymore.”
Lily stared at her for a second, and then, surprisingly, she shrugged. “Okay, I guess that’s the right thing to do. But you still owe me!”
Sara smiled weakly at her sister. “I know. I’ll make it up to you.”
Taking a deep breath, Sara walked down the stairs to the kitchen. Her mom was busy cleaning up, and Sara felt her heart pounding in her chest. She didn’t know what her mom would say, but she knew she had to do this. She had to be honest.
“Mum,” Sara said, her voice trembling, “I have to tell you something.”
Her mom turned around, wiping her hands on a towel. “What’s going on, sweetie?”
Sara took a deep breath. “I didn’t eat the fish or broccoli. I threw them out the window.”
Her mom didn’t say anything at first. Sara looked down at the floor, waiting for her mom to get mad. But after a moment, her mom spoke softly.
“Why didn’t you just tell me you didn’t like it?” her mom asked.
Sara mumbled, “I didn’t want to upset you. I thought you’d be mad.”
Her mom smiled gently and walked over to her. “Sweetheart, I would have been disappointed if you lied to me. But I’m proud of you for telling me the truth. Being honest is more important than keeping secrets. I’m glad you came to me.”
Sara felt a huge wave of relief. She was scared her mom would be really upset, but instead, she felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Being honest wasn’t so bad after all. And her mom wasn’t mad—she was proud.
From the doorway, Lily said, “You did the right thing, Sara.”
Narrated `Abdullah:
The Prophet ﷺ said, “Truthfulness leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise. And a man keeps on telling the truth until he becomes a truthful person. Falsehood leads to Al-Fajur (i.e. wickedness, evil-doing), and Al-Fajur (wickedness) leads to the (Hell) Fire, and a man may keep on telling lies till he is written before Allah, a liar.”
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