The Young Thief and His Mother

The young man had been caught in a bold theft, and the judge gave him the worst punishment there was. On his last day, he asked for one thing. "Let me see my mother," he said. "Let me speak to her."

She was brought to him, weeping, and a crowd stood around to watch. "Come close," he said. "I want to whisper to you."

She leaned in and turned her ear to him. And he bit it, hard.

She cried out, and the crowd gasped. "What kind of son are you?" they shouted. "Your own mother!"

"It is to punish her," he said. "When I was small, I stole little things, a bun, a ribbon, a coin, and I brought them home to her. She did not scold me. She laughed. 'No one will notice,' she said. It is because of her that I am here today."

A priest stepped forward. "He is right, woman," he said quietly. "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."