Page 1
It was the first day of second grade, and Scott was excited to see his friends after a long summer. The teacher asked all the students to tell a story about their summer vacation. Cindy told the class how she explored castles in Europe. Michael went horseback riding and hiking in the mountains.
Page 2
Scott didn't have any fascinating stories to tell. He spent the summer with a babysitter while his parents worked. One Sunday, Dad took him fishing, but all he caught was a teeny, tiny minnow. It was nearly his turn when Julie stood up. “We stayed in a cabin on a lake. I caught a fish as big as my lunch box!”
Page 3
“Oh!” Cindy gushed. “That's so cool!” added Michael. “I went fishing too,” Scott said quickly. “But my fish was gigantic. It was as big as...as big as my desk!”
Page 4
“Oh, wow!” said Julie. “Did you take a picture?”
“Of course,” Scott replied, and before he knew it, he had promised to bring a picture to school the next day.
Page 5
Scott felt horrible. His heart felt like it was being squeezed tighter and tighter. What was he going to do? He had lied. He didn't have a picture of the fish he hadn't caught.
Page 6
When they found out, his friends wouldn't want to be his friends anymore. They would laugh at him. They would shun him.
Page 7
At recess, Cindy
offered to push
him on the swing. Scott shook
his head and sat by himself.
Page 8
At lunch, Michael asked Scott to sit with him. Scott was afraid Michael would ask him questions about the gigantic fish, so Scott sat at an empty table instead.
Page 9
After school, Scott's friends walked up to him. “Are you okay?” Julie asked. “You've been acting weird all day,” Michael said. Scott's face reddened. He felt embarrassed and scared. But he also hated feeling ashamed and nervous around his friends.
Page 10
"I lied," he blurted out. "I only caught a small minnow,
but I wanted to have a cool story to tell."
Cindy hugged him. "That's okay."
"You aren't mad?" Scott asked.
Page 11
Michael patted his shoulder. "Friends forgive each other."
"You told us the truth," Julie said. "I bet that was hard to do."
"It sure was," Scott said, smiling. Suddenly he felt as light as a feather! "I think the second day of second grade is going to be a much better day!"
