The Muddy Boy

When a boy comes home after helping his father in the rice fields he is covered with mud. Perhaps he has rubbed his face with muddy hand and has left a streak of black across his check. His hair is matted with perspiration. Then he takes a bath. Quite a different looking boy appears from beneath the dirt. His hair is combed and his face shines. He is clean again.. A stranger would not recognize him as the same boy. But when a boy lies it is often it is not so easy to wash away the deception. The lie is often taken for the truth, and after it is discovered, the stranger wonders and asks: "Which is the lie, and which is the truth? How can i trust this boy? How can I know what his real mind is like beneath this cover of lies?" Lying, cleaning, and deception are like dirt on the mind. No one respects or trusts a liar or a cheat. No one who lies can feel any respects for himself, for dirty face arouse the scorn of others but it also hides the real face underneath. A lie is the real face underneath. A lie is like a dirty face because it hides the truth. When we discover the lie, our soon is even greater than when we see a layer of dirt on someone's face.