Simon was a curious boy. He was fond of reading adventure stories. He lived with his grandfather. One night, he stealthily entered the store room where his grandfather kept his priceless antiques. Simon knew his grandfather did not like anyone to touch his rare collections.

Once inside the room, Simon stood on a chair. He lifted the box wherein his grandfather had kept many wrist-watches bought from different countries he had visited.

While getting down from the chair, Simon’s elbow struck against the chair. The box slipped out of his hands and fell onto the floor. All the watched lay scattered all around. To his utter shock, he found the glass of his grandfather’s favorite watch broken.

Simon got frightened lest his grandfather should come to know about the broken glass. He started picking up the pieces of glass.

Simon thought, “How will I tell my grandfather that his favorite watch had got broken? He will be angry with me. If I do not tell him, he will not come to know about it."

Simon got nervous. His heart started beating faster. He put the broken watch back into the box and placed the box back on the shelf. Afterwards, he went to sleep. He tossed and turned in bed. He could not sleep in peace throughout the whole night.

The next morning, Simon got up early. He gathered courage to go and admit his fault to his grandfather. Reaching his grandfather’s bedroom he told him everything. The grandfather looked thoughtful. He did not say anything to Simon. He went over to the store room. Simon kept standing with his head down.

Having returned from the store the grandfather said to Simon, “I felt very angry when you had broken my precious watch. Your grandmother gifted it to me on our first wedding anniversary. But you need not worry. Only the glass is broken. I shall have it replaced."

Simon felt relieved. After some time, his grandfather went into kitchen and bought a glass of milk for him.

While giving the milk to Simon, his grandfather said, “It was brave enough of you to tell me about the broken watch. You knew that I would scold you, did not you?"

Simon said, “I was scared at first. But I dared not tell a lie. I should not have touched your things without your permission."

Simon’s grandfather further remarked, “When I was at your age, I also broke my mother’s precious flower-case. I was scared to own up my mistake. But, when I went to confess, she said that she already knew about it."

It is brave to admit your mistake. You may be scared of being scolded. But it is the only way for you to be free from guilt.
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