A tale for the Easter

The Master took his time to address the class, looking deeply into each teenager's eyes. Then he reached for his pocket and took out an apple, so red and shiny that the youngsters stared, smiled and sighed at it in wonder. The Master then put the apple over his desk, so that all the boys and girls could see it, and began to speak:

What's the difference between right and wrong? You're all very young, but your parents have taught you that already. You 're learning it everyday; in fact, you'll be learning it for the rest of your lives, but today I'm going to prove you already know what you need to know.

He paused for a moment, smiled and looked at the apple:

Imagine you really wanted that apple. You want it so much it hurts. But you have no money to buy it. Nor will the owner of the store give you the apple for free, no matter what you do to please him. And then, one day, it's there, totally alone, nobody around, no one to watch over it. You stop and think: if I take it, will anyone else see it? You look around again and you're sure: no one will know. You can steal the apple, eat it, enjoy every bit of it and no one will know. And then you can laugh in the face of the owner every time you see him complaining about his stolen apple. And there's nothing he can do about it, because he'll have no evidence against you. Or you can be very quiet and discreet and the owner will never suspect you were the one who did it.

The Master paused again and turned to the teenagers:
My question is: what would you have done?

In the beginning, the boys and the girls were silent and looked at each other. They were afraid they could be seen as thieves, if they would go along with the story and admit they would steal the apple. But the Master reassured them it was only an exercise, like so many others they did everyday. So, the most talkative boy of the class spoke:

The real trick is that the owner knows I did it, but cannot do a thing about it. I win and I laugh in his face. That's the choice of the smart ones. There's no pleasure in winning, if other people don't know about it.

The Master then turned to the most quiet boy of the class:

You are both as different as water and oil, so I'm sure your choice would be different.

The boy agreed:

I don't believe that is an intelligent move. He'll have a shadow of suspicion all over him, because people talk and the owner will talk about it with all his acquaintances. The real trick is to do it and the owner never suspects I did it. The only intelligent laughter is my private laughter, because I fooled everyone.

The Master smiled:

Yes, just as I predicted. You'll both get the apple in your own ways. But I'm sure there's someone else here who's got a different view.

He turned to the girl who sat shyly three chairs to his left:

Give us your view, my dear.

The girl looked at both boys. She didn't feel intimidated by them, but she knew how boys were: she was in for a hard ride. First them and then all the other boys and girls would follow, and once again she would be outcasted and treated like a freak or a hypocrite. She looked at the Master, her eyes begging him to stop. Yet, the Master nodded. So, she took a deep breath and replied:

I would not have taken the apple, because it was not mine. I would try to find money to buy it or I would do my best not to look at it again, since I cannot have it, although I believe I would, unfortunately, because I really want it...

The first boy laughed outright:

Typically girlish! You don't think, do you? You won't have the apple that way and that's what it's all about. And then you'll make a fool of yourself staring at it, maybe crying, because you didn't have the guts to grab it...

Her mental strength showed when under attack, and she swiftly replied:

I did have the guts not to be a thief and a coward, because you only stole it when no one was watching!

Then the other boy replied:

If you steal and you're caught, you're a bad thief. You steal when you can, and that was the only possibility of getting our objective here : the apple. You're removing yourself from the game. Sorry, but that way, you cannot win.

Before the Master could interrupt, she stared at both of them and said:
Neither can you! You think the purpose of this exercise is to get the apple and that's why your concern is with how to get away with it. I don't believe that was the purpose at all. The apple is just a symbol of our desires and of what we are willing to do to make them come true. You'll do anything for them, even becoming a thief. Well, I won't. I don't steal, no matter who is watching!

The first boy laughed again:

That's why you're not going anywhere in life, you idiot!

The other boy smiled. They finally agreed on something. He turned to her:

You know how the saying goes: good girls go to Heaven, bad girls go everywhere. You're going places, but not in this world...

The class erupted in laughter. The girl was in such a rage she was almost crying. She looked at the Master, thinking why did he had to do this to her all the time, why did she had to be the moral example in the class, only to be scorned by that same class as the Master's pet afterwards?

The Master knew what was happening and was pleased with how well his exercise had gone. He had them exactly where he wanted them. He raised his hand to silence the class:

You might think that stealing an apple doesn't make a thief. It was only once...

He stared into the first boys' eyes. The boy smiled and nodded. The Master went on:

Yet, you seem to forget that it's not a question of quantity, but of principle. The only right thing to do is to give something you own in exchange for something someone else owns and you want. If you were the owner of the apple, you wouldn't accept anything less. To buy the apple you need money and to have the money you have to work to earn it.

The first boy now looked upset. The Master concluded his sentence:

Which means that you'd have to give something from yourselves (your effort to get the money, in this case) to get what you want. That's the way life goes and that's why you are thieves when you don't, no matter how insignificant the stolen object is.

Then the Master stared at the second boy:

Apart from being a thief, there's another thing you will be from that day onwards, and that is a liar.

The boy was a bit perplexed and opened his mouth in surprise. The Master proceeded:

Yes, no one will know you did it. No one will know you're a thief (even if it only happens once in your lifetime, you are one).

Then the Master turned to the girl and smiled:

But you'll know, you, yourselves, each one of you will know you're thieves and you're lying to the others, in fact, to the whole world, more or less pretending, with more or less bravado, you didn't do it. And that makes each and every one of you a liar to the only person you cannot fool with lies: yourselves.

The class was silent as a tomb. Both boys looked down to their desks in shame.The girl's tears had dried out in her eyes, as she looked up to the Master with a very shy smile.

Then the Master picked the apple up in his hand and showed it to the class:

The apple will provide you little comfort, because your conscience won't give you a rest. It's like pretending we're not in debt, when we are. Not having paid the right price for it, that's the heavy price you'll have to pay, until you actually go there and pay the owner his due.

The Master relaxed his speech a bit:

This is your lesson for today: the ends are not important; the means are. And that is the difference between right and wrong. But you already knew that, didn't you?

Then the Master took a bite at the apple and smiled to his students:

Class dismissed !