The pantry raider turns into a liar

I woke up to find bits of blue M&M fragments stuck on EggEgg's cheek. Pretending not to notice anything amiss, I asked,

"Good morning EggEgg. You woke up early. What have you been doing out there?"

"Nothing."

"Did you take any food from the pantry?"

"No."

"Oh really?"

"No."

I was thinking about the next course of action when I heard Cola calling out for me: "Neh! Neh!" I proceeded to pick up Cola from his room. The little fella pointed to the 2 oval arrowroot biscuit inside his cot, and quickly took one bite out of each biscuit. Then he slowly put the uneaten bits back on his mattress before demanding to be let out. (Saving those bikkies for supper, perhaps?)

Trying hard to suppress my rising temper, I asked EggEgg again,

"Did you take any food from the pantry this morning?"

"No."

"Then why are there 2 biscuits inside Cola's cot? Did you give it to him?"

"No. Cola climbed out of the cot by himself and took the biscuit from the cupboard."

Obviously, the theory of logic and physics hasn't been set in his 3-year-old mind yet, otherwise he would have invented a better excuse.

To add to my fury, I noticed a wet patch on his bed.

Not wanting to rebuke EggEgg at such an early hour, I gave EggEgg another chance for an honest confession.

"Did you pee in your bed last night?"

"No."

"Did you give biscuit to Cola?"

"No."

"Did you eat any chocolate from the pantry?"

"No."

Outright denials! Blatant lying!

I spent the next 10 minutes explaining to him about the meaning of lying, why it's wrong to lie, the virtue of honesty, and most importantly, the courage to admit when one has made a mistake. Admittance of wrongdoing opens the door to correction.

After the lengthy lecture, I asked EggEgg again, for the fourth time this morning,

"So, did you take any food from the pantry?"

EggEgg hesitated for a moment, and replied,

"Mami, I don't know. What should I say?"