Another Parable

Billy was bouncing a ball off his garage door one summer day when an older boy walked up to him.

“My name’s Sam,” he said. “Do you know where this kid Al lives?”

Sure, Billy knew. Al was his next-door neighbor. He didn’t particularly like Al. Al was a bully, and Billy was all too frequently the object of Al’s unwanted attention.

So he pointed out where Al lived. “Why do you want to know?” he asked.

“Al threw a rock through my living room window and ran away,” Sam explained.

Billy nodded. “He’s always breaking windows. He broke my windows a couple of times.” Sam waited with Billy until he saw Al come home from school.

“Hey you!” Sam yelled. “My new friend Billy just told me where you live. Now I’m going to beat you up for breaking my window!”

Al glared at Billy, then looked fearfully at Sam.

“Hold him, Billy!” Sam cried out.

Billy did, without thinking, or rather, thinking he had no choice. It was over quickly. Al ran to his property, crying and bloody. Then he just stood there, on his porch, glaring at Billy and Sam. But mostly at Billy.

Sam brushed himself off. He glanced at his watch, then said, loud enough for all of them to hear, “Well, Billy, thanks for helping me! I’m going to stay for an hour and a half, just to make sure Al doesn’t act up again. Ya hear that, Al! You better not try anything on my friend Billy! For at least an hour and a half! Then I’m leaving, ya hear!”

Al smiled and clenched his fists.

Sam turned to Billy and said, “Okay, little guy. My parents want me to come home, but I’ll show you how to throw a punch. You know, just in case that big thug next door decides to make trouble again.”

Billy turned pale. Secretly, he decided not to listen to Sam. Actually, as soon as an hour and a half went by, he was going to go to Al, first, and tell him he’d do anything the big bully wanted him to do. In fact, he’d even help Al break more of Sam’s windows, if that’s what he wanted.

But all he could really think about was the whuppin’ he was gonna get in a little over ninety minutes.