The Whole Truth
Little white lies to a robot...
Henry was a salesman's delight when it came to any kind of unusual gimmick, no
matter what. The house was filled with electric potato peelers, self-rocking
chairs, and other odd stuff. His wife Marsha had long ago given up trying to get
him to stop being such a sucker for every new gadget that came along.
One day, Henry came home with another one of his unusual purchases. It was a
robot – “but not just ANY robot,” Henry said. “This one is a LIE DETECTOR!”
At around 5:30 PM, their 11-year-old son, Little Johnny, came home – two hours
later than he should have.
“Where have you been, young man?” Henry demanded. “Why are you so late getting
home from school?”
“Charlie, Bobby and I went to the library to work on an extra-credit project for
history class,” said Little Johnny.
The robot strode around the table and slapped Little Johnny, knocking him
completely out of his chair.
A startled Little Johnny climbed back onto his chair.
“Son,” said Henry, “This robot is a sophisticated lie detector, and it knows
when you’re telling the truth. Let’s try again. Where did you really go after
school?”
“We went to Bobby's house and watched a movie,” said Little Johnny.
The robot stood there.
“What movie did you watch?” asked Marsha.
“The Ten Commandments,” answered Little Johnny.
The robot charged around the table and smacked Little Johnny to the floor once
more.
With his lip quivering, Little Johnny got up, sat down and said, “I’m sorry I
lied. We really watched a movie called Sex Kittens of New Orleans.”
“I'm ashamed of you, son,” said Henry. “When I was your age, I never, ever lied
to my parents about anything. I always told them the truth.”
At that, the robot wheeled across the room to Henry and delivered a whack that
nearly laid him flat.
Marsha doubled over in laughter, almost in tears, and said, “Boy, did you ever
ask for that one! You can't blame Little Johnny for lying. You did it too, and
after all, he is your son!”
The robot immediately scooted over to Marsha and knocked her cold.