Dishonest Toil

I asked Joe why he was playing in a pile of wet dirt without wearing any boots. "I can't be bothered to put them on," he explained. When I brought my camera out, he rubbed dirt on his face to give the impression he had been working hard. At only eight years, Joe knows that perception is stronger than reality.

Joe asked me to wait while he went inside the house to get his camera. I wondered if he was going to take off his muddy socks, but he had a simpler solution: he put on his boots before going inside.