Honesty: Why lying is not a good idea!

Stories from the Neflental: Why lying is not a good idea

Our story begins in the heart of the Neflen Valley, where gold and May green colour the world. It is springtime and the Nightingale Walk glows in ivory and sky blue. Cheerful birds are chirping everywhere from the dense hawthorn bushes. The flowers are in full bloom. A light breeze blows through the valley because winter has just gone.

A special morning in the Neflental valley

Rosa Periwinkle wakes up very early on this day. The sun conjures up a golden light on the fern meadows. She skips along the nightingale path and looks forward to the festival in the Glass Gorge. Everyone from the Neflental wants to come together there and laugh, sing and tell stories.

The big secret

While Rosa Periwinkle wanders through the blossoming Maygreen bushes, she collects beautiful stones for her friends. But suddenly she stops. A shiny marble lies under a hawthorn bush, sparkling in the sunlight in all the colours of the rainbow. Rosa looks around, but no one is around. She takes the marble and thinks: "If I'm honest, I'll have to give it back. But it's so beautiful! Maybe I'll only notice how it glitters in the light for a moment."

She runs excitedly to the Glass Gorge. Many people have gathered there: Evergreens, Flossians and even some white elves from the palace by the waterfall. The walls of the gorge shimmer like ice and cast colourful streaks across the meadows. Rosa feels the glitter of the marble in her pocket.

A little lie at the sparkling bottom of the gorge

Suddenly Marlo from the book forest asks: "Has anyone seen my rainbow marble? It's small, but it's so special because my grandad gave it to me." Everyone looks around in amazement. Rosa's face warms up. Her heart is pounding like a woodpecker because she knows what the truth is.

Rosa would like to keep the marble for herself because it sparkles so much. But when someone asks if she has found the marble, she says: "No, I haven't seen anything." Rosa feels funny and maybe even a little sad after this lie.

The colours of the marble in her pocket dance in the sunlight and she realises that something is wrong. Her stomach grumbles, the Glass Gorge glitters like never before, but Rosa can't be happy at all. The lie makes her heavy and sticky - like hard tree resin on her hands.

The magic of honesty

After a while, Rosa Periwinkle can no longer sit still. She plucks up all her courage. The nightingales sing above her as she slowly walks to Marlo. She takes the rainbow marble out of her pocket. "Here, Marlo, I found it," she says quietly, "and I lied to you earlier. I'm sorry about that."

Marlo looks at her in astonishment. But then he smiles. The others look curiously at Rosa. Suddenly she feels the weight lift from her heart. Marlo says: "Thank you for being honest. I would have been very sad if I had lost the marble. But I'm glad to have her and you around."

The white elves dance with joy through the light. Their wings sparkle in the golden evening light of the gorge. The colours in the Glass Gorge become even more beautiful. Rosa now knows that honesty makes the world brighter - much brighter than the most beautiful glitter of a marble.

The whole community celebrates a happy festival. They tell stories, sing and dance. And Rosa Periwinkle feels as light as a feather in the wind. She has learnt that lies make everything difficult. Honesty not only makes friends happy, but also your own heart.

What do we learn from this?

Honesty is important. It builds trust and makes for good friendships. Lies may solve a problem for a brief moment. But they make you sad and make your heart heavy. Everyone in Neflental now knows: even if it takes courage - the truth brings the most joy and light in the end.

You want the book Order "Pink evergreen and the golden oak leaf" - click here!. Also like to take Contact the author Kira Kimmelmann at or read more short stories by Pink evergreen here.