The Principal's Office

2 The Principal’s Office Four boys sat in the principal's office, awaiting their punishment. They were in big trouble and they knew it. They waited for more than 30 stressful minutes. When the principal came in, he told the boys, “ I've just spoken to all your parents on the phone. They have given me permission to punish you in whatever way I see fit. You have caused a lot of work for our janitor by writing on the walls today. But he won't be doing the cleaning. You will. In fact, you boys will be cleaning the walls every day after school for the next week. " After school that day, the boys went to the janitor's office in the basement. He looked at them, and without a word, he pointed to some buckets of water, soap and brushes. The work took a long time. Whenever they thought they had cleaned enough, the janitor would point out at a spot that they had missed. But he never spoke. They worked all week. It was hard work.

On the last day, they finally finished the job. But when they turned to leave, the janitor spoke. " Hey, come here, " he said. He pointed to some chairs, and they sat down. “ You boys thought you were very smart writing on those walls in the bathroom. But, let me tell you something. In the country where I grew up, we barely had a school. We hardly had books or teachers. Even to get a new pencil was a big thing, " he said. " You used pencils to write on the walls. A pencil is a lot like a person. For a person, there is the point on the outside, but what does the work is inside, " he explained. " Every once in a while, you have to get a painful sharpening. That's what you've had this week, " he said. " From now on, instead of leaving your mark on the walls, leave your mark on life. Write your own story using what's inside you. " The boys understood and they never wrote on any walls again.