by J. Robbins
“How could this have happened?” exclaimed Valancy as she surveyed the storage room full of ruined flowers. Micawber, who had been working with his best friend Valancy at Newflower Market for a year, had been responsible for closing the store the previous night. He hung his head in shame.
“I have no idea, V,” he replied. “I swear to you, I thought I closed the door and turned the temperature down. I followed the checklist exactly! I’m going to get fired, aren’t I?” Valancy looked at him sympathetically.
“Um, probably,” she said. “I wish I could lie to you, but this mistake is going to cost the company a lot of money. Mr. Sheepsnose will be here in a few minutes, and I’ll tell him about the flowers then.”
“Wait!” cried Micawber. “Maybe he doesn’t have to know! We could tell him that someone broke into the store last night, and he’ll never have to know the truth. We can blame it on a disgruntled ex-employee. When 'Road Rage' Darryl got fired last week, he looked pretty disgruntled.”
“No way,” Valancy replied. “I don’t lie for anyone, and neither should you. Mr. Sheepsnose is a nice person, and he’ll be completely fair with you. There is no reason to make up a crazy story about a break-in.” Micawber sighed and glumly sat on an overturned bucket.
“I guess you’re right,” he told his friend. “I still don’t know how I could be so stupid. Mr. Sheepsnose trusted me to close down the store, and I’ve let him down. Now I'll never become the CEO of a Fortune-500 company."
“Good morning, kids,” called Mr. Sheepsnose cheerfully as he walked into the store. “Why the sad faces?” Valancy busied herself with paperwork while Micawber stepped forward to face his supervisor.
“I have some bad news, sir,” he told Mr. Sheepsnose. “Somehow, I left the store last night without closing the storage room door, and all of the flowers were ruined. I have no idea how it happened, but I am so sorry. If you want to fire me, I completely understand.” Mr. Sheepsnose surveyed the damaged flowers and his despondent employee over the rim of his half-glasses.
“Well, Micawber, I am impressed,” said Mr. Sheepsnose. “It took a lot of courage to tell the truth, and not many people would have done the same thing in your position. I know for a fact that you did close the storage room door last night because it was closed when I arrived at midnight. The building manager called me up here because the power went out for the whole block and shut down our refrigeration unit. That is why the flowers are ruined—it wasn’t anything you did. Your job is safe, Micawber. In fact, I think I can give you even more responsibility now that you’ve proven yourself trustworthy.” Mr. Sheepsnose patted his relieved employee on the shoulder and went to his office.
“Thanks for the great advice,” Micawber told Valancy as he grabbed a broom and began sweeping the front room. He whistled a happy tune as he began to daydream about becoming a supervisor himself one day.
1
Which detail from the story best helps illustrate why it is foolish to make up stories to cover oneself?
A.
Mr. Sheepsnose decided to give Micawber more responsibilities.
B.
Micawber did not have all the facts—he didn't know about the power failure.
C.
Micawber's ambition was to become the CEO of a Fortune-500 company.
D.
Valancy convinced Micawber that he should be honest with Mr. Sheepsnose.
1 answer
B. Micawber did not have all the facts—he didn't know about the power failure.
This detail illustrates why it is foolish to make up stories to cover oneself because Micawber's assumptions about his mistake were incorrect, and if he had fabricated a story, it could have led to unnecessary trouble when the truth revealed itself. The lack of information he had highlights the danger of making up stories in lieu of being honest.
