Dad Punishes Son Who Sneaks Out at Night, Learns He's Been Working To Fund Classmate's Surgery – Story of the Day

After seeing his classmate get seriously injured, a young boy decided to work at night and save money for his classmate's surgery. Little did he know that his parents would soon punish him by sending him to his grandfather's farm during summer break.

Simon quietly tiptoed into his parents' bedroom while they sat at the dinner table. I need to find Dad's wallet, he thought while quickly searching his father's closet.

"Oh, here you are!" Simon whispered as he reached for the brown wallet. "Hey, Simon! What are you doing here?" his father, Jack, asked before Simon froze in his footsteps.

"Dad, I was just―" Simon tried explaining.

"Looking for money, right?" Jack interrupted. "Your Mom and I already know that you have been stealing money from my closet."

"No, Dad. It's not like that," Simon exclaimed.

"Quit lying, son. I know you have been buying video games and spending money hanging out with your friends. I never expected this from you," Jack said.

Simon closed his father's closet while he felt his heart pound. How does he know the truth, the teenager wondered. Simon had been stealing money from his father's closet and spending it on useless things, but he couldn't admit his mistake. He stood near the bed and smiled at his father.

"You're grounded!" Jack yelled as soon as Simon arrived home from school. "You won't leave the house until I allow you to do so."

"Dad, you're getting it wrong," he lied. "I was stealing money because one of my classmates got injured, and his family didn't have enough money to pay for his surgery. I was just trying to help."

"Oh, really?" Jack asked. "What's the boy's name?"

"It's Adam," Simon lied again. "You know, the short boy who lives a few blocks away."

Simon felt relieved as his father nodded because it was a sign that Jack believed his lies. However, the teenager had no idea that his father would visit Adam's house the next day.

"Hi, I'm Jack. Simon's father," Jack introduced himself to Adam's mother at her doorstep the following day. "Is Adam home?"

"No, Jack," Adam's mother smiled. "He's at school. Why would he be at home?"

Jack's forehead creased. "Simon told me Adam needed surgery after an injury. I thought he must be at home."

"What surgery? My son's absolutely fine." Adam's mother replied.

"Oh, okay. I must have misheard, sorry about that. Have a nice day!" Jack said before walking back home. He was fuming with anger after realizing his son had lied to him last night.

"You're grounded!" Jack yelled as soon as Simon arrived home from school. "You won't leave the house until I allow you to do so."

Without saying a word, Simon hurried up the staircase and slammed his bedroom door behind him. He was angry that his father had learned the truth and that he couldn't hang out with his friends anymore. Instead of realizing his mistake, Simon decided to teach Adam a lesson.

The next day, Simon bullied Adam in his classroom after most students had left. "What are you doing?" Adam yelled, but Simon didn't say anything.

"You want these, don't you?" Simon picked up Adam's glasses from his table. "Go get them," Simon said and threw the glasses over a high windowsill that most students couldn't reach.

"How will you get up there, shorty?" Simon teased Adam, who struggled to reach the windowsill by climbing onto a table. Suddenly, Adam lost his balance and landed on the floor.

Soon, an ambulance arrived and took Adam to the hospital, while Simon stared at his classmate in horror.

A few days later, after Simon's house arrest was lifted, he came home one morning after spending the entire night outside. As he took off his shoes and hung his coat, his father asked, "Where have you been?"

Simon felt his cheeks heat up. Although he wasn't grounded anymore, his parents had told him that he wasn't allowed to stay out all night or attend parties. But this time, there was a solid reason behind his absence.

"Dad, I work at a grocery store," Simon said. "I wanted to tell you about my new part-time job."

"What rubbish!" Jack yelled. "I know you just came back from a party."

"No, Dad," Simon looked into his father's eyes. "I was at work. I started working because I wanted to save money for Adam. He got injured in the classroom because of me two weeks ago, so I just want to make it up to him."

Jack laughed after listening to his son's explanation because he thought Simon was lying again. "Do you think I'm going to believe your story again? Never!" Jack said.

"Believe me, Dad. You can call Adam's mother to check if I am lying." Simon replied before he narrated what happened at school the other day.

A few hours later, Jack called Adam's mother and learned that her son did fall at school, but she said it wasn't Simon's fault. Instead, she told Jack that her son had slipped and landed on the floor. After hanging up, Jack called Simon into his room.

"Yes, Dad?" Simon said.

"You lied to me again, Simon but this time, I won't ground you," Jack said sternly. "Go pack your bags because I'm dropping you at your grandfather's farm. You will live there without your phone, video games, and laptop."

"But, Dad..." Simon said.

"I don't want to hear anything, Simon. Pack your bags. Now!" Jack yelled.

Feeling sad, Simon returned to his room and began dumping his clothes into a bag. Although he felt sad knowing his father didn't believe him, he felt relieved that Adam didn't tell his mother what happened at school that day. He knew his father would have lost his temper if he learned he had thrown Adam's glasses over the windowsill.

For the next few days, Simon worked hard at his grandfather's farm and helped him do all the chores. Since Jack had told Simon's grandfather why he was dropping him at the farm, the elderly man ensured he was always strict with the teenager. However, he was surprised to see how hard Simon was working.

"I feel so good to see you work so hard like this, Simon," Simon's grandfather, Richard, said. "Finally, there's something else you found interesting beside video games."

Simon smiled at Richard, thanked him for praising his efforts, and then told him what had happened to Adam and that he was working at a grocery store to help Adam's family pay for the surgery.

"Oh, dear," Richard said. "That's so sad. But don't worry, I will help you."

The next day, Richard called Simon into his room and told him that he had talked to the neighboring farm owners, and three of them had agreed to pay Simon if he took care of their crops and worked for them the entire summer.

"Oh, that's a great opportunity, Grandpa!" Simon cheered. Although he thought Richard would help him by giving him money, he agreed to work on the farms and save money for Adam.

After working for two months, Simon was delighted to receive money from the neighboring farm owners. He also thanked Richard before leaving the farm.

"Wait, young man," Richard said. "I have something for you."

Simon's grandfather pulled out an envelope from his wooden cupboard and handed it to him. "Here's your reward, Simon. You have learned the true meaning of responsibility, and I am proud of you for earning money by working hard."

"Oh, Grandpa! Thank you so much!" Simon hugged Richard and felt happy that his grandfather had given him money.

After leaving the farm with Jack, Simon visited Adam's house to give him the money needed for his surgery. Inside, he saw Adam struggling to move in a wheelchair. "Hi, Simon," Adam said.

"Adam, I am really sorry for what happened that day at school," Simon sat beside Adam. "Thank you for not telling your parents about it."

"Oh, I didn't fall because of you. I slipped," Adam smiled.

After apologizing to Adam, Simon rose from his seat and gave an envelope full of money to Adam's mother.

"I saved this money for Adam's surgery. I am sure this will be enough to cover the costs," Simon said.

"But why?" Adam's mother asked.

"As my father said before, Adam got injured because of me that day. And since then, I have been feeling so guilty. This is just a way to lessen my guilt. Please accept it," Simon said while trying to hold his tears back.

Soon, Adam underwent surgery and was on the road to recovery. During that time, Simon often visited him, and the two boys eventually became friends.

What can we learn from this story?

• Teenagers can learn to take responsibility for their actions. Although it took him a lot of time, Simon eventually learned to take responsibility for his actions. He had to spend the entire summer at his grandfather's farm, but he did return home as a better person.
• Parents sometimes need to trust their children. When Simon told his father that Adam got injured because of him, Jack did not believe him and sent him to Richard's farm instead. Although raising teenagers is tricky, sometimes parents need to trust them because they might be telling the truth.

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Click here to read what happened when a rich man entered an abandoned house while following his 12-year-old son. He didn't expect to see the boy with a baby in his arms.

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