Truth & Lies

A minister was walking down the street when he came upon a group of about a dozen boys, all of them between 10 and 12 years of age.

The group had surrounded a dog. Concerned that the boys might be hurting the dog, he went over and asked "What are you doing with that dog?"

One of the boys replied, "This dog is a stray. We all want him, but only one of us can take him home. So we've decided that whoever can tell the biggest lie will get to keep the dog."

"You boys shouldn't be having a contest telling lies!" the minister exclaimed. He then launched into a ten-minute sermon against lying, ending with, "Why, when I was your age, I never told a lie."

There was dead silence for about a minute, then the smallest boy sighed and said, "All right, give him the dog."