Freddie Horner kicked at stones as he shuffled down the sidewalk. He picked up a rock and hurled it at a startled robin looking for worms in the grass. Freddie Horner was mad. You see, his mother had caught him climbing the huge oak tree in the backyard. He knew he wasn't supposed to climb it, but he didn't understand why. "She always ruins my fun," Freddie grumbled. "Now I can't go to the picnic tomorrow, all because of a dumb rule."

What was the big deal, anyway? It was just an old tree, and he was just a little boy. Boys like to climb trees. So what was the problem? "Grown ups!" he fumed. "They just look for ways to punish me." And so went his thoughts until he really convinced himself that his mother was mean and had no reason to punish him, other than the fact that she wanted to keep him from havingfun.

If Freddie Horner could have seen his mother at that moment, he might have changed his mind. She sat on the edge of her bed, holding an old picture frame and a Kleenex. After wiping her eyes again, she slid the picture into her dresser drawer and left the room.

The next morning at breakfast, Freddie begged his father to let him go to the picnic. All his friends from school would be there, and he didn't want to miss the softball game. He could see that his father was wavering.

"Maybe you over reacted, dear," his father said to his mother as she poured his coffee.

"But you know that tree isn't sturdy. It's so old, and...." her voice trailed off, and she cleared her throat against the coming tears.

"Now honey, it was a long time ago..." his father was saying.

"What? What was a long time ago?" asked Freddie. "I don't see what it has to do with me. All I want to do is go to the picnic. I'm going to be late now, " he whined.

"Well, young man," his fathers voice became stern, "since You're going to whine about it, I think it's time you learned something. Put down your baseball glove and come with me." Freddie's mother watched out the window as Freddie and his father stopped under the big oak tree Freddie had climbed.

After a while, they came back inside. Freddie wasn't laughing or whining. He looked sad. She met them at the door with the picture from her dresser drawer. "Is that him, mother?" Freddie asked. She nodded. "I always knew you had a brother who died when he was young. But.. But I didn't know he fell out of the top of that tree and was killed. I guess I could have been hurt, huh?" She nodded again. "I'm sorry, mom, I guess I don't deserve to go to the picnic today."

Freddie learned that day to obey his mother's word. If he disobeyed, he knew he would deserve punishment. He never forgot that day, and he kept the picture in his room next to his race cars. So he would remember.

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