The Umbrella That Told the Truth

On the last Thursday of May, Oscar went to the town fair to buy an umbrella. The rainy season was coming, and his old one had a hole. At a stall full of old clocks and lamps, he found a black umbrella with a wooden handle.

"How much?" Oscar asked. The seller, an old man with a long gray beard, answered quickly. "One dollar. Take it, take it." It was a very good price for such a nice umbrella.

The next morning, the bus was full. Oscar had his bag on the seat next to him. A woman with a heavy box asked, "Is this seat free?" "Sorry, my friend's sitting here," Oscar said. Whoosh! His umbrella opened and hit the man in front of him. Everyone stared at Oscar. He moved his bag, and the woman sat down without a word.

At the office, his coworker Nuria showed him her new haircut. It was very, very short. "Do you like it?" she asked. "I love it," Oscar said. Whoosh! The umbrella opened again, right next to her desk. Nuria touched her hair sadly, and Oscar finally understood. The umbrella opened every time he told a lie.

At eleven, his boss came to his desk. "Did you finish the report, Oscar?" Oscar hadn't even started it. He opened his mouth to say "Almost," and the umbrella moved a little.

"No," he said honestly. "I haven't started it. I'm sorry." His boss looked surprised, then nodded. "Okay. Thanks for telling me. Can you finish it by Monday?" "Yes," said Oscar, and the umbrella didn't move.

The next Thursday, it was raining, and Oscar walked to the fair under his umbrella. He had decided to keep it, but he had a question for the old man. "Why didn't you tell me?" The old man laughed and shrugged. "I'm a salesman, my friend. I tell people these clocks are a hundred years old. With that thing next to me, I couldn't sell anything!"