Who Is Guilty? - A story from the nineteenth century

The room in one of the courthouses in London was packed. The door opened and a small, very thin-looking man was brought in. His jacket seemed miles too big for him.

"Your name is William John Turnbright?" asked the judge.

Yes, your Honor," answered the man in a barely audible whisper.

"Mr Turnbright," continued the judge, "you stole a loaf of bread from one of the bakeries on City Road yesterday. Why did you do it?"

John Turnbright wiped drops of perspiration from his brow. " Your Honor," he said haltingly, "I have a sick wife and two children. They need food. I am unable to do heavy work and easier jobs are not available. Last summer I began to beg so that my family would not starve. This week, however, we had nothing left to eat. I did not know what else to do. I took the bread."

"I did not steal the bread, your Honor. I took it. There were so many loaves lying there. I wondered how many of them, when not sold, would be thrown into the waste containers as old bread. And only one of them would be enough to feed my family for one more day."

"I have an old Bible at home. I read in it sometimes when my wife and children are sleeping. It says there that those who have should give to those who do not have. Your Honor, how long must we wait until something is given to us?"

Exhausted the man stopped talking. The judge who had been listening intently, was quiet for a while.

Then he said, "Mr. Turnbright, we have a law in this country that will not allow any exceptions. You are guilty of stealing and you must pay a fine of five pounds."

The judge paused. Then he pulled out his wallet and took out a five-pound note. He placed it into the container on his desk and said to the man in front of him, "This is your fine. It is paid."

Then the judge let his eyes roam over the people in the courtroom. "Besides the laws that are written into our lawbooks," he said slowly, "there is a universal moral law. According to that law we are all guilty. It is our fault that this man had to steal. Who wants to make restitution to him for that which we have left undone all these years? He who has ears to hear, will hear."

The judge took the container with the five-pound note from his desk and had it passed along the rows of people sitting in the courtroom. The container, filled to overflowing with money, was handed to Mr. Turnbright.

He held the container with both hands and stared down on it as if this were only a dream.

The court was dismissed.

From I Heard Good News Today: Stories For Children.