Lies hurt others first, then you

My very first lie was when I was around 6 years old. It was wintertime and my mother had just given me the speech about not putting my tongue on anything metal outdoors or it would freeze to it. I shared this new piece of information with a neighbourhood friend who was a year younger than me and she threw down the challenge. She suggested that if I was quick enough that my tongue wouldn't stick and I would have then proven my mother wrong. Being the silly little boy that I was, I went along with her little plan, understanding that she would also do it.

As fast as I was, I wasn't fast enough to get a tiny piece of the tip of my tongue pulled off when I yanked back from the metal window sill of the school across the street from both of our houses. It was bleeding ever so slightly but somehow my mother saw this injury (proving mother's intuition) and questioned me about it. My friend had helped me concoct the perfect lie prior to us leaving the scene of the crime, claiming that my best friend had punched me in the face.

Because it was believed that this happened at school, a note was sent to my teacher which created another note for my friend to take to his parents. When I asked my mother what happened she explained that my friend had been given a spanking and reprimanded for his bad behaviour. Upon hearing this, guilt set in and I confessed that he hadn't really hit me. I told her the truth about what I had did and a new note went to school the next morning, not before I received my first spanking ever.

I don't remember if I remained friends with that boy but I highly doubt he did with me. I, of course, remained friends with the neighbourhood girl who would end up hurting me again because I was such a pushover back then. It was revealed years later that after my father had administered the spanking (via folded belt) he cried. This was somewhat surprising to me since I always looked at my father as a tough guy who worked hard and played hard but didn't have a soft side. As a father myself now, I understand how that felt. I feel bad for having put him through that.