Daddy left a note for his children before heading out the door to go to the grocery store. He announced his departure by telling one of the children that he'd left them a note with instructions for them to complete some chores while he was gone and if they did all that was required he would bring them home a treat.
After Daddy left the child decided to get right to work so as to be sure to finish her work before Daddy came home. She didn't think to tell her siblings about the note because she was so busy thinking of her own reward to come when Daddy got home.
Along came big brother and happened to notice the note on the table. Big brother gathered the rest of his siblings to tell them the news that if they completed all their chores Daddy would have a treat for them. Big brother began to give out jobs and his siblings gladly began their work.
Before long little brother and little sister began to argue over what exactly Daddy meant when he said... "wash the dishes." Big brother thought it meant they HAD to wash those dishes with their own two hands... Little sister thought it might be faster to put them in the dish washer... So time went on by as they discussed what Daddy meant in his note and... the dishes didn't get washed...
Big brother was busy coaching a few more siblings on the task Daddy left to "do the laundry." Big brother was a good leader and a hard worker. He didn't see a reason to argue if the towels should go into the dryer or on the line to dry. He let one of his brothers take the towels to the line to hang dry while sister put another load into the dryer to dry. They were getting double the work done!
Big brother went to check on some of the much younger children to make sure they didn't need his help with their chore. When he entered the bedroom he found two of the youngest children arguing over how in the world they were supposed to "pick up their room." The children knew they weren't strong enough to pick up the bedroom that was attached to their humongous house. They were very upset with Daddy that he would give them such an impossible task. Big brother took them onto his knee to explain what Daddy had meant in his note. The children were so happy to learn their Daddy hadn't been so mean as to tempt them with a treat and then give them a chore they couldn't accomplish.
When Big brother left the bedroom to check on the rest of the children he found the first child whom Daddy had originally told about his note, sitting in a chair reading a book. Big brother was concerned that this sister had not seen or heard of the note so he began to tell her and she stopped him. "Oh no brother Daddy himself told me about the note and I've done my part." Big brother tried to encourage sister to come along and help the rest of the children to ensure they would all receive a treat when Daddy came home but sister was unwilling... she'd done her part.
Big brother found some more children playing in the toy room. He tried to tell them about Daddy's note but they wouldn't listen... They were too busy playing...
When Daddy came home he was true to his word. Some received their treat and some did not... Those that argued and never completed their work blamed Daddy for not being specific enough in his request to "wash the dishes." They thought Daddy should have described how he wanted the dishes washed. Sister got her treat but was sad to see her younger siblings suffer without one... She wished she had done more to encourage them not to fight and do their work.
