An honest 12-year-old boy named Ethan learned a very important lesson in a cute neighborhood. He got hurt, unfortunately, by his neighbor Mrs. Johnson, who seemed very neat and stiff and wouldn’t pay him to mow her big yard.
Ethan’s mother was furious, and her desire to teach Mrs. Johnson a lesson set off a chain of events that made everyone in the neighborhood talk.
Mrs. Johnson’s failure to give Ethan the $20 that they agreed to pay made his mother very angry. She decided to do something about it herself and asked a friend who ran a landscaping business for help.
They came up with a plan to cut Mrs. Johnson’s beautiful hedges into embarrassing shapes and have three truckloads of mulch brought to her driveway, making it impossible for her to get to them.
The perfectly groomed front of Mrs. Johnson started to fall apart as everyone in the neighborhood watched. When she realized she was being held responsible for what she had done, she was clearly very angry and embarrassed.
Mrs. Johnson was finally hurt when Ethan’s mother calmly addressed her and told her, “Hard work is its own reward.” Neighbors, who were now interested in the drama, watched with bated breath as Mrs. Johnson reluctantly gave Ethan the $20 she owed him.
Ethan was very proud of himself because he knew his mother had fought for him.
The event changed the neighborhood for a long time. Mrs. Johnson’s good name was ruined, and she never asked Ethan for help again. The neighbor who used to be far away learned an important lesson about being honest and the strength of a mother’s love.
After the mulch was taken away and the bushes grew back, Mrs. Johnson’s embarrassing situation became a lesson in how important it is to be kind and respectful to others.
In the end, Ethan’s mother showed that standing up for what’s right can take creative justice and the courage to stand up to people who think they’re above the law.
