The lie has short legs

It is often said that lies have short legs, pear heads, long necks, hair-covered bodies, and crooked eyes, which are big and mean or small and rude.

“It depends,” Adalgisa thought with her buttons. – That can be all and more!

She was a lie specialist, of whom she had an endless collection.

There were so many of his lies that he no longer knew where to keep them.

At first she would hide them only in her bedroom: under the rug, at the bottom of the wardrobe, behind the heater …

At the bottom of the closet, then, was a shelf full of jars full of lies.

But quickly the lies filled the room, then began to leap out into the most unthinkable places in the house.

As soon as one jumped out, Adalgisa hurried to cover her with an even fatter one.

When the lies started to come out, she even found them amusing, so she tried to make them her friends, but soon she had to say the unspoken … You can’t trust lies!

The problem is that the lies don’t go away when they need to, staying there, waiting for the best time to jump out and cause misfortune! This is why Adalgisa’s life was becoming a real tragedy rather than a comedy. She spent time watching and catching all her lies, and for that she was forced to create new lies: an endless circle …

– Adalgisa, have you washed your teeth yet? Asked Mom, and she answered:

– Already, mom. And I also washed my hands.
  

POF!

No sooner had he spoken than the lie leaped over his shoulder and, laughing, the whole truth blew into her ear.

“You know, Luisa,” Adalgisa was jokingly telling her friend, “that my grandfather had a cow named Celeste and could speak?”

The two together came to perform in the most famous theaters in the world! My grandfather was a very famous actor!
  

POF!

Here came another …

The truth is that Adalgisa told the lies so well and with such certainty and certainty that, over time, even she was convinced that what she said was really true. Adalgisa therefore was full of lies that went out from all over her body.

She brought them in her pockets, in her hair, in her shoes, clinging to the frills of her dress …

     And the lies were truly blatant and teasing. It sometimes happened that during a lesson one of the lies tickled her, and when the teacher demanded explanations, Adalgisa told one more lie that was added to her collection.

That day had begun like so many others. No one could guess what would happen in a moment.

Ms. Gina, the grandmother’s friend, wanted to know:

– Adalgisa, is it true that you tell lies?

And she answered candidly:

“I’ve never told a lie in my life.” Word of honor!

He had not yet uttered the last word when a huge, hideous, disgusting lie appeared in the room.

Seeing her, Adalgisa was so terrified that she began to scream. The lie was so frighteningly large that it almost occupied the entire room. And Adalgisa felt very small, very small. This time, he’d made a big mistake! He had told such a lie that no one had ever seen anything like it, or no one had ever imagined the same before!

Grandma and her friend looked made of stone. Immobilized on the couch, sitting, staring open-mouthed at that “thing.”

The huge lie began to move around the room. Drooling and soiling, it stirred and broke every thing within reach. Then he approached Adalgisa menacingly: the floor trembled, so did her grandmother and friend.

Adalgisa didn’t know what to do.

She hugged her stuffed monkey Tricky very tightly for protection. The lie leaned over her. A few drops of smelly drool fell on the carpet. The shadow fixed Adalgisa in the eyes, laughing horribly, and then grabbed Tricky, ready to undo him in a thousand bits …
  

– NOOOOOO !!! Shouted Adalgisa. “I will tell no more lies, I promise!” And now it was a real promise.

Immediately there was a ghastly rumble and the room was filled with smoke and a sickening smell. From the huge lie only a few drops of disgusting drool remained on the carpet.

Immediately after, among thousands of strange grunts, all the other lies began to run wild, until, writhing, they exploded with a POF like the one you heard when they appeared.

“Grandma, the lies are said to have short legs, but did you see how these lies ran smoothly?”

Grandmother and granddaughter hugged, laughing, very happy. Rosy Gadda Conti The lie has a short leg Mayan, New Gaia Editions, 2003 Adapted text