The Egg and the Ox

A childhood story from Ovi

When I was about five years old, we were living in Brăila. One day, my mother dressed me nicely and took me to visit one of her aunts.

My great-aunt served us green walnut preserves. I thought they were delicious, but after the adults began talking, I became bored and decided to explore.

Behind the house, I discovered a shed that was also used as a henhouse. Inside were many eggs. To a five-year-old boy, finding them felt like discovering treasure.

I carefully took one egg and placed it in my pocket.

On our way home, proud of my discovery, I showed it to my mother. I did not understand why she became so upset. In my mind, I had simply found an egg and brought it with me.

Then she recited an old Romanian saying:

“Cine fură azi un ou,
Mâine va fura un bou.”

In English, it means:

“He who steals an egg today
will steal an ox tomorrow.”

I understood that she believed I had stolen the egg. But the lesson presented me with a much bigger problem.

I began wondering where I could possibly find an ox—and how a little boy like me would ever manage to steal one.

Only much later did I understand what my mother was trying to teach me: a small dishonest act, if left uncorrected, can eventually lead to a much larger one.

I remembered the lesson.

But even today, whenever I think about that egg, I still smile—and I still wonder where my mother thought I was going to find the ox.