"We're not thieves."
The two children said in unison.
"You're taking something without asking. That's stealing."
Since they'd gotten this far, the old woman decided to say a little more.
She'd planned to wait until they got home to teach the children a lesson.
She didn't want to take up too much of the young man's time, after all.
"You know that yourselves, don't you?"
"You didn't want Big Brother to find out..."
"So you waited until Big Brother was asleep and secretly tried to untie the balloon from his wrist..."
"Why didn't you wake Big Brother and ask if you could take a look at his balloon?"
"Why did you have to do it secretly?"
The two children were at a loss for words.
They hadn't thought that far ahead.
When they saw Big Brother with his eyes closed, they'd instinctively tiptoed over, all sneaky and furtive...
That was right.
Why hadn't they woken Big Brother?
"...We didn't want to wake Big Brother..."
The two children came up with a reason.
"Don't make excuses."
The old woman shook her head.
"This is only a balloon."
"Big Brother is a very nice person, too."
"So he's letting it go."
"Next time, you might run into someone like Grandma Guan..."
Grandma Guan was famous in the neighborhood for her fiery temper.
She had a loud voice.
And plenty of lung power.
When she started yelling at someone...
She never ran out of things to say.
And she could keep going for a long time.
Which mischievous kid in the neighborhood hadn't been scolded by Grandma Guan?
That was why all the kids were afraid of her.
These two were no exception.
Whenever they saw Grandma Guan, they acted like mice spotting a cat.
They'd steer clear of her