One day， when a boy named Ted returned from school in a hurry， his mother complained， "It is six o'clock， and your school c（46）　　 at four ﹣ where have you been？"

"Oh， mom，" said Ted， "when we play ball games， we f （47）　　 everything else． We don't think of the time． Is supper ready？"

The boy's mother believed him． Ted's a（48）　　 led her to think that he had been playing with his classmates． But he hadn't been playing at all．

He had been "kept in" by the school librarian， because he had made the l（49）　　 in a complete mess． He didn't like to tell his mother about that． He wished her to think that he had been playing．

"What a s（50）　　 it is for you to try to deceive（欺骗） your mother!" said something in Ted's heart， as he q （51）　　 sat down to his supper．

"I don't care，" said the boy to h（52）　　． "I don't care． I didn't tell a lie ﹣ I didn't say that I was playing．"

"But，" said the voice， "you used words which m（53）　　 your mother think that you had been playing， and that was s （54）　　 to what you had said so．"

"I didn't tell a lie．" said Ted．

Did Ted tell a lie， or did he not？ What do you think？

If we use words which can deceive others， we tell a lie； and Ted's lie was a bad one， for it sounded so like the t （55）　　． A lie that sounds true is the worst kind of lie．