MANDY and Monty Smith were twin brother and sister. They both had ginger hair, freckles and hazelnut eyes; they were both eight years old and lived in Sydney, Australia.

They lived in an apartment with their parents. Mandy was very artistic and mature. Her reports were squeaky clean and she got lots of compliments. However, Monty was the total opposite! He liked to get dirty by playing football in the mud! He liked to be cheeky and over-confident. His reports were atrocious and the complaints from his teachers were unacceptable.

One summer morning, just as daylight fell, the twins were buzzing with excitement. It was Sunday, finally their lucky day! Today was the day of the grand opening of a brand new sweet centre, ‘Kandy Kingdom’, where sugary treats were sure to delight. As a gift for good reports (well a bit higher than usual on Monty’s report) they were going to the grand opening to spend their allowance! Both the twins had waited months for this day and it finally arrived! Soon the family piled into their car and drove off.

Approximately 10 minutes later, they hit downtown and in front of them was the towering Kandy Kingdom. They stepped through the entrance and yes it was just as they had imagined, but even better! There were ‘Jelly Keys’, ‘Sugar Bees’ and ‘Candy Trees’ in one section and in another there were all the great chocolates from all over the world. Then in the candy section it looked like a rainbow had appeared in there. There were millions of brightly coloured sweets. Mandy picked up a packet of gummy bears, candy trees and Cheetos — extra cheesy!

Then she turned to Monty and said, “I’ll wait for you at the till,” and skipped merrily to her dad at the till, while her cute ponytails swung behind her.

Monty had $1 to spend but he couldn’t make up his mind between a dairy milk and a crunchy chocolate bar. They were both for $1 so he had to make a tough decision. He decided to buy the crunchy but he slipped the dairy milk into his back pocket and silently strolled over to the till, humming to himself.

“What took you so long?” Mandy angrily enquired, “Sorry I was just... umm admiring the ff…fascinating umm… ch-cheese,” he unconvincingly whispered.

The man who owned the centre quickly scanned the items. His name was Smith Brown; he was a very jolly man who was forever trying to keep everyone smiling, including his customers.

“Ah hello, you two little kids look like you love to munch on these goodies!” Mr Brown chuckled. The twins nodded at the same time. When done, they quickly went through the exit, however, when Monty crossed the line, a bunch of ear-bleeding alarms were set off. They all looked confused. Suddenly, a hunky and indignant looking security guard stormed through the door, he stomped up to Monty clenching his fists so tight.

Monty felt guilty, and lots of thoughts went over his mind; ‘Will he get banned from eating sweets, or he’ll get arrested?” He was taking no risks. The next thing he knew, he was in tears blurting out the sour truth.

“It’s okay, kid, as long as you’ve admitted your mistake, it’s no biggie,” the security guard smiled. “But Monty, from now on you will get no offers from me!” Mr Brown pouted.

Soon they all returned to the car. Monty felt guilty, sad and soggy (because of his crying). He was silent all the way home. “Why? Hello, little sweet thief!” Mandy teased.

“Stop it!” he muttered but his eyes, which were filled with fierce frenzy, clearly screamed, ‘I would beat you up with one hand behind my back if I wasn’t in trouble!’

Mandy silently sneaked, because she knew she was winding him up!

Then the twins’ mother spoke, “You always have to disappoint us right Monty. You’d be better off at a boarding school!” Monty apologised and vowed not to ever steal again. Then their father said, “Just remember kids, take the right path and don’t be foolish!”

Moral: Fools rush in where angels fear to tread!