Truthfullness or my kid got bitten by the dog

"We'll tell patti that Sophia was playing in the garden and got hurt", I told Anjali the morning after the episode.

Anjali nodded. "Ok"

I felt bad not being honest with her

"Anjali", I said, looking her square in the eyes "I am asking you to lie"

"Ok", she said, a slow smile forming over her face

"In general it is not ok to lie", I said, aware that I was drawing myself deeper and deeper into a pit that it may be difficult for me to pull myself out of, "but this time, we are lying to make sure that patti and thattha do not get worried"

"Ok mummy", said Anjali with enthusiasm, with more enthusiasm that I would have liked to see on her face. "We will tell patti that some thorns poked Sophia in the face when she was picking a rose flower  from the garden"

Shit!

"You know mummy", she went on, "when patti called yesterday, I told her that Sophia was hurt in the garden. I forgot to tell her that Roxy bit her"

Right. And we all know how easy it is to forget that your sister was bit by the dog.

Anyway, here is what happened

I was in the garden when Anjali came along asking whether she could let Roxy out.

"He really wants to play mummy. He is banging his door!"

"Go ask daddy!" I said

She must have asked husband because she came back a couple of minutes later saying "Daddy says if we let Roxy out we must lock Bobby in"

Bobby is Bunica's other dog, the one who has been covering them with dog slob for the past three weeks.

I left it at that, and no one really registered it when Anjali opened the door to Roxy's cage. I was fixing the girls' lunch in the kitchen and husband was helping Tata Sile with some stuff and we heard Anjali going

"Bobby! Roxy! Afara!" in the garden

Ten minutes later Sophia cried and and as I ran to the garage, Anjali walked rapidly towards me her hands covering her eyes

"Mummy, Roxy closed his eyes and pushed Sophia with his mouth!"

The kid was bleeding from her cheek and my first thought was "Oh No! 14 injections around the belly button!"

We rushed to the doctor with whom Tata Sile had a quick discussion and concluded that the marks were not teeth marks but claw marks and that Sophia simply needed the wound cleaned and pandaged. The next morning we could remove the bandage and wash her face.

Husband, who had stayed behind for bunica and took a taxi to the doctor lost his temper at the casual level with which the injuries of his precious kid was taken and wanted to take her to the plastic surgery department in the hospital. We did that, and Sophia got properly fixed up with plasters all over her face by the pediatrician.

When we got to Singapore, we took her to the the pediatrician to counter check that everything was alright

Then, when we were walking to patti's house, husband asked

"What should we tell your parents? given that Sophia is not completely out of the woods and has to take antibiotic and everything"

I thought for a minute, but it was really a no brainer

"I say we go with the truth", I said

The girls were skipping ahead of me holding hands and that sort of helped

"I think so too", siad husband lightly

I took Anjali aside and told her

"Nicks, I think we will tell patti that Sophia was bitten by Roxy"

She looked a bit surprised

"Better to tell the truth and face the music than to lie", I went on

"What music?" she asked

"Thattha will scold us", I said

"But he wont scold me", she said confidently

"Mummy! Will thattha scold me?" Sophia wanted to know