Little Johnny had a bad habit—he was always late for school. But what really got under his teacher’s skin wasn’t just the tardiness—it was the outrageous excuses he made up every single time. One day, fed up with his wild tales, the teacher complained to the headmaster.

“I’ve had it with Johnny’s exaggerations,” she said.

The headmaster nodded knowingly. “Next time he’s late,” he told her, “send him to me. I’ll tell him a lie so big, he’ll never tell another one again.”

The very next morning, Johnny strolled into class two hours late. The teacher crossed her arms and demanded an explanation.

Johnny began, “Well, I was actually two hours early today, so I decided to go fishing in the pond on my way here. I caught a seventeen-pound trout! I had to take it home, clean it, and freeze it—otherwise my mum would’ve been angry. That’s why I’m late.”

Without saying a word, the teacher took Johnny straight to the headmaster’s office and recounted his story.

The headmaster leaned back in his chair and said, “Johnny, let me tell you what happened to me on my way to school today.”

“I was walking through the park when I heard something behind me. I turned around and saw a giant grizzly bear—twenty-four feet tall, with six-inch fangs! He was about to eat me alive when suddenly, a little dog ran out from the bushes. The dog jumped at the bear, attacked it, and killed it! Then, believe it or not, the dog ate the whole bear—right there in front of me.”

The headmaster paused dramatically. “What do you think of that, Johnny?”

Johnny blinked, then said with a grin, “Oh yeah? That was my dog, Sparky. That’s his third bear this week.”