George Library Washington Book Tree Father Young Day

Children growing up in the U.S. are told that George Washington was always a very honest person, even as a boy. According to one famous tale, young George was outside one day and his father walked up to him to ask a question. "George, I saw that someone chopped down that cherry tree in back of the house," his father said. "To chop down" means to kill a tree or large plant using a sharp object, typically an "axe," which is like a sharp metal knife but much stronger. You must "swing" (move quickly) the axe to hit the bottom of the tree and slowly cut into the tree until it falls. "Did you chop it down?" his father asked. George immediately replied, "I cannot "tell a lie" (say something untrue); I did it with my little 'hatchet' (small axe)." George could have lied, you see, but instead he was honest. The "moral" (ethical lesson) for young children, of course, is that they should be honest, too.

But what happened when George grew up? It seems that while he may have been honest, he was not very "conscientious" (careful about making a mistake or doing something wrong) or responsible. According to a 2010 news article, Washington had gone to the New York Public Library on October 5, 1789, to check out a book called The Law of Nations by Emer de Vattel. Well, now we learn that old George - by then, President Washington - never returned his book.

The library recently discovered that the book had not been returned and asked the "staff" (employees) at George Washington's home, Mount Vernon, about it. The staff bought another copy of the book and presented it to the library to replace the missing copy.

But the story doesn't end there. When you borrow a book from the library and you don't return it, you normally have to pay a "fine" (money paid as punishment) for each day it is not returned. The New York Public Library "calculated" (determined; figured out) that Washington owed a fine of approximately $300,000. Who is going to pay that fine?