" Frankie,” he said, “why did I whip you?” “I went under the bed.” “Why else?” “Fib.” “Say, ‘I fibbed.’ ” Frank hesitated, then said, “I fibbed,” although it had seemed as though the fib just came out of him. Walter said, “These things don’t just happen, Frankie. They are punishments you incur with disobedience and deception. You are a smart boy and a brave boy, and your mother and I love you very much, "

― Jane Smiley , Some Luck (Last Hundred Years: A Family Saga, #1)