“I don’t know, why don’t you try and find out?” I said when my granddaughter brought a proposed solution to her dilemma to the arm of the porch swing where I sat carving in the warm afternoon sun.

A little while later, she reappeared and plopped dejectedly beside me, propelling the swing into a gentle rhythm before sighing, “It didn’t work, Grandpa.”

“I’m not surprised, Pumpkin.”

“If you knew it wouldn’t work, why didn’t you tell me before I started?”

“If I had, I would have robbed you of the wisdom you gained by trying it yourself.”

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This short piece was written for Lillie McFerrin’s Five Sentence Fiction prompt “wisdom.”