Mr. Owl...how many Tootsie-Rolls can you take from Mrs. Mosiman's candy jar before she hunts you down like a dog?

I keep an old-fashioned glass candy jar, currently filled with Tootsie-Roll midgees, on my desk. Former students frequently visit "me" after school recognizing the long-standing unwritten rule of "one per customer." Occasionally, this privilege is abused which has, in the past, resulted in the disappearance of the candy jar for a period of time, marked with the wearing of black arm bands, bowed heads, and great anguish.  Yesterday, one of my 8th grade boys waltzed in to my classroom and then waltzed out with a giant handful of Tootsie-Rolls, horrifying my 4th graders who reacted as though they were witnessing grand larceny (and, to be perfectly fair, perspective-wise...it WAS grand larceny!). As I was instructing a small group about the magic that is long division, I wasn't able to address the problem immediately but first thing this morning, I hunted that 8th grader down. Naturally, he denied my furious accusation that he had taken too many Tootsies. As he was a graduate of the Amy Mosiman School of Accountability, I launched into a full-sized Tootsie-Roll tirade. I concluded with a life-altering choice: "Apologize: Say 'Sorry Mrs. Mosiman...it'll never happen again' OR never darken my doorstep again!"  Relationship restored and rule re-enforced, I returned to my classroom.

That evening, as I shared my day with my family, I couldn't understand their confused expressions. "You made that big a deal over a couple of Tootsie-Rolls," my husband asked. I stared at him incredulously. That kid stole from me...that kid stole from our family. Savannah shook her head in amazement, concerned more about my 4th grade "informants." "So are you telling me," I mused slowly, "that if my 4th graders witnessed a bank robbery, they shouldn't provide the police with a detailed description of the perpetrator?" "Mom, they're Tootsie-Rolls," Savannah said, as though to an idiot. Who were these people?!? Tootsie-Rolls or rolls of cash...it doesn't matter. I provide a caring environment of honesty and trust which was violated ("Did you really just use the word violated," my husband asked in disgust.). Harmony had to be restored or, since we're talking about Tootsie-Rolls, wrapped up.