“Daddy!” The boy pulled on his father’s uniform shirt.
“Yes, son?”
“Why are they burning that lady?”
“Because she committed adultery.”
“Oh.”
“Daddy!” The boy pulled on his father’s shirt again.
“Yes?” Less patient this time.
“I thought you testified at the trial that she couldn’t have done it because she wasn’t there.”
“Well, Father William said she was guilty.”
“Did Father William see her do it?”
“No, he didn’t.”
“Then how did he know?”
“God told him.”
“How does he know that?”
“He’s a minister. It’s his job.”
“But then Father William must have lied! You saw her somewhere else.”
“Don’t say that! The devil deceived me and made me see things that weren’t there.”
“How do you know it was the devil?”
“Because Father William said so, and Father William hears from God.”
There was a pause. “I don’t think so. I think you know what you saw. I think God would know what was true. I think Father William lied.”
“Don’t say that! If anyone hears you, they might burn you!”
“If they burned me, would it make me wrong?”
[This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any real person or place is purely coincidental.]