The Mystery Can

“What’s this, Mom?” Sadie pulled a big tin can out of the back of the cupboard. “It has no label on it.”

“I forgot about that,” Mom said. “The labels had come off some canned goods, so the store was selling them for cheap. I bought one. I figured it was probably canned peas.”

Sadie made a face. Canned peas were not her favorite.

Mom picked up the can and turned it over. “They’ll go bad soon. We’d better eat them today.” She put the can on the table.

“What’s that?” Sadie’s big brother, Jason, asked.

“Who knows?” Sadie said. “Mom thinks it’s peas.”

Jason shook the can. “Doesn’t sound like peas. My guess is beans.”

That gave Sadie an idea. She grabbed some tape and a marker and wrote “peas” on one piece of paper and “beans” on another. She taped them to the can.

Then she thought for a minute and wrote “tomato sauce” on another piece.

Just then Dad came into the kitchen. “What’s going on?”

“We’re playing a game,” Mom said. “Guess what’s in the can.”

Dad picked up the can, shook it hard, and gave it a sniff. “Mushrooms!” he announced.

Everyone groaned. “Not mushrooms!” Sadie said. That was worse than peas, beans, and tomato sauce. “Maybe we should just throw the can away.”

“Aren’t you curious to know what’s really inside?” asked Mom.

Dad grabbed the can opener. “I am!”

As Dad opened the can, Sadie covered her eyes. But when he pulled back the lid, she was surprised. The can was full of delicious fruit.

“Yummy!” she said as she looked at the cut-up pears, grapes, cherries, and peaches.

Jason brought over bowls and spoons. “Let’s eat!”

Sadie spooned some fruit from the can into her bowl. “I can’t believe we were all wrong,” she said. “I was sure there was something yucky inside.”

“Do we ever label people like that?” asked Mom.

“What do you mean?” Sadie asked.

Dad set his bowl on the table. “We decide what they are like on the inside, when all we can see is the outside.”

Sadie thought about that. “When Samara was new at school, I thought she wasn’t friendly. But then I learned she just couldn’t speak our language very well. Now we play all the time!”

“That’s a good example,” said Mom.

“Sometimes I feel labeled,” Jason said softly. “Kids at school say I only get good grades because the teacher likes me. But the truth is, I work hard and do all my homework.”

“Labels can hurt, can’t they?” said Dad.

Jason nodded.

Sadie finished her last bite of fruit. “But are all labels bad? At the store you need to know what you’re actually buying.”

“You’re right,” Dad said. “So when are labels good?”

Jason held up his spoon. “When they’re true!”

“And who knows what’s truly inside a person?” asked Mom.

“Heavenly Father,” Sadie and Jason said together.

“I get it!” Sadie said. “I am a child of God. That’s the right label for me.”

“And me,” said Jason.

“And me!” said Dad.

“For everyone.” Mom smiled. “So we shouldn’t label people based on what we see on the outside, or believe false labels given to us. Because only God knows what we truly are inside.”

Sadie wrote on a new piece of tape and stuck it on her sweater. “A child of God,” she said. Sadie smiled. She liked that label best of all.

Illustrations by Róisín Hahessy