One of the matrons of the church was cooking a pot of her famous beans for the church potluck. Her son, Little Johnny, came running through the house, BB gun in one hand, and a handful of BBs in the

One of the matrons of the church was cooking a pot of her famous beans for the church potluck. Her son, Little Johnny, came running through the house, BB gun in one hand, and a handful of BBs in the other.

"Johnny, what are you doing?" his mother asked, as she stirred the beans with a wooden spoon.

"Just out practicing my aim, Mama!" Johnny said with a grin. "I'm gonna be the best shot in the whole neighborhood!"

His mother gave him a long, skeptical look. "Well, you need to be careful with that thing. And make sure you’re not shooting anything you shouldn’t be!"

Johnny, in the meantime, was already eyeing the window, thinking of the birds outside, while he absentmindedly dropped a couple of BBs into the pot of beans.

"Johnny, don’t you dare!" his mother shouted just as she saw him about to aim at the window. But Johnny was too quick. With a mischievous grin, he took aim and fired—right into the pot of beans!

There was a loud plunk, and Johnny's mother froze, staring down at the pot. For a moment, there was dead silence, and then Johnny’s mom slowly looked up at him, her eyes narrowing.

"Johnny," she said, her voice deceptively calm, "you've just turned my famous church beans into BB and bean stew."

Johnny looked horrified. "Oh no, Mama! I didn't mean to! I was just—"

"Just what?" she interrupted. "Shooting beans out of my pot? Maybe next time you can add some bullets and make it a casserole of chaos!"

Johnny’s mother picked up the pot, stared at it, then sighed. "Well, guess this is what I get for raising a son with more energy than common sense!"

A moment later, she had a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "Alright, Johnny, I’m going to let this one slide. But here’s the deal: you’re going to help me make more beans for the potluck—and next time, keep your BBs in their rightful place."

Johnny nodded, still feeling guilty. But before he could start stirring again, his mother added, "And after that, you’re going to apologize to the whole church, because this is going to be the story everyone will talk about at the potluck!"

Johnny gulped. "Guess I better work on my apology speech, huh?"