Three boys in their early teens decide to go for a joy ride. The vehicle they choose to steal is a boat, not a car. The time is near sunset when they begin their evening caper. The boys tour the lake long enough to become thoroughly lost. Ever notice that with nothing but shoreline lights to guide you, it’s easy to get lost?

These teens, not being the cerebral type, next decide to put in at one of the islands near the center of the lake, the island known as the summer home of hundreds of thousands of migrating purple martins.

The boys decide to build a fire to cook the hotdogs they’ve stolen from a nearby lake house. Feeling especially mischievous, one of the boys comes up with an idea: "Let’s set the boat on fire to roast the hotdogs." The other kids think that’s an amazing idea—so that’s what they do.

Each boy eats two or three hotdogs. After supper, they investigate the island to see if they can find any purple martins, but the birds have gone to roost by now.

Bored, the boys decide to go back to the mainland. At that moment a giant "BOING!" appears above their collective heads. "Back to the mainland—in what? We used the boat to cook the hotdogs!"

Hours pass before a large power boat glides close to the island’s shoreline, throwing a powerful searchlight across where the boys are standing. The kids wave their arms frantically to attract attention.

Did I mention that the power boat is from the Sheriff’s Patrol? The boys realize that too, but too late. With their feeble attempts to lie, the boys cannot convince the deputies that they are victims of a sad misadventure.

Deputies photograph the charred remains of the small boat while listening to the boys’ continued fairy tales about the burned boat.

"What really matters," says a deputy, "is whether or not the Family Court Judge believes your amazing story. Somehow, I don’t think he will."