Not all stories are true. I have no pets.

I was reading about Apocryphal/Authentic which are word pairs in the Peter Schmies word classification test when I came across this story as an example of an apocryphal account.

Apography is another interesting word with ‘apo’ ( away from) prefix. It’s a Free Rice level 5 word.

The story of George Washington and the Cherry Tree is the perfect real-world example of an apocryphal tale.
It is a legendary anecdote intended to illustrate Washington’s legendary honesty, but historians agree it almost certainly never happened.
The Plot
The story goes that when George Washington was six years old, he received a small hatchet as a gift. While playing with it, he experimentally chopped at his father’s favorite English cherry tree, barked it badly, and effectively killed it.
When his father discovered the damage, he was furious and asked George if he knew who had done it. George supposedly replied with the famous line:
> “I can’t tell a lie, Pa; you know I can’t tell a lie. I did cut it with my hatchet.”
>
Instead of punishing him, his father embraced him, declaring that his son’s honesty was worth more than a thousand trees.
Why is it “Apocryphal”?
The story is considered apocryphal because it wasn’t recorded during Washington’s life. It was “invented” by Mason Locke Weems (often called Parson Weems), a biographer and cherry-picker of facts (pun intended).
* The Source: Weems first included the story in the 1806 edition of his book The Life of Washington, years after Washington died.
* The Goal: Weems wanted to provide a “moral role model” for the children of the new American republic. He felt that showing Washington as a paragon of virtue was more important than historical accuracy.
* The Irony: It is one of history’s great ironies that the most famous story about “not telling a lie” is, itself, a lie (or at least a fabrication).
Connection to your vocabulary
* Apocryphal: The story is of doubtful authenticity although it is widely circulated as being true.
* Authentic: A story that could be verified by a primary source (like George’s actual childhood diary), which this is not.
* Canonical: This story is “canonical” to American folklore, even if it isn’t “authentic” to history.