Question

The Young Thief and His Mother
A young Man had been caught in a daring act of theft and had been condemned to be executed for it. He expressed his desire to see his Mother, and to speak with her before he was led to execution, and of course this was granted. When his Mother came to him he said: 'I want to whisper to you,' and when she brought her ear near him, he nearly bit it off. All the bystanders were horrified, and asked him what he could mean by such brutal and inhuman conduct. 'It is to punish her,' he said. 'When I was young I began with stealing little things, and brought them home to Mother. Instead of rebuking and punishing me, she laughed and said: 'It will not be noticed.' It is because of her that I am here to-day.'
'He is right, woman,' said the Priest; 'the Lord hath said:
'Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old he will not depart there from.'
What kind of punishment did the thief get for his crime?
1 death 2 being a slave 3 worked as a labor 4 worked as a sold slave 5 exiled
Why did the thief bit his mother’s ear?

Answer 1

1. As said in the text, "before he was led to execution" - that means his form of punishment is death.
2. As a punishment, because when the thief was young and he stole little things, his Mother had not punished him and taught him otherwise; but instead she laughed it off and said that no one will notice it. Because of that, when the thief grew up he became bad and thus is about to be executed.