A Christmas carol story!

Last night the choir from the local church came round singing carols and they were a delight to hear. I always used to go to the door with money but they don't collect, instead, for the last couple of years they have given out warm mince pies with a large dollop of brandy cream!
About nine years ago it was a bit like the wild west round here as many of the families in the council houses were well known to the local constabulary and this included some of the young lads who were always in trouble. One evening, right at the start of December, there was a knock at the door and when I opened it, three of these lads who were about ten years old were standing there singing 'We wish you a merry Christmas'. I told them that it wasn't a proper carol, they were far too early and I wasn't going to give them money for that pathetic performance! Then I told them that if they wanted to earn money for carol singing they could come back at 6:30pm on the Saturday before Christmas and sing two verses of three proper carols and I would pay £10 whether it was one person, two or thirty two!
Several times during the next couple of weeks I saw them huddled together in various places holding sheets of paper and trying hard not to be seen. Obviously they had some carol sheets from school and were practising hard. Then two weeks before I had told them to come there was a knock at the door and when I opened it I told them they were still too early and to go away and practice a bit more.
On the Saturday before Christmas I had Eden with me and I told her the boys were coming round to sing some carols to us and duly at 6:30pm there was a knock at the door. There were only two of them so I asked where their friend was only to be told he had been 'grounded'. Then they started to sing the first carol and didn't do too bad a job but I did ask them to sing a little more loudly for the next one which they did. When it came to the third carol they didn't seem very sure of the tune so I stopped them and said we would start from the beginning and I would give them some help. So there we were, all singing the last carol and at the end I told them they had done very well and gave them ten £1 coins and they went off quite happy.
I hope I they learned that you have to earn money and not just expect it but they never came back the next year!