The Story of Striped Fringe

Numbers 15:32-41

At school, the other children teased Beth because all of her clothes had fringe and a blue stripe around the edge. This got on Beth's nerves, so she decided to ask her mother why she couldn't have some different clothes. Her mother was looking for something in the bedroom at the time.
"If you had different clothing," said Beth's mother, her voice a little muffled because she was half stuck under the bed, "you might break God's commandments."
"I don't understand," said Beth.
Beth's mother came out from under the bed holding a deflated balloon that she had found. She dropped it in the trash with a look of disgust and then turned to Beth. "Why don't you help me by looking through the closet for anything that seems out of place. Meanwhile, I'll tell you a story about that while I finish what I am doing," said Beth's mother. And this is the story she told:

One day -- it was a Saturday -- the Israelites were in the forest and they found a man picking up sticks. The people that found the man grabbed him and brought him to Moses, Aaron, and everyone else. Then they put him in jail because they didn't know what to do with him.
God said to Moses, "Everyone should take that man out of camp and throw rocks at him until he dies." So the people did that.
Then God said to Moses, Tell the Israelites to put fringe on the seams of their clothes and that there should be a blue stripe in the fringe. That way, you can look at the fringe and remember to obey the laws that I gave you instead of doing what you think is right. That kind of thinking turns you into people who let men put their penises in them for money. Remember and obey my commandments, be holy to me. I'm God, I brought you out of Egypt so that I could be your god, and I'm God."

Beth thought about this for a moment. "I'm pretty sure that I could remember not to break God's laws even if I didn't have fringe on my clothes," Beth said.
"It's better to be safe than beaten to death with rocks," said Beth's mother, reaching for something that was trapped between the wall and the headboard.
Beth thought for another moment. "But that short, black, lacy dress has red ribbon in the fringe, not blue. Is that why you never wear it?"
Her mother sighed, "This isn't really a dress, Dear One, and if it was then you would be right, I certainly wouldn't wear it. Besides, it's not my size."
The frustrated expression on Beth's mother's face convinced Beth that it was probably a bad time to mention the handcuffs that she had found stuffed down deep in an old pair of her father's boots in the closet. Instead, she smiled and hugged her mother. All her questions had been answered.