Jerome K. Jerome 
They and I [EPUB ebook] 

(Excerpt): "I am a Republican in theory, but it grieved me that a son of mine could be drawn to such companionship. They contrived to keep it for a week–till the police found it one night, artfully hidden behind bushes. Logically, I do not see why stealing apples should be noble and stealing bicycles should be mean, but it struck me that way at the time. It was not the particular steal I had been hoping for."