A photo of a Washington, D.C., mom's message to a pumpkin thief is resonating with many.

"To the person who stole my son's pumpkin," wrote Becky Reina. "Thank you for the life lesson. This will teach him that sometimes people are mean for no reason and you have to just brush it off.

"Because my son is 2-yrs-old and cannot read this sign, I will add: You are an a- - - - - -."

You don't need much imagination to fill in the blank letters on that last word. (We've covered it up in the photo we've put atop this post, but you can easily see the word if you click on this link to photographer Eric Fidler's Flickr page.)

Reporters have called Reina from around the nation and Europe. Thanks to WJLA-TV, you can also hear from her. As the station reports:

"Becky has no way of knowing if the thief has seen the sign, but she hopes so.

" 'I do hope they see the sign, and I hope they feel bad about it,' she said."

This story reminds us of a 2010 report from NPR's Alan Greenblatt:

"Some Thieves Steal Much More Than Money"

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