Miss Hill, he must ask the librarian at the lending desk where she is. When, the librarian begins her answer with, "Miss Hill? My goodness, hadn't you heard?,"Bud gives his readers "Rules and Things Number 16," which states the following:

If a Grown-up Ever Starts a Sentence by Saying
"Haven't You Heard," Get Ready, 'Cause
What's About to Come Out of Their Mouths Is Gonna
Drop You Head first into a Boiling Tragedy.

In other words, Bud has taught himself to know that the announcement of bad news always begins with the question, "Haven't you heard?," and to steel his nerves for hearing the worst so that the news doesn't come as such an emotional shock and doesn't create as severe emotional pain.

There are two rules mentioned in chapter 15 of Bud, Not Buddy. The first is as follows:

Rules and Things number 547, or something, that was the one about when a adult tells you, “Don’t Worry.”

This is in reference to Miss Thomas telling Bud that the girl whose room Bud is sleeping in is gone. She tells him not to worry that the girl will come back. Bud thinks when an adult tells you not to worry about something, it means you should probably worry more. This is a rule of survival. Bud has developed these rules as a means to survive in an often chaotic world, where he is alone. He doesn’t trust adults, and the one he did trust is dead.

This brings us to the next rule mentioned:

RULES AND THINGS NUMBER 28
Gone = dead!

When Miss Thomas tells Bud that the little girl is gone, Bud assumes she means that the girl is dead, because to Bud, when someone is "gone," they are often dead. This is also a survival rule. Bud has learned not to expect people (like his mother) to come back. Now he knows that if someone is gone, they’re either dead or as good as dead to him.

In chapter 15 of Bud, Not Buddy, Bud finds himself spending the night in a little girl's bedroom at Grand Calloway Station, the home of Herman Calloway. Miss Thomas takes him upstairs to the girl's bedroom, and Bud is apprehensive about spending the night in the room because of the two unlocked closets. He imagines that a "young Frankenstein" or a "wolfman" could be lurking inside the closets. Miss Thomas assures Bud that the little girl is no longer using the bedroom and tells him not to worry about the closets because all that's inside are "girl's clothes and toys."

Two rules come to Bud's mind. The first is "547 or something," and that rule is this: when adults tell you not to worry, you probably have to worry! The second rule is 28, and that rule states, "Gone = dead!" On one level, these rules have helped Bud survive as he has had to navigate the adult world, which, at times, has treated him harshly, and to realize his mother is dead. However, on a deeper level, Rule 28 has helped him to thrive as he has lived his life without his mother and is now in search of his father. He understands that his mother is gone, dead. This realization has given him the strength to search out Herman Calloway, who turns out to be his grandfather, and to find his home.

Interestingly enough, at the end of chapter 15, Bud falls into a comforting sleep, no longer "scared or nervous," and he "took in a couple more deep breaths and . . . could hear Momma starting to read another story to me." The reader discovers that Bud is sleeping in his mother's bed and that Bud has finally found his family. Therefore, even though "gone" equates to "dead," Bud thrives as he finds love and a real home after his mother's death.

As an orphan, Bud naturally leads a pretty unstable life. Constantly moving around from place to place, he lacks the security that a child with a loving family would take for granted.

So, in order to give some structure to his life, and to make his life a little more fun, he devises a set of rules. Among other things, these rules will also make Bud a better liar, which he finds to be an essential skill when dealing with adults, many of whom are themselves thoroughly dishonest.

Bud's rules are drawn from common experience, and so it's perhaps inevitable that other people appear to follow them. One such individual is the abusive, bullying Todd Amos, whose mom and dad are Bud's latest foster parents. He seems to be following Number 3 of Bud's rules, which states,

If you got to tell a lie, make sure it's simple and easy to remember.

Or, to put it another way, in order to be a good liar, you have to have a good memory. Otherwise, it's likely you'll get found out.

Todd's lie—that Bud physically attacked him—is indeed very simple and easy to remember, not least because Todd only just made up the lie. In actual fact, he was the one who attacked Bud. But because Todd's mother thinks that butter wouldn't melt in his mouth, she immediately believes him.

On the whole, Bud's rules are pretty handy and give structure to his otherwise chaotic existence. But other people can use them too, and they can use them against Bud. And when they do, as in the case of Todd, they can actually undermine whatever limited stability Bud has managed to introduce into his life.

Bud's rule number three is as follows. 

"If you got to tell a lie, make sure it’s simple and easy to remember.” 

Bud tells the readers this rule in chapter two.  Bud is good liar. He admits it several times in the story, and rule number three is a good reason for why he is a good liar.  His rule says to keep lies simple.  That means don't make them overly complex because then the lie becomes too convoluted for its own good.  The easy to remember part has a hidden extra detail in it.  Generally speaking, the easiest lies to remember are the ones that contain truth.  Bud knows these facts about how to tell lies better than most, but in chapter two Bud finds himself on the receiving end of a well told lie.  

Bud is woken up by Todd Amos who is shoving a pencil up Bud's nose. Bud of course defends himself and punches Todd.  A fight ensues and is broken up by Todd's mom.  Of course Todd doesn't want to take any of the blame, so he tells a simple, believable lie to his mom. Todd tells his mom that Bud wet the bed, which she immediately believes. Todd is most likely a bed wetter, and that is why he knows that she will believe the lie. In fact Bud is even slightly impressed with the quality of Todd's lie.  Despite Bud's  acknowledgement of the good lie, Bud still gets in trouble and locked in a shed for the night. 

You can find rule 118 in Chapter Two. Basically, rule 118 states that you have to rely on subterfuge to get what you really want. Subterfuge is any sort of deceit or trickery used to achieve one's goals. Here's rule 118 as stated by Bud:

You Have To Give The Adults Something That They Think They Can Use To Hurt You By Taking It Away. That Way They Might Not Take Something Away That You Really Do Want Unless They Are Crazy Or Real Stupid. They Won’t Take Everything Because If They Did They Wouldn’t Have Anything Left To Hold Over Your Head To Hurt You With Later.

In the story, Bud is staying with a foster family. The Amos family consists of Mr. and Mrs. Amos and their son, Todd. Todd is a bully, but he's good at hiding the evidence of his crimes. Somehow, he always manages to pin the blame on Bud, who is considerably smaller and younger than he is.

After one especially violent physical altercation, Todd once again manages to make it look like Bud is the instigator of the fight. Mrs. Owen is so angry that she proclaims that Bud can no longer stay in their home. Upon hearing this, Bud pretends to be upset at the thought of being sent back to the orphanage. In reality, he'd rather be back at the Home than live with the likes of Todd. So, he puts rule 118 to use.

Bud apologizes profusely to the whole family; as Mrs. Owen appears to be the one in charge, he reserves his most obsequious (excessively groveling) apologies for her. As a stroke of genius, he begs not to be sent back to the Home and to be given another chance. His aim is to draw attention away from the one thing which really means a lot to him: the suitcase that contains paraphernalia (articles or things) of sentimental value to him. As Mrs. Amos already knows how attached he is to his suitcase and the items in them, Bud doesn't want to give any further indication of the extent of his attachment.

By focusing Mrs. Amos' attention on his supposed desire NOT to return to the orphanage, he allows her to think that she has some power over him. He deludes her into thinking that his first concern is being allowed to stay. In line with rule 118, this leads Mrs. Amos to hold on to his suitcase instead of throwing it away. She thinks that she can use the suitcase later as a way to manipulate Bud. As the story continues, we read that Bud soon runs away from the Amos home, and as promised by rule 118, he has planned it just right. Bud does find the suitcase after escaping from the shed he is locked in. He manages to play one last prank on Todd before leaving with his beloved suitcase.

Early on, Bud introduces the reader to a series of rules and wisdom entitled “Bud Caldwell’s Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself.”

Although Bud has only been alive for ten years, he has already faced many hardships. It’s not surprising that Bud would have a wealth of knowledge about how to make the best of a lousy situation, as well as advice on how to tell a lie to alleviate a tough predicament or extract oneself from a terrible environment.

Bud has thought up so many rules that he’s had to number them. Bud does not present the rules in chronological order. He’ll jump from rule 3 to rule 118 to rule 328 to rule 83.

Let’s focus on rule 328 since that’s what the question is about. Rule 328 reads as follows:

When You Make Up Your Mind to Do Something, Hurry Up and Do It, If You Wait You Might Talk Yourself Out of What You Wanted in the First Place.

One might notice the number of capital words. The capital words make the rules seem officious, powerful, and commanding.

Yet it’s a good thing Bud doesn’t follow rule 328. Remember, this rule is presented in the context of Bud trying to talk himself into shooting the Amos family for imprisoning him in the shed. Bud imagines killing them with their own shotgun. Fortunately, Bud does talk himself out of doing this. Instead, he gets Todd to go to the bathroom on himself before running away.

Then again, perhaps there’s a way to say that Bud did follow rule 328. Maybe what Bud truly wanted to do in the first place was not commit mass murder, but to just get away from his abusive foster family. By the start of chapter 5, his mission is accomplished.

In Chapter 7, Bud is in the library and asks the librarian for Miss Hill. The librarian responds by saying, "Miss Hill? My goodness, hadn't you heard?" (Curtis 55). Bud instantly remembers one of his rules. According to Rule Number 16,

"If a Grown-up Ever Starts a Sentence by Saying "Haven't You Heard," Get Ready, 'Cause What's About to Come Out of Their Mouth Is Gonna Drop You Head first into a Boiling Tragedy" (Curtis 56).

Bud braces himself for some bad news because he associates the statement "haven't you heard" with finding out that somebody has just passed away. He elaborates by saying that not only does the statement imply that someone is dead, but also that the person they are referring to typically died in a tragic, grotesque manner. Bud then tries to prepare himself to receive the tragic news about Miss Hill. Fortunately, the librarian informs Bud that Miss Hill moved to Chicago with her new husband. Rule Number 16 would be classified as a "survival" rule because Bud uses the rule to remind himself to be prepared to receive bad news. Bud realizes that if he can prepare himself to hear tragic news, then he will be able to maintain his composure and protect himself emotionally.

Completely agree with #2 here - an unfortunate reality of Bud's life is that the truth is often not acceptable and/or would get him into lots of trouble. His position as a foster kid, a dependent who is taken into people's homes makes him naturally untrustworthy in other's opinion, and therefore he has learned the hard way that lying is sometimes the best option, but to do so you need to learn to lie effectively. It is clear that he has learned from experience that the best lies are simple ones and that he is able to remember easily, so if he is further interrogated on his lie he can not be caught out.

"No. 3, If you got to tell a lie, Make sure it's simple and easy to remember."

In Bud's situation, there are times when he has to lie.  Most people face it once in a while.  The more elaborate a lie is, the more difficult it is to remember all the details.  That makes it even harder to keep the lie straight.  If you're going to tell a lie, make it short and simple.  The more complicated the lie, the harder it is to remember and then be able to pull if off.  Most people will not believe you if you stumble trying to remember what lie you made up.  Although a detailed lie seems to be more credible, most times short, sweet, and to the point are the best.  That is what is meant by rule #3.

Bud lives by numerous "Rules" that he lists in Bud Caldwell's Rules and Things to Have a Funner Life and Make a Better Liar Out of Yourself. These rules help Bud survive in a harsh world. In Chapter 11, Bud is extremely tired from walking to Owosso from Flint before being picked up by Lefty Lewis. Bud falls asleep on the ride back to Flint, and in the morning he hears someone calling his name, telling him to wake up. Bud cannot recall where he is at and remembers Rule Number 29,

"When You Wake Up and Don't Know for Sure Where You're At And There's a Bunch of People Standing Around You, It's Best to Pretend You're Still Asleep Until You Can Figure Out What's Going On and What You Should Do" (Curtis 116).

Bud keeps his eyes closed and listens to what the woman is saying in hopes that she will reveal where he is at and what's going on around him. Bud listens to her discuss the various bug bites all over his face and hears a man say that Bud was trying to walk to Grand Rapids from Flint. Bud finally remembers that Lefty Lewis gave him a ride and listens as they discuss his "father," Herman E. Calloway. Bud says,

"See! I told you it was smart to pretend you were asleep some of the time. Now I was going to learn some things about my father" (Curtis 117).

Bud learns that he has a half-sister who is an adult and that Herman was married to several women. Rule Number 29 allowed Bud to find out information about Herman that he did not previously know, and allowed Bud to understand his surroundings before waking up.

Readers will read about Bud's rules about how to have a "Funner Life" throughout the book. We will come to understand that he is likely making up the rule numbers, but the rules are things that he definitely adheres to. Rule number three can be found in chapter 2. It is the first rule that we come across, and the rule deals with how to tell a lie.

If You Got to Tell a Lie Make Sure It's Simple and Easy to Remember.

Bud's rule is a good one. I'm willing to bet most readers of this book have told a lie at some point, and Bud's rule should be recognized as solid advice. The reason Bud decides this moment to tell us about rule number 3 is because the rule is being used against Bud by Todd Amos.

Bud has the unfortunate experience of being awoken by Todd trying to see how far he can shove a pencil up Bud's nose. Bud's had a rough life up to this point, and he isn't someone that is going to sit back and let another person abuse him that way. Bud's response is to smack Todd as hard as he can and then engage in the ensuing fight. Todd is very shocked that Bud stood up to him, but Todd doesn't back down either. The fight brings in Mrs. Amos, and Todd immediately begins weaving his web of lies. He plays the innocent and good son card and claims that he was only coming to check in on Bud and make sure that Bud hadn't wet the bed. The lie is a good and believable lie because Mrs. Amos hates bed wetters so much that she made Bud sleep on plastic. Todd knows this. His lie is simple, easy to remember, easily believed by his mother.

Bud from Christopher Paul Curtis's book Bud, Not Buddy has a lot of rules. A reader probably can't trust Bud's numbering system, but we can confidently trust that Bud's rules have been learned from his real-life experiences.

Bud has a tough life. He is an orphan trying to survive and grow up during the Great Depression. In response to those difficulties, Bud has rules in his life for the same reasons that parents or teachers establish rules for their kids and students. Rules don't typically exist to ruin fun; they exist to keep people safe, and Bud's rules are no different. As an example, rule number 328 has Bud explaining that once a decision is made, go with it right away. Bud has learned that hesitations can bring more trouble than they are worth. This is why he decides to go on the attack against the "bat" that he believes is in the shed. It turns out that the bat is a hornets' nest, and Bud has a whole new problem. His rule of act sooner rather than later is a rule meant to keep him safe at a time in history when sitting back and doing nothing could mean no job and no food.

Rule number 118 is a long rule.  There's actually a couple of parts to it.  I'll start with the very last part.  

They Won’t Take Everything Because If They Did They Wouldn’t Have Anything Left To Hold Over Your Head To Hurt You With Later.

What Bud has become intimately familiar with by age ten is that adults like to punish children by taking things away from children.  I'm not going to lie, I use that tactic with my own children.  The last part of rule 118 explains that an adult won't take everything away from a child, because then the adult can't use the threat of taking something away anymore.  It would be like threatening to shoot somebody with your thumb and index finger held up in the shape of a gun.  There's no real threat there. 

The first part of the rule really shows Bud's understanding of the "adult taking stuff away" tactic.  

You Have To Give The Adults Something That They Think They Can Use To Hurt You By Taking It Away. That Way They Might Not Take Something Away That You Really Do Want

Bud explains that he knows that he has to make adults think that they are taking something away from him that he cares about.  That way the adult feels like the punishment is working, but if the item is really taken away, it's no big deal.  That's why Bud begs Mrs. Amos to not send him back to the orphanage.  Mrs. Amos is now likely to do that, because she feels like it will hurt Bud.  But going back to the home is exactly what Bud wants in the first place.  

"Please don't call the Home, please don't send me back." Shucks, going back to the Home was just what I wanted to do, but I was being just like Brer Rabbit in one of the books Momma used to read to me at night when he yelled out, "Please, Brer Fox, don't throw me into the pricker patch, please, please!"

In the book Bud, Not Buddy, Bud has some great rules about life and getting by.  What's awesome about his rules is that they are funny most of the time.  In addition to being funny, they are truthful rules.  They aren't random sounding.  Each rule of Buds always reminded me of a familiar situation of my own.  Rule three is no exception.  Rule three deals with lying.  

"No. 3, If you got to tell a lie, Make sure it's simple and easy to remember."

The first time that the rule is introduced, it's not Bud telling the lie.  It's Todd Amos.  He lies about Bud wetting the bed.  It's a simple, straightforward lie that his mom is immediately likely to believe.  The lie works.  

In chapter ten, Bud uses the rule to his advantage.  Bud is trying to get to Grand Rapids, and he is walking along the road side in the dead of night.  A man pulls over and assumes that Bud is a runaway.  He asks Bud where he is from.  Bud lies.  

"I ran away from Grand Rapids, sir." See how perfect the lie was? Maybe this guy would feel sorry for me and put me on a bus to Grand Rapids and I wouldn't have to do any more doggone walking.

Bud's lie is simple and straightforward, because it doesn't involve a lot of details.  It's even partially true.  He is a runaway.  It's also immediately believable, because Grand Rapids isn't that far away from where Bud currently is.  Bud is hoping that the man will believe him and send Bud back "home" to Grand Rapids.  It's not home, but it is where Bud wants to go.