A carousel operator becomes concerned about a sad little girl who comes to the amusement park every day, escorted by a beggar rather than her father, and decides to follow them. What he learns breaks his heart.
“Who exactly is he? And what is he doing with her?” Ethan was perplexed as he watched the small girl approach the carousel with a beggar.
Ethan was 16 and hailed from a wealthy family, but he wanted to be independent and support himself, so he began working part-time jobs during summer vacations to prove to his father that he was an adult capable of supplementing his own needs.
Nonetheless, on Ethan’s birthday, his father, Mr. Duncan, replenished his bank account with a hefty sum, which was more than what some people with regular jobs make. However, Ethan never spent that money because he preferred to do things his way and on his own.
Ethan worked at an amusement park part-time. | Source: Unsplash
One day, while operating the carousel at the amusement park, Ethan observed a little girl accompanied by a man dressed in ragged, dirty clothes. He deduced from the man’s appearance that he was a beggar. He looked suspicious, which made Ethan uncomfortable.
As he saw them collect their tickets and leave, Ethan felt as if he had seen the little girl before. He’d been working as a carousel controller at the amusement park for a while and was convinced the girl was someone he’d encountered before.
“I’m sure I know her. I’ve seen her before…but where?” he halted as he noticed her going towards the ride.
Meanwhile, the little girl settled on the ride, and when it began, Ethan saw there was no excitement in her eyes. In fact, she appeared depressed, really depressed.
When Ethan arrived at the park for his shift the next day, he noticed the little girl was back, and this time the suspicious man was with her again. This had been going on for several days. He wasn’t sure what the girl was doing with the poor man, but that day, he remembered where he’d seen the girl.
The little girl always looked sad. | Source: Pexels
It turned out that the little girl used to be accompanied by her father to the amusement park on weekends. Back then, she was always joyful and smiling, as opposed to now, when she looked melancholy all the time.
What had happened to her? And why was she with a beggar in the park? Ethan wondered as he looked at her sad face again. He was afraid the little girl might be in danger, and the beggar would harm her, so he followed her and the beggar after his shift.
After nearly half an hour of following them, Ethan observed that the beggar dropped the little girl at a house and walked away. Ethan didn’t understand what was going on, but he realized the man had no intentions of harming the child. However, he still had his doubts about why the girl always looked so sad, so he decided to confront the man.
“Umm…hey,” he yelled out to the man from a distance. “Can we please talk?”
The man looked back at Ethan, confused.
“Hi, my name is Ethan, and I work at the park where you come every day,” he said as he ran up to the man.
Ethan confronted the man. | Source: Pexels
“Is there a problem?” asked the man.
“It’s just…” he paused. “I see you at the park every day, but you’re not alone… Don’t get me wrong, but what the heck is going on with that little girl? She seems worried. I know she used to come with her father before.”
“You know her? Oh,” he sighed. “Her name is Alice, and her father passed away just a few weeks ago.”
Ethan was taken aback. “What?”
“Yes, that’s right. Poor girl…she’s just five. Her father was a very kind man. Whenever they went to the amusement park, they would stop by and give me food and clothes to wear. I met them after saving Alice from being hit by a car. Her father never forgot that, and he was always kind to me.”
“What about her mother?” Ethan inquired, concerned.
Ethan was shocked to learn Alice’s father had died a few weeks ago. | Source: Pexels
“Her mother now works two jobs, and sometimes even three. I am indebted to this family, so I want to help them somehow. They probably still have a lot of loans, so her mother is working really hard to pay them off. Alice says her mother is busy paying money to banks, so I guess that’s what it means.
“I take her to the amusement park because she doesn’t have many friends. Do you know she’s always alone at the park where all the kids in her neighborhood play? That’s where I pick her up every day…Otherwise, she’s mostly alone at home with her neighbors while her mother is out. I spend all of the money I earn through begging on carousel tickets. I’m Alex, by the way.”
“Now I understand… You’re a kind guy, Alex,” Ethan said. “I apologize for misunderstanding you before. Have a great evening! And here,” he added, handing him some cash. “Thank you for assisting a small child. See you later!” he said and frantically walked away.
“Oh!” Alex was taken aback when he saw Ethan go. “You’re too kind, as well! Thanks for the money, by the way” he muttered as he stuffed it into his pocket and walked away too.
A few days later, Alice returned to the carousel with Alex. However, it wasn’t just the two of them. This time, Alice’s mother, Elsa, accompanied them, and they all seemed to be in good mood.
A few days later, Alice visited the amusement park with Elsa. | Source: Pexels
“Ethan!” Elsa cried as she saw him from a distance.
“Good day, Elsa and Alex! Hello, Alice. How are you?” Ethan asked cheerfully.
“I’m good, Ethan. Can I go for the ride?”
“Of course, you can,” he smiled, and Alice bolted.
As Alice left, Elsa approached Ethan and hugged him. “No matter how many times I thank you, Ethan, I will bever be able to pay you back. Thank you for your big and good heart,” she said.
“It’s not an issue at all, Elsa. Please enjoy yourselves,” he replied with a smile.
Alice was happy after a long time. | Source: Pexels
When Ethan got home later that night, Mr. Duncan was waiting for him. Ethan was heading to his room when Mr. Duncan stopped him.
“Ethan!” he yelled stiffly. “I see you’ve been spending a lot of money around. Your balance has reached an all-time low! What in the world did you do with that cash? As far as I recall, you were too eager to accomplish things on your own…You didn’t want my money!” he mocked.
“Dad!” Ethan shot back. “I did not spend the money on myself. I paid off all of the debts and loans of a woman with a little child whose father died recently. I met them, and they desperately need help, so don’t be concerned about your money being squandered! I will repay you someday.”
Mr. Duncan was shocked. “You gave the money to someone?”
Mr. Duncan was shocked Ethan donated all the money in his account to a stranger. | Source: Pexels
“What’s the big deal, Dad?’ I’ll repay—”
Mr. Duncan took a step forward and hugged Ethan before he could finish. “Do you realize how proud I am of you right now, Ethan? You did an excellent job! I do not want the money returned. You’ve proven to me that you’re an adult!”
When his father hugged him, Ethan was taken aback. He anticipated being chastised, but this was not what he expected. “Oh well… Thank you, dad!” he replied, hugging him back.
“Good job, son! Good job!” his father proudly repeated.
By the way, Ethan had not only assisted Alice and Elsa in repaying their loans, but he had also requested special permission from the director of his amusement park so that Alice could visit for free. Moreover, Alex was hired at the amusement park, and he wasn’t homeless and poor anymore, all thanks to Ethan.
On the other hand, Elsa was initially furious when she discovered Alex was taking Alice to the park without her knowledge, but when she learned how her husband had helped Alex and how he wanted to pay her back, she was grateful to him for being thoughtful enough to her little kid.
What can we learn from this story?
- Don’t judge a book by its cover. Ethan was worried about Alice when he saw him at the park with Alex. But in the end, he realized Alex was just helping Alice.
- Kindness is like a boomerang; it always returns in some manner. Alice’s father’s good deed of assisting Alex brought so many beautiful people together, and in the end, everyone received their reward.
If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a little girl who grabs a dirty man’s hand to help him climb the stairs and gets $530K for her mother’s surgery.
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