Two wealthy teenagers decided to pose as beggars on the street one day. Their dad found out and was furious, only to discover that they were doing it to help a friend of theirs that needed assistance.
Despite coming from a wealthy family, Adam and Cody were kind and helpful 13-year-old boys. Everybody in town knew their parents, but they preferred to keep a low profile and live modestly.
On one particular day, Adam and Cody sat on a bench wearing torn, dirty clothes. They held up a sign that read, “Please help.” They also set up a table with some items which they had put on sale.
It was usually a homeless man sitting on the bench they were on, but he was nowhere to be found. People gathered around them after realizing these teenagers were not beggars and were wealthy.
A woman decided to go up to them to ask them what happened. “Are you two okay? Why are you out here asking for help?” she asked.
Adam admitted that they were there to help their friend who was currently in the hospital. “We want to help our friend who is sick. Please help us,” he pleaded.
Concerned, she discreetly took a photo of them and sent it to their father, Peter. When he received the picture, he immediately left his meeting to pick up his children, furious that they would present themselves to the public in that matter.
However, when he arrived at the park, he was shocked by what he saw. Dozens of people lined up to put money in a box and purchase items from the two teenagers.
The woman who sent him the photo of his children approached him, realizing her mistake. “Please don’t scold your sons. They have such kind hearts, and we need more people like them on earth!”
He nodded at the woman and approached them immediately. “Adam, Cody, what is going on here?” he asked.
Cody was frightened, but he decided to answer. “Sorry, dad. We didn’t want you to see this, but we had to do what we could. A few weeks ago, we were walking home from school when we saw a homeless man named Carl sitting on this exact bench. No one would help him, and he looked tired and hungry,” he started.
While he was telling the story, more people decided to listen in, making their dad uncomfortable. Cody carried on to tell the tale anyway.
“We would bring him tea and sandwiches every day, and he’d be so grateful. Since then, we’d spend a couple of minutes with him to exchange stories. He is such a kind man, dad. Yesterday, we had food to bring him but he was not on the bench. We walked to the abandoned shack he lives in, and he was so ill. We called the ambulance, and he’s been confined since then,” he explained.
Peter was shocked at how kind his children were. He was so proud that he wanted to help them in their cause. “Are these your old things?” he asked his sons.
This time, it was Adam who nodded. “We were supposed to sell these to buy the video game we wanted, but we realized that the man needed it more. We took our things, and we’ve been selling them here. Look at how much we’ve earned for him, dad! Some people even donated without buying anything,” he said proudly.
Their dad smiled. He canceled his meetings for the day and joined them on the bench, which drew even more people to them, buying from their mini yard sale.
By the end of the day, the whole town knew about the situation of the homeless man and of the kind gesture Adam and Cody did for him. They came to donate money, and in the end, the table was swept empty.
Adam and Cody were delighted that they earned $2300 from sales and donations that day. However, they feared it was not enough.
“Isn’t the hospital charging so much now, dad? We’ll need to come back and sell more things tomorrow,” Cody suggested.
Peter nodded. “Sons, I am proud of what you’ve done today. I’ve never seen anything like it! I’m so inspired by your kindness, and I’d be happy to pay for your friend’s hospital bill. The money you earned, you can choose to use it on yourselves or to give it to him so he can start anew after he gets out of the hospital.”
Adam and Cody gasped and jumped for joy. They embraced their dad and thanked him for his kindness.
That night, they went to the hospital to visit their friend Carl. While Peter paid for the bill, Adam and Cody handed Carl the envelope with the money they collected.
“We were at your bench today, and we sold a couple of things so you could have money for yourself once you get out of here. Our dad has already taken care of your hospital bill,” Cody told him.
“What? Why did you sell things for me? You should keep the money for yourselves. Don’t worry about me,” Carl said, refusing to take the envelope.
“We insist. We initially raised money to pay the bills, but our dad wanted to pay for it. It’s nothing, Carl. We’re just happy you’re okay,” Adam told him, sliding the envelope back towards him.
Carl couldn’t help but cry. He’s never experienced this much kindness, especially from strangers he had just met on the street. “I don’t know how to thank you enough. I wish I could repay you somehow,” he sobbed.
“You don’t need to repay us, Carl. We’re glad to be your friends!” The two boys hugged him as he sat up from his hospital bed. Soon after, Peter came in and introduced himself as the boys’ dad.
“You’ve raised wonderful men, sir,” Carl told him.
“I know. I’m so proud of them,” Peter said with a smile. He and Carl exchanged stories for a couple of minutes until Peter decided he wanted to extend help even more.
“Look. Once you get out of here, you can work as a security guard in my business. It’s near the shack you live in, but we’re currently searching for a safer and cleaner room for you to live in. Would you like that?” Peter asked.
Carl couldn’t help but cry again. He didn’t know how to accept the kindness given to him, as he had never experienced it before. He thanked Peter, Adam, and Cody again and again and promised to work hard to live a better life for himself to pay it forward eventually.