Everyone Judges Poor Kids Holding Piece of Cardboard with “Help Our Mom!” Written on It — Story of the Day
Two children begging outside a luxury mall at Christmas time are run off by the shop owners, but one kind man changes their lives.
It was late November and the main entrance to the mall was already glittering with Christmas ornaments and lights, even the flocks of snow that drifted down seemed made to order.
One thing spoiled the delightful Christmassy mood — by the side of the door decorated with giant golden bells and boughs of holly stood two children huddled in their coats, carrying a placard that read: ‘Help Our Mother!’
For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash
The shoppers passed them by and threw them a disapproving look. “Disgusting!” said one older woman wrapped in a fortune in furs. “What some people will do to get money out of us!”
“Using their children to extort money!” cried another shopper, her arms full of brightly wrapped packages. Word of the two tiny beggars must have spread inside the mall because two store owners came out.
“What are you doing here?” one of them asked angrily. “Our customers shouldn’t be harassed by beggars! Get out!”
“I’m calling mall security,” said the other store owner. “So you’d better get moving!”
The older child, a girl of about 12, shrank inside her coat and looked scared, but the smaller boy stood up straight and glared at the two adults. “This is AMERICA,” he said, “We’re not inside your stinking mall, so we are allowed to be here. It’s a free country!”
For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash
“The country, young man,” said the woman angrily, “is the only thing that’s free. Everything else costs money and you won’t get any here!”
The two adults walked back into the warm mall, leaving the two shivering children valiantly holding up their placards. The shop owners were quite right. Their customers, splurging on luxury, weren’t feeling particularly charitable.
It was almost closing time when a man stopped in front of the children. “Hey there,” he said gently. “I got you some food, so I hope you like hamburgers.”
The boy looked at the man scornfully. “Hamburgers? We don’t need hamburgers! Don’t you get it? We need MONEY!”
The girl gave her brother a shove. “Ryan, don’t be rude,” she cried. Then she turned to the man. “I’m sorry sir, Ryan is being rude. Thank you for the food, we appreciate it.”