Stories of Kindness from Around the World

🐜 Bugged ❤️

“Now would be a good time to spray yourselves with bug spray,” the Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center tour guide advised.

It had been a long and bumpy ride from the port, on an old school bus - that did no one’s bladders any good! And of course, as soon as our guide said to be cautious of bugs, one landed on my leg for emphasis.

The bug wipes had somehow gotten misplaced from our last port’s excursion, so there we were, at the mercy of the beautiful and abundant tropical insects, until...

“Anyone want to use our spray? It’s a brand new can,” The mom offered, while spraying down her 2 young boys.

By the time our group started down the winding path thru the “jungle,” we were glistening with nature friendly spray and smiling with appreciation for the generous mom.

We were wowed by the howler monkeys, tapirs, toucans, kinkajau, Jabiru stork, and Junior Buddy - the jaguar (who once licked a KS friend’s head!), plus plants, towering exotic and lush. A tiny peek into the amazingly diverse habitat of Central America, that led eventually led us to the gift shop and small cafe.

Not having a lot of time before our bus left, I bought a few candy bars to tide us over. Noticing the bug spray mom, looking sort of tired and peckish, I added a few more candy bars to my order.

“Here, these are for your boys,” I said, giving her the bars. “Thank you for the spray. It was very kind of you!”

“Oh, you don’t need to do that,” she said, while I put the candy in her hands.

I assured her I wanted to and how grateful we all were.

Before we left, the mom made sure each boy came over and said “thank you” to the nice lady who gave them some candy.

* For more info how Sharon Matola began the zoo, go to http://www.belizezoo.org/