Stories of Kindness from Around the World

A couple of years ago, when my son was just starting to toddle, I found myself at the local Sunday bootfair.  My son and I were wandering up and down the field, when we saw a table that had some toy cars on.  I said to my little boy that since he had been such a good boy, he could choose one of the 50p cars and I would buy it for him.

After some deliberation, he chose a car and it was only when I went to pay that I realised that I had 46p or a £10 note.  I tried to pay with the £10 and the lady asked if I had anything smaller.  I tipped out the 46p into my hand and said that it was all the change that I had.  The lady at the stall only gave me a glance as I held it out to her, with an appologetic look on my face, and shook her head with a look of annoyance and turned to talk to another potential customer.

I was shocked at her rudeness.  I felt tired from being up most of the night with my little boy (he's only just starting to sleep through some nights now!) and ached from carrying him most of the way around the bootfair.  With a sinking heart, I bent down to my boy and started to try to explain to him that we couldn't take the car because the lady had said "no," and that we would try to get some more money and come back to buy it later.

Obviously, he was distraught that he couldn't have the car that he had so carefully chosen and burst in to floods of tears, as I had to pry the car out of his fingers and bodily carry him away, while he struggled and screamed.  A few stalls down, I put him back down and calmed him down, cuddling him and explaining again that we would go and get some different money and go back.  Really, I just wanted to curl up and cry too!

Just as he had calmed down and had taken my hand to walk off, an elderly lady touched my arm.  She said, "Excuse me, I couldn't believe how rude that lady was to you and your son and saw how upset he was when she said that he couldn't have the car he had chosen and so I bought it for him."

My son immediately stopped crying and beamed at her as she handed him the car.  I was speechless and burst into tears as I was so emotionally overcome at this stranger's kindness.  I couldn't thank her enough.

Although the car only cost 50p to her, the unexpected kindness and thoughtfulness of this stranger still continues to affect my life and my actions today.