One cold day, a man was on his way to meet one of friends. As he approached the meeting spot, an elderly woman in shabby clothes came up to him, holding out a bouquet of flowers.
“My granddaughter is sick,” she said. “I don’t have money for her medicine. I’m selling these flowers to pay for it.”
Hearing her story, the man felt compassion. He gave her more money than she asked for and took the flowers. When he walked into the café holding them, his friend immediately asked:
“Did you buy those from the old woman outside?”
“Yeah, I did.”
“She always tells people her granddaughter is sick to sell flowers. But actually, she doesn’t even have a granddaughter.”
The friend expected the man to be angry or upset. But instead, the man smiled and replied warmly:
“Oh, really? Well, I’m sure she has her reasons. Either way, I’m just glad to hear she doesn’t actually have a sick granddaughter.”