The Real You

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When purchasing tomatoes in a market, I overheard an old man arguing with a seller. The old man claimed that the change he received was less than what he was supposed to get. The shopkeeper meanly ignored the old man’s plea and went on serving other customers. The sad old man wondered how one would have the heart to steal from him when he was already poor. I walked over and politely asked that the shopkeeper give the old man his remaining change. Other sellers and customers around heard what was going on and decided to step in. I explained the situation to them and they immediately sided with me and the old man. When I saw that I immediately made it clear that the rest of us weren’t sure that what the old man claimed was true or even if the shopkeeper’s behavior could be justified. I turned to the shopkeeper and kindly told him that he wouldn’t be too happy if in years to come he were in the same situation as the old man. I then turned to the old man and told him that his being poor shouldn’t be the ticket to steal from others either. Gradually the shopkeeper’s facial expression changed to a sympathetic one and he sincerely apologized to the old man and gave back his money. The fact that I was able to solve this dispute in a civilized manner hence preventing chaos made this my most rewarding experience to date and it was special. |