The-Cookie-Thief.pdf

The Cookie ThiefA woman was waiting at an airport one night, There were still several long hoursbefore her flight took off. She went to a shop at the airport, bought a bag of cookiesand found a place to read a newspaper while eating her cookies.She was attracted by the news in the newspaper, but happened to see that the manbeside her, as bold as he could be, took a cookie or two from the bag in between. Shetried to pretend not having seen it, to avoid a quarrel.She read her newspaper, ate cookies, and watched the clock, as the “cookie thief”continued to eat the cookies. She was getting more and more angry, and thought toherself,“If I werent so nice, I would give him a black eye!”With each cookie she took one, too. When only one was left, she wondered what hewould do. With a smile on his face, he took the last cookie and broke it in half.He offered her one half, as he ate the other. She took it from him and thought, “Oh,god. There must be something wrong with this guy. And hes so rude. He didnt evensay thanks to me!”She had never been so angry, but then her flight was called. She gathered her bag andheaded for the gate, refusing to look back at the “thief”.After she took her seat, she searched for her newspaper. Suddenly she gasped withsurprise: there was her bag of cookies, in front of her eyes.“My cookies are here,” she said helplessly. “Then the others were his and he tried toshare!”Too late to to say sorry. She realized with regret that she herself was the rude one, thethief.