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A middle-aged American businessman got off the crowded bus in the centre of Manila in the Philippines. On the seat where he had been sitting was a brown leather wallet. No one else saw it, so Maria slid across the seat and quickly put it in her bag. At the next stop she got off and walked home feeling very bad. It took an hour to walk home and when she got there she went straight into the bedroom that she shared with her elderly mother and her two young children.
Maria sat on the bed and cried. Inside the wallet were four credit cards and over one thousand dollars in cash. She had never seen so much money. She looked up at the picture of Jesus on her wall and prayed to him. Her children were hungry and needed to eat, and her youngest daughter had a bad eye and needed expensive medicine. What should she do?
Maria looked at the name on a business card. It was Peter J. Willis. There was also the name of the hotel where he was staying in Manila. Stealing is wrong, she thought to herself. She can't keep the money. She was a deeply religious person and decided to take the wallet to his hotel. Maybe, if she was lucky, he would give her a reward for returning it?
When she tried to enter the hotel, a security guard stopped
her and said, 'Hey! Where are you going?'
Maria said, 'I have a message for a guest. I need to go to front desk.'
'What guest? What message?' the guard asked her rudely.
'I found a wallet that belongs to Mr Peter Willis.'
'Did you take all the money out? Is it empty?'
'No! I am not a thief.'
Maria was angry.
'Give it to me. I will give it to Mr Willis,' said the guard.
'No. I will take it to reception myself,' Maria said strongly.
'Okay, but I will be watching you.'
The guard let her into the hotel, and Maria went to reception to
speak to a member of the hotel staff.
After telling her story to the hotel receptionist and giving her the wallet, Maria sat down and waited. she felt so nervous sitting in an expensive hotel. It was the first time that she had been in such a beautiful place. A few minutes passed and then Mr Willis came out of the elevator and walked over to the front desk. The clerk gave him his wallet and he checked inside it. Maria could see him nodding and smiling. the receptionist called Maria over.
'I hear you returned my wallet,' said the American.
'Yes sir, I did.'
'That was a very honest
thing to do. I am very grateful
to you. I
thought I would never see it again,' he continued.
'It is my pleasure, sir.' Maria said and smiled at him.
'Well, thank you again, and...' he opened his wallet, 'here is one
dollar to pay for your bus ride home.'
He smiled once more, turned around and walked back to the elevator.
Maria stared
at the one dollar in her hand. Life was unfair
sometimes.
Over the next few months, Maria told the story of what
happened to her children
many times. For her, honesty was very important, but her
children couldn't understand. They were so hungry.
One afternoon, by chance, Maria was walking past the same
hotel and the same guard was outside. He saw her and shouted, 'Hey you!
Come here, please.'
'Why?' asked Maria, 'I have done nothing wrong.'
'Please come to front desk with me.'
She followed the security guard into the hotel's busy lobby.
The guard spoke to a member
of staff who went into the office and brought out a letter. It was
addressed to "The kind young lady who returned my wallet."
'Mr Willis left this in case
you ever came back to the hotel,' said the
receptionist, 'but can you read?'
'Yes, of course I can read,' replied Maria.
Maria started to read the letter inside. "Dear miss," it
began,
"After I returned to my room, I thought how bad I was because I
only gave you one dollar. I am not so rich but I think I should give
you more for your kindness and honesty. Please forgive me. I
hope you can use the money to make a better life for yourself."
"Sincerely yours, Pete Willis."
Maria looked inside the envelope.
Inside were four one-hundred
dollar bills.
Adjectives
middle-aged:
Not young or old. Perhaps 40-55.
elderly:
Old.
religious:
With strong beliefs about religion.
empty:
With nothing inside.
nervous:
You cannot relax because you aare worried or scared about something.
honest:
You do not tell lies or take another person's things.
grateful:
Wanting to thank someone for the kind thing they did for you.
unfair:
Not good because you should receive more.
Verbs
slide:
(slide>slid>slid)
To move smoothly over a surface, such as a table, ice.
share:
Here meaning 'to use at the same time as other people'.
pray:
To speak to your god, perhaps asking for help.
nod:
To move your head forwards and backwards.
stare:
To look at something for a long time without closing your eyes.
begin:
To start.
Nouns
cash:
Another word for money.
stealing:
Taking something that belongs to another person.
a reward:
Money (or another thing) that is given to you because you did something
good or useful.
a front desk:
Another name for a hotel reception.
a thief:
A person who takes something that belongs to another person.
a hotel lobby:
The entrance to a hotel where there is a reception and maybe seats.
an envelope:
A paper pocket used for sending a letter. You write the address on it.
a bill:
Here meaning 'a piece of money'.
Adverbs
straight:
Here meaning 'immediately. Without stopping'.
deeply:
Here meaning 'very'.
rudely:
In a way that is not polite and may make someone feel bad.
Expressions
(just) in case:
Preparing for something that might happen in the future.