A little girl stole my cookies and chewed them in front of me on the train, but after she finished, she did something completely out of the ordinary.
I was going from one city to another via train today. It was estimated that the journey would take two or three hours. I had planned ahead by bringing a book, getting coffee, and—most importantly—my cherished cookie-filled tin box.
The train began to move smoothly. The rain was falling outside. I picked up a round cookie from the treat box and was ready to bite into it when I saw movement ahead of me.
My box was in the direct line of a tiny hand. When I looked up, I saw a young child, barely two years old, with blue eyes.
As though we had known each other for ages, she gave me a cautious glimpse across the seat in front of me before beaming broadly. She boldly snatched one of my cookies and took a crispy bite at that precise moment without asking permission.
I was so taken aback by this impish yet completely endearing move that I was unable to object. Instead, I burst out laughing. With her eyes gleaming as though she had found a treasure, the young sweet tooth sat there munching on my cookie.
After a minute, she extended her hand once more. took one more cookie. Then another. And yet another.
It felt so awful to dispute or to conceal the box because of her real delight with each taste.
Only crumbs remained in my box when the train had finally reached full speed. The girl was sitting there grinning from ear to ear, full and content.
After a half hour or so, she turned back to face me. Her eyes glistened with anticipation; she most likely believed I had a hidden candy stockpile. However, she appeared quite dejected upon seeing the empty box. Then something happened that made me utterly dumbfounded.
The youngster was clinging to her small pink teddy bear, which was obviously greatly loved despite being a little worn out. After giving me a quick glance, she extended the toy.
“Take it,” she replied, sounding like a small child.
I was surprised. That teddy bear was most likely her best pal. Nevertheless, she wanted to give it to me in return for the cookies I had given her. Or just as a token of appreciation.
I patted her head tenderly after carefully picking up the teddy bear.
I muttered, “Thank you, little one.”
The girl peeked over the seat again and waved at me when the train came to a stop.
I grew to cherish that trip. I came to see that having everything for yourself isn’t necessarily the key to happiness. Sometimes it begins the instant you give something, even if it’s just a few plain cookies, and get something far more in return.
