10 Your Need Is Greater Then Mine

In many big cities there are people who cannot get work. Sometimes they do not want to work, but sometimes there isn't any work for them to do.

Some of these people beg for money. Some of them sell boxes of matches or cheap pens,and some of them sell flowers.

Andrew never gave money to beggars.“People should work for their money, ” he believed. He also believed there was work for everyone, which was not true.

One day when he was waiting for a bus, a beggar came up and asked him for money. The beggar was an old woman wearing very old and dirty clothes. She had no shoes and she was selling some sweet-smelling flowers.

“Give an old woman ten dollars, mister, ” she said to Andrew. “I haven't had a meal for three days.”

“I'm not giving you ten dollars, ” Andrew said.

“What about five dollars then, mister? ” the poor old woman asked. “That'll buy me a couple of pieces of bread.”

“No, ” Andrew said.

“Then what about one dollar? ” the old woman asked. “I can buy an orange for one dollar.”

“I haven't got one dollar, ” Andrew said. “Now go away.”

The old woman looked at him sadly, and then gave him her flowers.

“Here, mister, ” she said. “You have these. You need them more than I do.”