Many years ago, a 10-year-old boy walked up to the counter of a soda shop and climbed onto a stool. He caught the eye of the waitress and asked, “How much is an ice cream sundae?”
“Fifty cents,” the waitress replied. The boy reached into his pockets, pulled out a handful of change, and began counting. The waitress frowned impatiently. After all, she had other customers to wait on.
The boy squinted up at the waitress. “How much is a dish of plain ice cream?” he asked. The waitress sighed and rolled her eyes. “Thirty-five cents,” she said with a note of irritation.
Again, the boy counted his coins. At last, he said, “I’ll have the plain ice cream, please.” He put a quarter and two nickels on the counter. The waitress took the coins, brought the ice cream, and walked away.
About ten minutes later, she returned and found the ice cream dish empty. The boy was gone. She picked up the empty dish—then swallowed hard.
There on the counter, next to the wet spot where the dish had been, were two nickels and five pennies. The boy had had enough for a sundae, but he had ordered plain ice cream so he could leave her a tip.
- source: Mr. Little John’s Secrets to a Lifetime of Success
In a world that tells us to “get all we can,” every so often it’s good to be reminded to “give something away.”
related posts:
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the reminder of how we should all lead our lives!
Halfway through the story I said to myself, “He is going to use the money for a tip!” This story is adorable. Thank you for posting it – I think we can all learn something from it!
children being more gracious than adults always puts me on the verge of tears, for some reason. i guess it gives me hope about the future of humanity…
A beautiful heart warming story. The power to share is my favorite ability.
That is just a wonderful story and I do hope that the waitress learned from the little boy. Children can teach us so much if we just pay attention.
Thank you for sharing.
Debbie
Heather – I know exactly what you mean! I had tears in my eyes when I read this story.
I loved this story. The little boy could have easily gave the whole 50 cents away and got the sundae. It’s the principal behind this story that we can learn from. Thanks for sharing!!
Great story-a hearat grabber. Despite all, the boy was true to himself.
A touching fairy tale. Did he leave at least 15%?
Once this kid learns percentages, he’ll kick himself for overtipping.
I love this story. Definitely touched me on an emotional level.
Truly a great story, I loved it :)
i hope that kid got hit by a car
There are countries where giving tips is not mandatory – it is even rare thing to do. Only some social pressure about customs imported form other countries make people give tips.
I pity the boy – he gave too big tip, he gave it to waitress who was impatient and rolling her eyes, and he did not eat his sundae :(
Wow. This is quite unbelievably saccharine.
Loved it!
I swallowed hard too – thanks for sharing that one.
I didn’t see it coming – maybe because I’m Aussie and we don’t tip here.
Wow if i was the waiter i would have probably given the kid a heavy sundae for free. and not worried about the tip .. damg now thats what i would call humanity .. who would be expecting a tip for a young kid. I would rather make the young kid happy with out expecting him to use all his money. I do not see any significance for this story . there is no moral value to it .. the only thing i get from this is … its all about the money it does not matter if you are a kid . you have to pay for a service .. zero slack.
This can be my terrific pleasure to go to your site and to appreciate your fantastic post here ‘
This actually made me cry and I’m not entirely sure why exactly my reaction is so strong.
Just found your blog. What a beautiful entry. Extraordinary child, with an equally extraordinary mother in the background. We should all strive to get this vignette out to everyone we know.
{ 6 trackbacks }