In many big cities there are people who cannot get work. Sometimes they do not
want to work, but somethimes 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 Chen 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 and 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 said. "That'll buy
me a couple of pieces of bread."#
"No," Andrew said.#
"Then what about one dollar," the old woman said. "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 give him her flowers.#
"Here, mister," she said. "You have these. You need them more than I do."&