Generosity Always Pays Back

There was a gentleman in a city who loved Mandarin Oranges. In front of his house, there was an old lady selling oranges. Every day on his way back from the office, this person would go to the old lady and ask for 2 Kilos of oranges. The old lady would carefully select the Oranges and pack them in a paper bag for him. After paying for the fruits, the gentleman would pick one Orange from the bag, peel it, eat a segment and complain, “Hmm, this Orange is very sour. I don’t need this. You keep it.”

So saying, he would walk away, leaving that one peeled Orange with the lady.

This same ritual happens every day between the gentleman and the old lady. He would buy 2 kilos of oranges and return one peeled Orange, complaining that it was sour.

One day, the gentleman’s wife asks him, “You know that all the oranges are always sweet. Then why do you keep returning one Orange to the lady every day, complaining it is sour when it is not?”

“The old lady sells oranges the whole day, and I know she doesn’t keep even a single orange for herself. I also know that the lady does not accept a handout of any sort. When I complain and return a peeled orange back, I know she will eat it.” The husband tells his wife.

At the same time, another street vendor next to the old lady asks her, “You are very careful when weighing the fruits for other customers. But for this person, always complaining about the Oranges being sour, I see that you always weigh an extra orange every time. Why do you do that?”

The old lady wistfully responds, ” This gentleman is so kind. He knows that I will not eat the Oranges I am selling. Returning one peeled Orange, complaining that it is sour, is his way of showing his generosity. That is why when I weigh the oranges; the scale always goes down a little more to repay his generosity !!’