The Cookie Thief
The Cookie Thief
A woman was waiting at an airport one night,
With several long hours before her flight.
She hunted for a book in the airport shops.
Bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop.
She was engrossed in her book but happened to see,
That the man sitting beside her, as bold as could be.
Grabbed a cookie or two from the bag in between,
Which she tried to ignore to avoid a scene.
So she munched the cookies and watched the clock,
As the gutsy cookie thief diminished her stock.
She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by,
Thinking, “If I wasn’t so nice, I would blacken his eye.”
With each cookie she took, he took one too,
When only one was left, she wondered what he would do.
With a smile on his face, and a nervous laugh,
He took the last cookie and broke it in half.
He offered her half, as he ate the other,
She snatched it from him and thought… oooh, brother.
This guy has some nerve and he’s also rude,
Why he didn’t even show any gratitude!
She had never known when she had been so galled,
And sighed with relief when her flight was called.
She gathered her belongings and headed to the gate,
Refusing to look back at the thieving ingrate.
She boarded the plane, and sank in her seat,
Then she sought her book, which was almost complete.
As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise,
There was her bag of cookies, in front of her eyes.
If mine are here, she moaned in despair,
The others were his, and he tried to share.
Too late to apologize, she realized with grief,
That she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief.
by Valerie Cox
I love this story.
How many times in our lives, have we absolutely known that something was a certain way, only to discover later that
what we believed to be true … was not?
In this story we can see how one person acted from spirit while the other reacted from ego. Too often people act from ego and feel the sting of regret later when they are able to view the bigger picture. May we always think and act from spirit and keep our lens open wide to see all the possibilities!
These are the things that happen when you sit quietly and stew over tiny things..
:)
Had she spoken up, she would have realized her mistake and had the opportunity to correct it, as well as make restitution by, say, giving him her bag of cookies.. Also, she would have had an opportunity to make friends with what appeared to be a really nice guy!!
Oh, she was still in the wrong.. But think of what could have been!!
Great story. What has me shaking my head is the fact that SHE looks like the ingrate. So often when we jump to conclusions we end up looking more like the type of person we’re accusing the other person of being.
What came to me after reading this great poem is that we all make mistakes, even when our intentions and boundaries seem reasonable and appropriate in the moment. Really strong reactions to most anything are worth taking a deeper look at.
I would have liked the story even more if we learned that the original cookies were hers and he slipped the other bag into her carry on to thank her for sharing. It’s a lot more enjoyable to share a bag of cookies than it is to eat them alone. One of the things I love about traveling and learning about other cultures is that there are many places where a stranger could help themselves to another’s cookies and it wouldn’t be the least bit unusual or socially odd.
I love this story!
Love this poem, so many nuggets of wisdom here. It is seldom that we think that we may be wrong, and ingratiate ourselves unknowingly but for the compassion for selfless souls around us.
Thanks for this lovely morsel!
This is GREAT…it caught me totally by surprise and the point is well made by the story. Love it::~)
Hi Mark-
I had read this one before and I stil was effected. I know exactly how it feels to be righteous – which in of itself is not good and then to realize it wasn’t evenwarranted!! That is humbling, for sure. And a good slice of humble pie can soften the ego rather quickly. Thanks for reminding me NEVER to assume.
Love to you
Gail
peace…..
Oh what a great story -Thank you I will be sitting in the airport on Monday and then on a plane overnight –
It has taken me 20 years to have enough funds to take this trip to my Father’s homeland – I am humbled that I am achieving this experience and grateful that I am having a turn to adventure forth.
Last week my youngest child was angry that I gave one of my last 2 dollars to a begging fellow in the park. I had 2 so I felt wealthy and it was my husband’s birthday and he was having a great ride on his bicycle to celebrate – call it a party favor, but who knows maybe I will need a dollar one of these days?
Delightful post
Awesome story. That put a much needed smile on my face. Have a great weekend!
And Vive le Tour..
I had never heard this but after reading it, I shared it with a friend. What a lesson – an experience. I think that it probably happens more than we like to think – but it happens in such little ways that we might not notice. We tend to forget that we are not the center of things but just a part of something larger.
I wondered why she didn’t say anything… How easy and how difficult it is to open our mouths and speak sometimes!
I love this story too! It gave me good goosebumps. Things and situations aren’t always as they appear to be…..
I needed this today. Thank you!
Oh what a story and what a great way to illustrate your lesson! Thanks!
Great story and illustration on how our perception is reality and how we can be sincerely wrong at times. Main thing is to always maintain a meek spirit =)
This story reminds us that every experience is teaching us valuable lessons right under our noses. As one learns to step outside one’s comfort zone of beliefs and perceptions, one expands and grows.
LoL. I love this story too! It’s full of meaning and makes a great life lesson. Sp many times ego tells us were are right, we are this and we are that; when in fact, we are dead wrong in our assumptions – even those we just “know” are fact. My mother used to say, there are always at least 4 sides to every story. I never got to ask her what she meant by that statement, but I’d be ever so greatful if there’s anyone out there who might know what’s the logic was to her statement. Thanks for sharing!
I can make 2 guesses as to what your mum’s phrase meant.
When you study communications skills, particularly mediation, you discover that all conversations are geometric. That means person A speaks, Person B responds, Person B speaks, Person A responds…and voila you have a “complete conversation” We do lots of short hand in the USA.
I tried to keep that info in mind when we had family meetings because it meant with 5 people there were 25 parts to a complete conversation.
#2 There is a form of learning to understand in Japanese culture called Pillow Talk. One must bow to the first side of the pillow and make a statement, then move across the pillow and state what they think the other person is thinking, move to side 3 and state what they think is another possible way they could be perceiving the statement, and finally move to side 4 and think how the statement could have an opposite meaning. The exercise was to bring clarification and a more exact idea out into the open and to be respectful to the original idea. It also assisted in bringing feelings into the conversation when one was not supposed to show any….but be calm and clear. In the historic mode, it gave women an opportunity to have an opinion without shaming her husband.
Maybe that helps. It made sense to me when I was teaching ethical communication practices.
@Patricia. Wow, thanks for sharing. The pillow talk exercise is very interesting. . What a wonderful way to bring forth open communication and feelings. And, yes it does help! Thank You!!!
What a great tale! I do wonder how many times I am so sure I’m right but I’m dead wrong.
Thanks for this. One thing this poem illustrates to me is that if we’re expecting hostility or malice from the world, we’re going to see it everywhere, no matter what the truth is.
Assumptions sometimes get the better of us.
Came back to read comments this morning and so love what Patricia shared above about Americans conversing shorthand-like and the Japanese Pillow Talk exercise. Wonderful! Thanks, Patricia~
Glad if the information was helpful, and I like your mother’s phrase so found these ideas helpful to me in understanding it.
what a great story and a (ought to be) simple lesson learned.. i really enjoyed this post.
I wish I could say I can’t relate to the story, but, I can. I use to have the bad habit of jumping to conclusions. If nothing else, life has taught me the error of doing that even in none sequential circumstances. Your story gives a very good example as to why it’s best to get all the facts.