THE BOY TRIED TO STEAL A CANDY BAR—BUT I BOUGHT IT FOR HIM INSTEAD AND HE LEARNED A LESSON

I spotted him near the end of aisle 11—hands in his pockets, eyes darting from shelf to shelf. He couldn’t have been older than ten. Looked like he was trying not to look suspicious, which of course made it all the more obvious.

Then I saw it.

A quick move, barely a second—he slid a candy bar into his hoodie pocket and started walking toward the door like it was nothing.

I followed him. Calm. No sirens, no shouting. Just walked up beside him, gently tapped his shoulder, and asked, “Hey buddy, you planning on paying for that?”

His face dropped. Not angry. Not scared. Just embarrassed.

He pulled the bar out and tried to hand it back, mumbling, “I’m sorry… I just wanted one.”

I asked him why he didn’t ask someone, and he shrugged. Said he didn’t think anyone would care.

So I asked him to walk with me. Took him right back to the checkout line. Told the cashier we were paying for it. I handed her a five, gave him the change, and said, “Here. Now you don’t owe anyone anything.”

He stared 🔽