The Old Children’s Story That Taught Me About Generosity

Kindness isn’t always about giving more …

Many times, kindness is about recognizing the moment when another person simply needs to know that someone sees them. Sometimes we hesitate for good reasons. But afterward, it’s still worth asking ourselves whether fear, caution, or overthinking kept us from doing the good we genuinely could have done.

This old story came back to me after I came upon a struggling family on my way home from the supermarket. There were about five children, probably between four and nine years old, with only small age gaps between them. Their father, thin and barefoot, was pushing a wooden cart enclosed with wooden panels except for a small square opening, which I assumed was where the children climbed in to take shelter. The cart was, by my estimate, about six feet long and roughly four feet high and wide. It looked somewhat like a large dog cage, except that I could see a small child inside.

The father briefly stopped pushing the cart and asked me for some change. Although I was aware that there is a Philippine law against giving alms, I reached into my coin purse and gave him some coins anyway. It wasn’t much and probably wouldn’t go very far, considering the rising cost of food and other necessities.

When I handed the coins to one of the children, she looked so jubilant it was as though I had given her a million pesos. As I continued walking home, I began having second thoughts. Would it have been better if I had given them more—perhaps the ₱100 bill, the only paper money left in my purse? Or at least the pack of biscuits I had just bought at the supermarket?

So there was that lingering question of whether I had done enough—a typical empath’s dilemma.

My situation wasn’t the same as the old woman in the story I’m about to share. I had reasons for hesitating, and they weren’t about keeping as much as I could. But after I walked away, I found myself asking the same question she did: Did I miss an opportunity to be kinder?

Many years ago, I read a story in an old children’s reader. I have never been able to find it again. What you’re about to watch is my reconstruction of that story from memory, preserving the lesson that has stayed with me all these years. This is the story about the Old Lady and Her Cakes (not the original title) as I remember it. You can watch it on YouTube via the URL below.

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