Mrs. BATES—an Idol of Kindness and Generosity
It was midnight, a woman with a large bag moving alone on the streets of New York. Mrs. Bates was physically well built, independent and hard-working lady. She was fearless and confident.
A lean and a thin boy of about fourteen years tried to snatch her purse. As the purse was very heavy, the stripe of it was broken and the boy fell on the street. The woman caught him by his collar and shook him and asked, “You rogue! Whey did you snatch my purse”.
The boy was so much scared, he could not speak for a moment. When she asked again he said, “Sorry miss sorry, please let me go.”
The woman said, “ Let you go. . . . . . come with me.” She dragged him to her. She held the shirt of the boy tightly and took him forcibly along the street. She dragged him to her home. The boy was still saying, “sorry miss I won’t do it again.” He said, “You will take me to jail”. She said, “Not with this dirty face.” She said to him, “Go and wash your face and comb your hair.” The boy couldn’t understand what she was doing.
The boy washed his face and combed his hair. She told him to sit and gave a big slice of cake and a glass of milk shake to him. The boy ate and drank and felt contended. She then asked him why he had tried to snatch her purse. He said he wanted to buy his favourite bat as he had much interest in cricket. She asked, “What is your name”? He said, “John”.
Mrs. Bates told him, “We all have wishes but we should not take wrong ways to fulfill it.” Then she gave him ten dollars to buy his favourite bat and let him go. The kindness and generosity of Mrs. Bates touched the boy and he resolved never to steal.
