Abhiraj Gill, Briana Do, Chinaza Hughes
A wise old gentleman retired and bought a home near a middle school. He mainly spent his summers in his cottage. Then the school year began, and his peace and quiet came to a sudden halt.
On the first day of school three boys came down. The alley beating merrily on every trash can they see, and the same thing happens the next day and the next, and the noise started driving the wise old man crazy. Time for action.
On the first day of school, three boys came down the alley. They merrily beat on every trash can they saw and the same thing happened the following days. The noise started driving the wise old man crazy and he decided it was time for action.
The next afternoon, he stopped the drummers as they banged their way down the street. He said, “You kids are a lot of fun! I love hearing your drumming because it is so cheerful and it reminds me of what I used to do at your age. Will you do me a favor?”
The boys looked at him suspiciously. “What?” they asked, “I’ll give you a dollar if you promise to come around every single day and keep beating on those trash cans,” said the man.
The boys were thrilled. Everyday they pounded on trash cans and collected a dollar.
After about a week, the wise old man stopped the boys again and this time he looked a little bit sad. “I still love your drumming,” he said to the boys, “however, I’m afraid spending a dollar a day is hard on me because I’m on a fixed income. From now on, I’m only going to be able to pay you 50 cents to beat on the cans.”
The boys weren’t too happy, but they decided to accept 50 cents a day, and they continued beating on all the trash cans. After another week, the clever old man stopped the boys again. “I’ve got more bad news,” he said. “My Social Security check hasn’t come yet, so I’m not going to be able to give you more than 25 cents a day. Is that all right?”
“Are you kidding?” said one of the boys. “We’re not going to waste our time beating on those trash cans only for a lousy quarter! We quit!”
The wise old man smiled, and enjoyed his peace and quiet.