.jpg)
A short story on the virtue of trustworthiness.
One hot summer day, a young boy looked out the window and saw some other kids eating ice cream. The boy decided to secretly take some coins and sneak out the house to go buy ice cream. The dad noticed and followed behind his son secretly. When the son bought the ice cream and was about to take his first bite, he saw his dad’s angry face. The dad took him home and punished him. The boy never stole or did things secretly again.
When the son grew up, he was invited to work for a foreign company abroad. While he worked there, he lived in the company’s dormitory. When he cleaned his room, he often saw money laying randomly around the room. Sometimes it was a few dollars, other times a few hundred dollars. Once, he even found $3000 dollars! He always gave the money to the dorm manager.
Despite not having a great educational background, he was treated very well by the company’s leader. The leader often gave him great jobs that others with better educational backgrounds wanted.
Later, the son decided to resign and open his own shop back home. His leader was saddened to hear the news, but he wanted to see him off with one final dinner. During the dinner, the son mentioned,
“Oh yeah, I need to ask you something. Why is it that when I clean the dorm room, I often find money laying around?”
The leader smiled and said,
“Well, you’re a stranger and outsider. How do I know if I can trust you? Seeing what you did with that money is how I knew you could be trusted.”