A young lady was waiting for her flight in the
boarding room of a big airport. As she would need to
wait many hours, she decided to buy a book to
spend her time. She also bought a packet of cookies. She sat down in an armchair, in the VIP room of the
airport, to rest and read in peace. Beside the armchair
where the packet of cookies lay, a man sat down in
the next seat, opened his magazine and started
reading. When she took out the first cookie, the man took one
also. She felt irritated but said nothing. She just
thought: “What a nerve! If I was in the mood I would
punch him for daring!” For each cookie she took, the man took one too. This
was infuriating her but she didn’t want to cause a
scene. When only one cookie remained, she thought:
“ah… What this abusive man do now?” Then, the
man, taking the last cookie, divided it into half, giving
her one half. Ah! That was too much! She was much too angry
now! In a huff, she took her book, her things and
stormed to the boarding place. When she sat down in
her seat, inside the plane, she looked into her purse
to take her eyeglasses, and to her surprise, her
packet of cookies was there, untouched, unopened! She felt so ashamed! She realized that she was
wrong… She had forgotten that her cookies were
kept in her purse. The man had divided his cookies
with her, without feeling angered or bitter. “While she had been very angry, thinking that she
was dividing her cookies with him. And now there
was no chance to explain herself, nor to apologize.”
