جایزه‌ی بهتر

A Better Reward

Jenny delivered food for a restaurant. She read the newspaper and said, “Uh-oh”. There was a story about a thief. He stole food, and no one had seen him. Even the police couldn’t catch him. Jenny was a little scared.

She worked close to that area. The newspaper included a message from the police: “If anything strange occurs, call us. If you help us catch the thief, you’ll earn a reward.”

Jenny talked to Jim. He managed the restaurant. “Do you know about the thief?” “Yes,” he said, “But he steals more than one person can eat. And why haven’t the police stopped him yet? It’s a mystery. If you see him, contact the police. Don’t run after him.”

Jenny drove to a customer’s house. She left her car and opened the gate to the house. But then she heard a noise by her car. She said, “Thief!” She wasn’t scared. She wanted the reward! She did the opposite of what Jim told her to do.

“Hey,” she said, “Get back here!” She set the food on the ground and ran to her car. But the thief had already left with the food. Jenny followed a noise around the corner. She was amazed. She saw a dog and some puppies.

They were eating her food! They looked thin and scared. “The actual thief is just a dog. She’s feeding her puppies,” she said. “That’s why she steals so much food.” Jenny felt bad. She tried to comfort the dogs with another plate of food.

Then she took them back to the store. Everyone there took a puppy home.

Jenny called the police. She told them there was no real thief. Jenny didn’t do it to receive the reward anymore. She said, “It was just a dog. But there’s no charge for catching this thief,” she said. “My new dog is a better reward.”