Two Five Cents

A man was walking through a mall one day, when he passed two young boys standing by a vending machine. The man overheard one of the boys say, "If only I had two five cent pieces." The man felt compassion for the boy, believing that the boy was only ten cents short of the price of a packet of crisps from the vending machine. For some reason, the man felt charitable. He reached into his pocket and produced some small change, and presented two five cent pieces to the boy. "Here you go, son." The boy looked up with an excited grin on his face. "Thanks, mister!" he said. It was as though an angel had saved him from starving. The man felt very proud of himself, and he walked away feeling proud of his good deed. He was such a considerate man.

After the man's back was turned, however, the boy set the two coins side by side. Together, they were much the same width and circumference of a two dollar coin. The boy inserted them at the same time, and the machine was fooled into thinking a two dollar coin had been inserted. Not only did the boy obtain a packet of crisps from the machine, but also 80 cents in change! An nearby onlooker saw all that had happened, and began to feel concern. How could such young, innocent boys be so deceitful?