Little Girl Steals Box of Chocolates for Dying Mom, Police Officer Catches Her — Story of the Day

A young girl steals chocolates for her dying mother and tries to run away. However, she is caught in the act by a police officer, who teaches her a lesson in the most unexpected way.

Mandy Kurtis woke up slowly, rubbing her eyes as the sun rays from the window fell on her face. Getting up, she peered outside the window and saw that snow had already covered the whole vicinity outside her house. It was finally Christmas Eve – the day to celebrate with family and have a good time.

Mandy was a contract worker in a Philadelphia firm, but she'd been out of work for the past three months. The poor woman had been diagnosed with a terminal disease, and doctors requested that she be admitted to a hospital, but she couldn't afford it. She was a single mother, and she and her 6-year-old daughter Judy were barely scraping by on their meager savings.

Standing for a while near the window suddenly made Mandy feel dizzy, so the woman returned to her bed and closed her eyes. But just then, Judy came running up to her. "Mommy! It's Christmas Eve. I will finally ask Santa to make you healthy!"

Mandy opened her eyes, but she wasn't feeling well after the dizziness she'd experienced. She turned slowly in Judy's direction and whispered softly in a breathy tone. "I hope Mumma will get well soon too, honey. I'm sorry I can't do much for you. Mumma is not a good mother."

"No, mommy! Don't say that!" Judy said, wiping her mother's tears. "Remember you told me Santa listens to good kids, and they grant their wishes? I will tell Santa to grant my wish too."

"You are a good child, honey," Mandy said with a faint smile. "I'm sure Santa will listen to you."

Judy gave her a huge smile, then suddenly her expression changed. "But what if Santa is busy, mommy? Then he won't grant my wish, and you'll never be healthy!"

Mandy laughed at Judy's innocence. "Then you can just ask Santa to bring me a box of delicious chocolates... Specifically, the almond ones... Tell Santa that these are my mother's favorite chocolates, and she'll be fine if she gets them. Santa understands that CHOCOLATE HEALS ALL WOUNDS!"

"Really?" Judy's eyes widened in surprise. "Can chocolate make you healthy, mommy?"

"Yes, honey," Mandy nodded her head and then slowly closed her eyes, unable to bear the sudden weakness in her body. "Mommy is going to sleep for a while, honey. When she gets up, she'll prepare a nice dinner for you," she mumbled, surrendering to her body and falling asleep.

Little Judy kissed her on the cheek and whispered softly in her ears. "I'm not going to wait for Santa, mommy. Everything will be fine because I'll get the chocolates for you today."

As Mandy fell asleep, Judy silently went to her room and broke her piggy bank. She gathered all her coins and a dollar bill she'd discovered inside and joyfully left her house for the chocolate shop down the street.

"Hello, my name is Judy! Can you please get me a box of almond chocolates?" she gently asked the shop assistant Lacey.

Lacey smiled and reached for a chocolate box from the shelf. "Do you want me to pack it for you, Judy?"

The little girl nodded, and Lacey wrapped the box in a beautiful Christmas wrapping. "Here you go, girl. The total will be $20."

Judy took out all the money she had with her and placed it on the counter. Lacey looked at the sticky piles of coins and the dollar bill and then at Judy. "Is this all the money you have, Judy?"

"Yes," the little girl said.

Lacey gave her a pitying look. "I'm sorry, Judy, but that isn't enough for a whole box of chocolates. If you want, I can get you some candies."

"WHAT? NO!" Judy sighed. "Mommy will never be fine if I don't get the chocolates."

"I'm sorry, Judy, but I really can't help you," Lacey said, returning the chocolate box to its place on the shelf. But Judy wasn't going to give up. She'd promised herself that she'd do anything for her mother to recover quickly.

So when no one was looking at her, she went silently to one of the aisles where a large crowd had gathered, took a box of chocolates, and hid it in her coat. She attempted to flee the store as quickly as she could before anyone noticed her, but Officer Hill caught her.

"Hi there. I see you're getting yourself some chocolates. Can you tell me which ones you're going to buy? I'd like to get it for myself as well."

"No, I'm not buying chocolates," the little girl lied. "I have to go home. Mommy is waiting for me!"

"Then what's inside your coat? Would you mind showing me?"

At this point, Judy knew she couldn't lie. She slowly took her hand off her jacket along with the box of chocolates. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to take it, but if I get it, everything will be fine."

Officer Hill knelt in front of her and gently asked, "What's your name, honey? Be honest. Why did you steal the box?"

"I'm Judy," the little girl whispered, teary-eyed. "My mom is sick. Doctors told her she needed to be in the hospital, but mommy didn't go. If I get her chocolates, she will be fine. Mommy told me chocolate heals wounds!"

"Listen, Judy," Officer Hill said. "We'll get the chocolates for your mommy, but we won't take them without paying. Stealing is not a good thing, okay? Come, let's get your chocolates."

With that, Officer Hill went to Lacey and bought the chocolates for Judy. Then he walked the little girl home. Mandy was standing at the doorstep when they got there, worried. "Judy, honey! Why did you leave home without telling me? Are you okay?"

Judy quickly ran up to her. "I'm sorry, mommy. I went to get chocolates for you. I was worried Santa would be busy."

"Oh my goodness! Mommy is going to be fine. But where did you get the money for the chocolates?"

"A nice officer helped me, mom," Judy replied, pointing to Officer Hill. "Thank you, officer!"

"It's fine, Judy," Officer Hill said with a smile. "Would you please go and play inside? Your mom and I need to talk about something."

Judy smiled at him, handed Mandy the chocolate box, and dashed inside.

When Judy left, Officer Hill told Mandy about Judy attempting to steal chocolates for her at the store. Mandy apologized and admitted that it was her fault for telling Judy that everything would be fine if she got her chocolates. She also attempted to pay Officer Hill, but he refused, saying it was fine, and left.

However, three days later, he visited them again. He surprised Mandy wiith a $1 million check he'd amassed by creating a GoFundMe page for her and Judy.

"It's wonderful to see that so many people have stepped forward to assist you. We were able to raise $1 million in just three days, ma'am."

Officer Hill's generosity made Mandy's eyes well up. "Thank you so much, officer! I don't know how to thank you!"

Suddenly, Judy came out running. "Oh, it's the nice officer, mom! But why are you crying, mom?"

Officer Hill lifted Judy in his arms and said, "Remember the day you didn't steal the chocolates, Judy, but instead bought them?"

"Yes!"

"Santa doesn't like children who steal, Judy. So when he saw you didn't steal the chocolates and instead bought them, he decided to assist your mother, and she is now completely fine. She's so happy that she can't stop crying. But you were correct; Santa was busy, and it took him some time to grant your wish."

"Really?" asked Judy, her eyes lighting up.

"Yes, Judy. So from now on, remember that if you do good, you will receive good in return. Those chocolates actually helped your mom. Now she will be completely fine! CHOCOLATES INDEED HEAL ALL WOUNDS!"

What can we learn from this story?

• Learn to be kind and helpful; it costs nothing. Officer Hill helped Judy and her mother without expecting anything in return. If we try to be like him, the world will be a much better place.
• A small act of kindness can literally bring a miracle into someone's life. Mandy had never imagined she'd be able to afford her treatment, but she was able to do so thanks to Officer Hill.

If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a father who follows his 13-year-old daughter from school after seeing her get out of an unfamiliar man's car.

This account is inspired by our reader's story and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.