Little Girl with a Big Heart Gives Homeless Man Money for Food, He Follows Her Moments Later

A little girl known to have a “big heart” meets a homeless man on a casual day out. She immediately rushes to help him, unaware of the guy’s real intentions.

The sight of the helpless and needy on the street might compel us to make a little effort to help. And that’s what one little girl aged 7 or 8 did on her way to the food court with her mom.

When Redditor iMorgana_ was little, she would never hesitate to help the vagabonds she’d meet on the way. At a young age, she’d harbored a big-hearted personality of helping the needy, but one actual incident urged her to think twice before doing it again.

A little girl spots a homeless man & decides not to walk away | Photo: Shutterstock

A few years ago, the Original Poster (OP) and her mom got off a bus and prepped to wander around Toronto. The first thing that struck them was the scenic view of the local subway station.

OP and her mom strolled through the place. It was pretty rubbished, smelled quite off, but the food court they stopped by looked pleasing.

The two walked towards the food outlet and ran into a poor-looking, homeless man sitting quietly against a wall. OP paused because her heart wouldn’t allow her to take another step past him after observing him.

OP spotted a homeless man & was unable to pass by without helping him | Photo: Pexels

The guy held a sign that read, “Need money for food.” OP became dewy-eyed and couldn’t think of anything other than doing whatever she could for this helpless man and walked over to him.

She greeted the man, hi. He didn’t reciprocate. After much thought, she tossed 50 cents in his cup. She wanted to get a souvenir for her dad with the remaining money she had and thought she did a good deed in giving a part of it to the man.

She waved goodbye and walked along with her mom to a Subway joint. The two then ordered sandwiches, and just as they sat down for their meal, the homeless man mysteriously appeared.

OP put some money in the man's cup | Photo: Pexels

“Uhh, hey there again,” he said, standing right behind OP, alarming her. The mom was anxious and asked him in a doubtful tone, “Hello, can we help you?”

OP felt uneasy with how the man had his eyes fixed on her.

The guy smiled bluntly and gazed at the girl. Then he requested more money to buy food. OP held onto her wallet tight while her mom intervened.

“I’m sorry, but no,” the mom told the man. “The rest is for our trip,” she added, hoping this would put off his demands and steer him away.

The man demanded for more money | Photo: Pexels

To their surprise, the guy frustratingly told them that OP gave him only 50 cents, whereas his sign read “no less than $10 donations.”

OP felt uneasy with how the man had his eyes fixed on her. She feared a fight would break out between her mom and the guy. Instead, her mom hid her purse and sternly refused, saying that was all OP had.

The man annoyingly threw his arms up, rolled his eyes, and walked away, mumbling how selfish they were, though OP couldn’t interpret his exact words clearly from afar.

OP narrated her story on Reddit | Photo: Unsplash

OP took to Reddit to narrate the incident and discovered she wasn’t alone in the experience. Redditor AngryArtNerd recalled a similar incident involving their brother who mirrored OP’s helpful tendency that backfired later. The user recounted:

“I remember a story where my brother gave a homeless person all his spare change from tips that day. As he walked away, he heard coins falling and turned around to witness the homeless person tossing anything that wasn’t a quarter.”

The person’s brother vowed never to help another homeless person again. Meanwhile, some users asked OP if she still helped such people after the incident.

People on Reddit shared similar experiences | Photo: Pexels

“He actually followed you to get more money? That’s creepy. And to berate a child for only giving 50 cents. Geez. Did you stop giving money to homeless people after that?” Redditor terrip_t1 wrote. “Damn right I did,” OP responded.

User GingerJoe05 also asked OP about the “sign” she mentioned. “In the text, you said the sign said something about food, but the homeless guy says something different,” the user wrote.

“According to him, I apparently missed the “no less than $10” part of the sign. It was not written on the sign, so I don’t know [expletive] he was on about,” OP responded and concluded that though it wasn’t a happy ending, she never met the guy after that.

OP never met the homeless guy again | Photo: Pexels

Questions to Ponder:

Should OP meet another homeless person genuinely in need, should she change her mind and help?

When some people on Reddit asked OP if she stopped giving money to the homeless again, she downright admitted she did, making it evident how the incident in Toronto stopped her from being generous again. Considering she would probably encounter more homeless people in her lifetime, do you think OP should allow this incident to cloud her judgment about helping others in the future?

Do you think the homeless man was faking his helplessness as to how some people online claimed he was?

Several commenters said that the sign “no less than $10” made the guy’s helplessness appear fake. Even OP agreed and claimed it was how she still felt. Do you think people in need should be demanding instead of appreciating the help they get? What would you do if you found out the homeless person you helped turned out to be someone behind easy money-making?

If you enjoyed reading this story, you might want to take a look at this one about how a homeless woman who sacrificed her food for a blind old lady and gets a house the next day.

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