Poor Cleaner Finds Gold Ring & Asks Boss to Seek Owner, Wants to Buy It Back After Boss Sells It — Story of the Day

A pool cleaner who struggles to pay for his sick grandma's treatment and food for his siblings finds a lost gold ring while cleaning the pool. He gives it to his boss and tells him to seek the owner, but finds it in the pawnshop the next day.

Andy was a spirited teen, a responsible boy for his age, and he had plenty of commitments. After his mother's death, he moved in with his grandma, Cathy, with his two younger sisters.

Nobody liked him, mainly after he befriended members of a local gang. According to them, Andy was a 16-year-old loafer with no goals in life or any plans to go to college.

Most labeled Andy a spoiled teenager heading toward a path of self-destruction and infamy. But nobody knew he had a heart of gold until circumstances let him prove it after accidentally finding someone's missing gold ring at his workplace...

Andy's father had abandoned his family several years ago. That was why the boy hated his father and never wanted to grow up to be like him. After his mom died when he was 13, Andy and his sisters moved in with their granny. She was their only relative.

Those who labeled him as 'nothing' praised him and stopped judging him.

Andy noticed that his grandma could no longer work or do things on her own. He did not want to burden her further and wanted to provide for the family and for her treatment.

He worked as a pool cleaner at a local resort and shuttled between school and work daily. Because of this, he could no longer focus on his studies, and his grades dropped drastically. But that was the least of his concerns.

"I have to do this...Come on, Andy. You can do it!" he encouraged himself. One day, while cleaning the pool with a handheld skimmer, Andy saw something sparkling in the water. It was not any debris or a leaf, he knew.

Andy scooped it up with the skimmer and saw it was an expensive gold ring. Somebody had lost it. This windfall could easily cover three months' worth of groceries and his granny's medical bills. But did Andy take it?

"I must notify my boss," thought Andy. He took the ring and gave it to his boss, William. "You have a list of the guests who were in the pool this afternoon. Maybe somebody lost it. We have to find them and return the ring to them," he insisted.

William's eyes glowed with greed. He grabbed the gold ring from Andy and took out the list. "Hmmm, I'll look into this matter. And boy, you are fired!" he said, startling Andy.

"Fired? But I did nothing wrong. Please, I need to keep this job. It's the only way to feed my sick grandma and siblings. Don't fire me," Andy cried. But the heartless William turned a deaf ear and threatened to call security if Andy didn't leave the premises.

"I'm firing you because I am not pleased with your work," William fumed. "Get out and don't come back. Here, take your day's wage and leave."

Heartbroken, Andy returned home. He gathered all the money he'd saved, but it was barely enough to buy his grandma's medication. With a heavy heart, he took an old silver amulet, the only memento he had of his late mother, and the next day, he took it to a local pawnshop

"Young man, how may I help you?" asked the pawnbroker while examining a ring under his magnifying glass.

"That ring?!" Andy exclaimed, quickly recognizing it was the same ring he'd given his boss the previous day. The ring had strange initials engraved on it, and Andy instantly recognized it as the same ring.

"But how did it come to be here? Who sold it to you?" he asked the seller.

"A man sold the ring to me last night," the seller said. Andy immediately suspected something and used the pawnbroker's knowledge of the business to track down the ring's origins.

"Letters like this are engraved in only one jewelry store, two stops from here," suggested the seller.

Without further thought, Andy offered to buy the ring. He sold his amulet and spent all his savings on buying it. Then, he went to the jewelry store to see if he could find the address of the person who had lost the ring.

"Yes, you are right. This ring was designed here several years ago," the jeweler informed Andy after observing the piece.

He looked through the customers' register and gave Andy the address of Barbara, a 64-year-old woman who lived alone in a big house on the outskirts of town. Andy hurried to her with the ring.

"Does this ring belong to you?" he asked the woman, who seemed confused to see Andy with her late daughter's ring.

"Oh my, yes! It belonged to my late daughter. I was wearing it as a pendant on my chain and lost it yesterday. Where did you find it?" cried Barbara.

"I found it in the pool at the resort," replied Andy.

Barbara remembered visiting the resort the previous day and greeting a friend in the pool at that time. "I must have lost it while bending down to talk to my friend," recalled Barbara. "How did you find my address?"

"It's a long story. But we've got to go and nab someone. Please come with me," said Andy.

Moments later, he and Barbara arrived at the resort with the police. As it turned out, William's greed had gotten the best of him. After getting the gold ring from Andy, he fired the poor boy, discarded the list of guests, and sold the ring for a good chunk of money.

As a consequence of his dishonesty, William was marched away by the cops, handcuffed and grumbling. He was fined for theft and sentenced to jail.

Later, Barbara learned of Andy's struggles and decided to repay his kindness and honesty. She hired him as a part-time gardener and paid for his grandma's treatment.

News about Andy's truthfulness spread around the neighborhood and in his school. Those who labeled him as 'nothing' praised him and stopped judging him.

What can we learn from this story?

• Be kind to others and do not judge them without knowing the truth. Andy's neighbors and even those in school did not like him due to his poor grades and bonds with a local gang. They did not know about his struggles to provide for his destitute family and judged him blindly.
• Greed leads to disappointment, while kindness is rewarded with compassion and appreciation. William fired Andy and discarded the guest list so that he could sell the gold ring and make some easy money. In contrast, Andy strived to find the jewel's owner and helped her claim it back. Ultimately, William's greed sent him to jail, and Andy's kindness earned him appreciation.

A poor boy fighting to save his mom's life is compelled to sell his late grandma's heirloom ring. The next day, he unexpectedly finds it in his mailbox. Click here to read the full story.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers 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.