CW - The Beggar

1. You were waiting for the bus at the bus stop when a man approached you for some money. He was very dirty and his clothes were torn in some places. Everyone at the bus stop refused to give him any money.

Based on the above situation, write a composition of at least 150 words. In your story, make use of the points below.
- how the people reacted
- what you did
- what happened in the end
You may reorder the points. You may also include other relevant points.
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The sun's magnificent rays shone down as fluffy white clouds hung low in the azure blue sky. I was waiting at the bus stop for the bus to arrive. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a man approaching the bus stop. He was clutching his stomach in pain. His hair was shaggy and his clothes were torn in some places. He asked the people at the bus stop for some money but they refused to give him any. Sadden, he walked feebly towards me and begged in a tired voice, "Please give me some money as I am hungry and want to buy some food to eat." When I heard it, I offered to buy him some food but he insisted that he wanted to buy it later on. So, I gave him four dollars and he went away.

Not long after, the bus came. I boarded it and went to Lot 1 to buy some groceries. A few hours later, I went to the food court for lunch. As I was walking there, I walked past a "4-D Toto" shop. Suddenly, I saw a familiar face queuing to buy "4D". He was well-dressed and in his hand was a thick wad of cash. I tried to recall where I had seen him before. Then, a thought struck me. He was the same man that had begged for money from me that morning!!! My face was flushed with rage as I walked up to confront him. "I thought that I had given you my money to buy food to eat! Why are you using it to gamble?" I yelled at him at the top my voice. All eyes were fixed on us. The man stared at me open-mouthed. When he recognized me, he felt embarrassed and quickly ran away. I immediately chased after him but lost sight of him soon.

As the saying goes, "Once bitten twice shy" I have always been extra careful whenever any beggar came to me and begged for money since.

- by Chew Zi Ling P5B 2007

edited by Mr Danny


::Mr Danny's comments::

Story has a good development and there's even an appropriate lesson to be learnt at the end of it. I like the twist in the story where the beggar exploited the writer's kindness for his own selfish greed.

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It was a lovely day. The blue sky was dotted with fluffy white clouds that drifted lazily in the gentle breeze. I was strolling to the bus stop. I had to do a research and proceeded to go to the library. Normally, I had to wait for twenty minutes so I took out a storybook to read. Suddenly, I felt a soft tap on my shoulder. I turned around and saw a man. He was very dirty and his clothes were torn in some places. "Little girl, can you give my some money? I have not eaten for two days."

Everyone at the bus stop refused to give him any money. Instead, they shooed him away. I pitied him and gave him three dollars. "Thank you! Thank you!" He thanked me profusely. Everyone else at the bus stop saw this and had a guilty look on their faces, but they still did not give the man any money. Then, the man started to walk away. Five minutes later, the bus arrived. I boarded the bus. On board the bus, I kept thinking of the good deed I had done. Ten minutes later, I arrived at the library. I went into the library and started to do my research.

I was so engrossed in doing the research that I lost track of time. When I realised the time, I packed my things and went to the nearby coffee shop to buy dinner. At the coffee shop, I saw the man whom I gave money to. He was drinking two bottles of beer, a plate of chicken rice and had a drumstick in his hand. I thought "I only gave him three dollars. He could not possibly have bought so much food with three dollars!" I suddenly realised that he had tricked me into giving him some money! I shouted at him and he took to his heels and fled.

I chased after him. A few passers-by saw this and ran after him too. A few minutes later, we caught up with him. I demanded him to return the money I gave him. He took out the money and returned the money back to me. He begged me not to call the police and I agreed. Subsequently, I went home and told my parents about the incident. After that incident, I learnt not to trust strangers easily.

- by Ang Jia Xuan P5B 2007

edited by Mr Danny

::Mr Danny's comments::
A compact story that has appropriate pacing and development with a well-thought moral at the end.