Their Thieving Days Are Numbered

(My four-year-old niece has earned a dollar for helping out at home. She is quite excited, and has been carrying this bill with her all day. Her father stops at a local convenience store, and she brings her dollar bill inside with them. They are going to the register, when she realizes she has dropped her bill in the candy aisle. As she goes to retrieve it, a man with a female companion grabs it off the ground.)

Man: “Here’s my dollar! I must have dropped it!”

(My niece looks to her dad, shocked.)

Niece: “Daddy? That’s my dollar.”

Man: “Nope. I dropped a dollar bill right here. This one is mine. Right, honey?”

Female Companion: “Oh, it’s definitely yours. Shame on you, little girl.”

(My niece is tragically disappointed and confused. Her face is crumpled in defeat and she is near tears.)

Niece’s Father: “Humor me for a second. Hand that bill over to the cashier.”

Man: “Why? It’s mine!”

Niece’s Father: “Then you’ll get it back in just a second. Just humor me, okay?”

(The man reluctantly hands the bill over to the cashier.)

Niece’s Father: “[Niece], tell the man what numbers are on that bill.”

(My niece proudly repeats a string of numbers.)

Niece’s Father: “Miss, what is the serial number on that dollar?”

Cashier: *reads off the same numbers my niece just said from memory*

(My niece is ecstatic. As her father looks at the man and woman, they can’t even look him in the eye, and they rush out without a word. The best part? My niece bought her candy and the cashier was so impressed that she paid for it out of her own pocket so she could keep the dollar!)