I want to do good things, he said, as he ran out the front door.

What good things? his mother cried, where are you going?

But the little boy was already off, skating quickly on his skateboard, with his lunch sandwich dangling from his hand. The day was bright, and the birds were out, and he wanted to do good things.

There was a beggar who lived down the street, who slept in a sleeping bag and kept all his life belongings in a shopping cart. The boy had often passed this man and pitied him, and always wished he had a few spare dollars to give to him. But today, he had his sandwich. He gave his PBJ sandwich to the beggar, who took it with a toothy grin. He had not eaten in two days. But as soon as he started to munch the sandwich, his face began to convulse. Unbeknownst to the little boy, this beggar had a severe peanut allergy.

The horrified little boy started skating down the street as fast as he could to try to get to the nearest clinic to ask a doctor what to do. But he was skating way too fast that he lost control and crashed into a lady with a bulging belly, who bent over in aching pain, and her groceries fell all over the ground and rolled into the gutter.

I'm so sorry, cried the distraught little boy, trying to pick up the groceries and wipe them off with his shirt. The lady was forgiving. But there was one can of soup that had rolled to the other side of the road, and as the boy ran over to retrieve it, a bicyclist which had not seen the kid, braked suddenly to a stop and flipped over on his side to avoid the boy. He had not broken anything, but he had grazed arms and knees and a cut lip.

I'm so sorry, cried the distraught little boy, I was trying to do good things.

What good things? said the annoyed man, dusting himself off and glaring fiercely.

The little boy went back to find the beggar but he found that he was gone. And even worse, the shopping cart of belongings was now half-empty; someone had looted the poor beggar. And now, even his sleeping bag was gone, his last defense against the cold. The peanut butter sandwich lay, greased and dirty, on the ground. Upon seeing that, the little boy's salty tears began falling from his face.

Dejected and wary, with an empty grumbling stomach, the little boy walked home, his skates dangling from his hand. His mother asked if he wanted dinner, but the boy just shook his head. He went to his bed and closed his eyes.