The Reward

George couldn’t believe his eyes.
Laying right there by the side of the road was a crisp new fifty-dollar bill.
How lucky could he be?
He got off his bike and snatched it up, quickly checking to see if anyone was watching him. He hopped back on his bike and peddled toward home.
As he rode, he thought of all the neat things he could buy with the money; a new baseball glove, a remote-control race car, a BB gun, and maybe lots of candy from the corner store?
At home, he ran into the house. He saw his brother Steven and he waved the money in front of him.
“Look what I’ve got!”
Wow! Did you steal it?
George blinked. “No, I didn’t steal it! I found it along the side of the road”.
Smiling, Steven said, “Well, if you say that you stole it, it will make a better story!”
Ignoring his brother, George ran into the kitchen. He yelled, “Mom, look what I found! Can we go to the store so I can buy some stuff with it?”
“Don’t you think that we should try to find out if someone lost it? It would be the right thing to do. We can call the police – if it isn’t claimed in a certain amount of time, you’ll be able to keep it.”
George was disappointed but knew that his mom was right.
When the police arrived, George told them where he had found it.
The officer smiled. “That money was reported lost this morning. I’m sure that the owner will be glad to get it back. The good news is there’s a reward for turning it in - $20.00.”
George was proud of himself. He thought, “I guess doing the right thing does sometimes pay off”.


300 words