A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign,"I am blind,please help. "There were only a few coins in that hat.
A man was walking by. He took the sign from the boy. turned it around,and wrote some words. He put the sign back. so everyone would see the new words when they walked by. Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money.
That afternoon the man came again to see how things were. The boy knew him from his footsteps and asked,"What did you write?"
The man said. "I said what you said. but in a different way. "
What he had written was "Today is a beautiful day,but I can not see it. "
Both signs said that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply told people to help by putting some money in the hat. The second sign told people that they were able to enjoy the beauty of the day,but the blind boy could not. The second sign was more helpful.