On a sunny day of September, I sat with my friend in a wellknown coffee shop in a neighboring town. As we enjoyed our coffee, a young man wearing glasses entered and sat at an empty table beside us. He called the waiter and placed his order, saying, “Two cups of coffee, one of them there on the wall.” We heard this order with rather interest and found that he was served with only one cup of coffee but he paid for two. When he left, the waiter put a piece of paper on the wall, saying “A Cup of Coffee”.
While we were still there, two other middleaged men entered and ordered three cups of coffee, two on the table and one on the wall. They had two cups of coffee but paid for three and left. This time also, the waiter did the same. He put a piece of paper on the wall saying, “A Cup of Coffee.” It was something special and perplexing for us. We finished our coffee, paid the bill and left.
After a few days, we had a chance to go to this coffee shop again. While we were enjoying our coffee, a poorlydressed man arrived at the shop. As he seated himself, he looked at the wall and said, “One cup of coffee from the wall.” The waiter served coffee to this man as usual. The man had his coffee and left without paying.
We were amazed to watch all this, as the waiter took off a piece of paper from the wall and threw it into the dustbin. Now it was no surprise for us — what was happening was very clear. The great respect for the men in need shown by the residents(居民) of this town made our eyes in tears.