The cookie thief

A woman was waiting at an airport one night

With several long hours before her flight

She hunted for a book in the airport shop

Bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop

She was engrossed in her book but happened to see

That the man beside her as bold as could be

Grabbed a cookie or two from the bag between

Which she tried to ignore to avoid a scene

She munched cookies and watched the clock

As this gutsy cookie thief diminished her stock

She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by

Thinking "If I wasn't so nice I'd blacken his eye"

With each cookie she took he took one too

And when only one was left she wondered what he'd do

With a smile on his face and a nervous laugh

He took the last cookie and broke it in half

He offered her half as he ate the other

She snatched it from him and thought "Oh brother

This guy has some nerve and he's also rude

Why he didn't even show any gratitude"

She had never known when she had been so galled

And sighed with relief when her flight was called

She gathered her belongings and headed for the gate

Refusing to look back at the thieving ingrate

She boarded the plane and sank in her seat

Then sought her book which was almost complete

As she reached in her baggage she gasped with surprise

There was her bag of cookies in front of her eyes

"If mine are here" she moaned with despair

"Then the others were his and he tried to share"

Too late to apologize she realized with grief

That she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief.   

Valerie Cox, “A story of wrong perceptions” in “Chicken Soup for the Soul”, editor Jack Canfield