Mr.Black worked in an office in London, but lived in the country. He came to work by train every day. The station was not very far from his office, and since Mr.Black liked walking, he always went on foot to go to work.
He would always walk from his office back to the station in the evening too, and always along the same street. Every evening he would pass a poor man near a bridge. The poor man sat at the side of the road with an old dog and sold matches. Hanging around the dog's neck was a piece of wood with the words "I AM BLIND" written on it.
As Mr.Black was a kind man, he always stopped and said a few kind words to the poor man. He would gives him a little money, but he never took any of his matches. One day, Mr.Black had a lot of work in his office and was very late. As he was leaving work he thought to himself, "My train always leaves at five minutes past six, and it is ten minutes to six now.
I'm not going to talk to the poor man today, or give him anything. I have given him a lot of money, and I've never taken any of his matches." As he walked down the same street, he came to the man and his dog, but he did not stop, and he did not say anything. He passed them quickly as he walked towards the railway station. But the poor man stood up quickly.
Running after Mr.Black, he called out, "You haven't given me anything today. You've always been very kind to me. Give me a little money today too for I'm a poor man!" Mr.Black stopped and looked at the man as he asked, "You're a blind man. How did you follow me?" The poor man replied, "No, I'm not blind. My old dog is."