Can I Give You A Hand?

It was a warm summer evening. Paul was returning home when he saw two men outside the house of his neighbor, Tom Baker. They were carrying his furniture into a van.

He knew that Tom was moving out in a few days, so he walked up to one of the men and said, 'Hello, can I give you a hand?' The man just stood there, looking at Paul. That's when the other man said, 'That would be great.' As soon as Paul helped them finish, the two men quickly got into the van, thanked him, and left. Later, while Paul was having dinner, the doorbell rang. It was Tom and he looked very upset. 'Someone broke into my house and took everything!' he shouted. Paul froze. I'm so stupid!' he thought.

Fortunately, Paul gave a clear description of the men to the police and they found the burglars after only an hour. Paul helped move everything back into the empty house but he's never offered to help a neighbor again.