Numbed from the cold, the boy struggled to stand up. As he walked past the long row of mansions, he heard lively music coming from a mansion on the other block. Curiously he walked on and found long rows of shiny cars parked on the side. Handsomely dressed men and elegantly dressed women made there way to the door of the biggest mansion on the entire block. This sumptuous estate was owned by a pompous politician, who was widely acclaimed for his work humanitarian efforts.

From the side, he saw men carrying large pots and pans to the back door. Watching the huge platters being carried inside, a renewed feeling of hope rose within the poor boy. Maybe they will be kind enough to give me some of the food, he thought hopefully. The boy slowly walked to the back door carefully so no one would see him. When he arrived at the door, he knocked three times before someone finally answered. A man dressed in white came out and looked suspiciously at the poor boy.

" Are you the servant boy? You're early. You were supposed to come two hours later," the waiter asked.

" Sorry sir, but can I please have some food," answered the poor boy." I am very hungry. I will work for you if you want me to."

" I wish I could, but the master does not like us giving food to the poor. He says that the poor are a good way to become rich and famous. A smart man only gives money to the poor when it is going to be publicized," the waiter replied. " We cannot help you here. We have strict orders.

With that, the waiter shut the door in the boys' face. The boy was so terribly hungry that he would have eaten leaves if there had been any.

Slowly, with a slight limp, the boy felt like he could not go on any longer. No one was going to give him any food. Although they were filthy rich, their hearts were very small. The boy knew that he would not find light at the end of the tunnel, but he decided to try one more time. The boy lurched past the house and stopped at another mansion. The mansion had its lights turned on, casting a soft glow in the darkness.

The elegant mansion belonged to one of the most famous social workers. This distinguished worker's charitable works were the front-page news in every newspaper in the country. In all of his pictures, the social worker is handing out food, blankets, and clothing to the city's destitute and needy. All of his work was documented. A photographer literally follows him everywhere hoping to photograph another charitable deed.

On this night however, things turned out differently. The poor boy knocked on the door as he had done at the previous two houses. After five knocks the social worker finally appeared.

"Please sir, Can I have some bread," pleaded the little boy.

The social worker, who happened to be eating dinner, did have food. He had even carried a loaf of bread on his way to the door. The man looked at the pitiful figure standing before him. He looked around to see if there were any photographers standing by. I don't need to give him anything if it is not going to be in the newspaper, he thought. I should tell him to come to the 10:00 photo session.

" Come back in the morning at 10:00 a.m. Then you will receive food, blankets, and clothing," he said to the boy.

With that, like all the others before him, he shut the door in the poor boy's face.

The boy began to lose all hope. No one was going to help him. He did not want anything except food. That was all he ever wanted. He remembered that the social worker had told him to come in the morning. The boy couldn't wait for morning to come. The winds were picking up speed and it was getting colder by the minute. The poor boy, hungry and cold, dropped to the ground and fell asleep by the house. There was no place for him in the world.

The next day, a man on his way to work bought the morning paper. On the front page there was a huge picture of the famous writer promoting his new book that talked about the tortures that the poor suffered at the hands of the rich. As the man turned the page, a picture of the famous politician wearing rags and feeding the poor with the caption "ANGEL IN DISGUISE." The article outlined the politicians' great charitable efforts and his open heart. The third page had a picture of a very famous social worker handing out food, blanket, and clothing to the poor. The pictures of these three men covered most of the pages, large enough for everyone to see the great works of these god-fearing and compassionate people.

What most did not see however, on the very bottom corner of the page, there was a tiny picture of a young boy. The pictured showed him wearing torn clothes on his emaciated body. Underneath, there was a tiny caption. It said that the body of young boy, who had died of the cold and starvation, was found near the house of a very famous social worker.