This Halloween, instead of passing out candy, my wife and I decided to put a bowl of treats out on our front porch. The bowl was placed upon a card table decorated with a Halloween tablecloth that was clearly seen from the street and easily accessible for the “Trick or Treaters.” A sign that read, “Be kind and leave some for others,” was placed on the table in front of the bowl. We have done this several times in the past, and on one occasion, we actually had some candy left in the bowl at the end of the night.

Unfortunately, this year our bowl of treats fell victim to someone who decided they were entitled to all of the candy. That’s right—they dumped the contents of the bowl into their bag and scurried off. That is the first time we have experienced an “all-in-one fly-by grab” from a glucose goblin. Not a big surprise since we have heard this has happened to other folks as well—disappointing, nonetheless.

My four-year-old grandson and I were back home from Trick or Treating and decided to indulge in some of the sweets he had collected. While watching the Ring footage on my phone, we made the Candy Bandit discovery. As we were witnessing more recordings that captured the disappointment of kids encountering an empty bowl, my Ring alert chimes to let me know there is activity at the scene of the crime. It was three young boys discovering that they, too, would leave our abode empty-handed. My grandson and I connected to the Ring speaker to apologize and let them know that someone earlier had taken all the candy.

Here is where our faith in humanity was restored: all three boys returned to the table and placed some candy from their bags into our bowl. At the young age of four, my grandson was able to process and understand all that we saw together that frightful night. He insisted that I show the Good Samaritan recordings to all of his siblings when they came home.

I will never know who those three young boys are, but I am eternally grateful that they provided an example for my grandson to emulate.