Old lady’s poverty melts iron hearts of burglars

A true Robin Hood story has turned a banal house burglary into a pleasant surprise for 91-year-old Zinaida, a pensioner from Central Russia.

When the old lady returned home, it was evident that someone had broken into the house: the window was wide open and all the jewelry boxes searched. Even the soil from a pot plant was poured on the floor. There were also the clear footprints of two men. Zinaida had already picked up the receiver to call the police when a note on the wall suddenly caught her attention. “Dear granny, this is something for you to live on,” the note said. Enclosed was 500 rubles ($19). According to the official data, the average pension in Russia is around 9,000 rubles ($300).“The guys must have seen how poor am I, so instead of robbing they decided to help,” the old lady told the LifeNews online tabloid. “I have been working all my life – I was even awarded for my hard labor. Maybe the burglars were ashamed to steal anything from me.” Highly surprised by the incident, local police, however, are still eager to find the self-sacrificing thieves. “Of course, we will not open a criminal case into this ‘burglary’, but we still want to investigate the incident,” the policeman said. “Those who wanted to rob the Zinaida’s house could have stolen something from other apartments. But we will sincerely thank them for their kindness to the old lady – once we catch them.” Zinaida is planning to spend the burglars’ gift on sweets for her grandchildren. The note in the beautiful frame will from now adorn her room so that everyone in the family remembers the curious incident.