17 Times a Good Deed Went Hilariously Wrong

Each of us has at least once in our life tried to do something good — to show care, help a stranger, or give something away for free. However, there can sometimes be a chasm between the good intention and the result.

We put together stories where people just wanted to make the world a little better, but something didn’t go as planned. Get ready to smile. In this article, you’ll see that even the kindest impulses don’t guarantee success.

• I came home from work yesterday, and my 5-year-old daughter, who was staying with my mom, came out to meet me.
  She brought me a drawing of a big red heart on a piece of paper and said, “Mom, look! I drew this for my sister! Do you think Anastasia will like it?” I said that yes, your sister will be thrilled because the heart is really beautiful.
  Only when my elder daughter came home and asked, “Where’s my favorite lipstick that I brought from Paris?” did I realize that the heart drawing turned out to be not only beautiful but also incredibly expensive. © Caramel / VK
• I just got my driver’s license. I didn’t feel afraid of driving, but parking was completely a different thing! My small car seemed gigantic, and the distance to other cars felt almost non-existent, it was terrifying!
  So there I was, trying to get out of my narrow driveway, and then some guy appeared. He seemed trustworthy, wearing a jacket, carrying a briefcase. He started helping — gesturing, giving tips. And then I heard a dull sound.
  He got so carried away that he didn’t see the curb and fell. Not hard, but it was very funny. He jumped up, dusted himself off, glared at me, and ran away. I couldn’t drive out for a while because I was laughing so hard.

• Once, an acquaintance desperately tried to help her friend. She made many efforts to solve his problem. But all attempts seemed to fall into a bottomless well that remained empty.
  One day, she was exhausted and said to him in despair, “I just don’t know how else I can help you. Maybe you can tell me?” He replied, “Just listen to me. And show some empathy.”
  It turned out that all this time he didn’t need solutions, he didn’t want actions, he just wanted some sympathy and someone to listen to him. © olesya.lisova / Threads
• I was walking past an ATM once. There was a girl sitting there, looking tired, her clothes, to put it mildly, not in the best condition. So, I went to the store, bought her a bun and some juice, trying to be that “kind soul.”
  I offered it to her. And she said, “I’m not a beggar.” And there I was, red as a lobster, retreating from there, but you know, here’s what I think: even a somewhat clumsy good deed is better than indifference. © tditkh / Threads
• I decided to give away a coffee maker for free. It was good and working, it just didn’t make cappuccino. I posted an ad on the local channel. And then the apocalypse began.
  Literally within 5 minutes, a dozen people messaged me. I heard everything from demands to deliver it to their home to providing guarantees that it worked, and repairs at my expense in case it broke. I’m not kidding, it’s true. I was literally cursed about 4 times.
  I gave it away and swore never to give away anything for free again. It’s easier to throw it away. © nastykhodzhaeva_94 / Threads

• A friend of mine once threw a coin into a girl’s coffee. He thought it was a tip jar. © re1st.ink / Threads
• We once saw a friend to her train. She was late, and the stop was only for 5 minutes. On the platform, there was noise and hustle.
  The train began to move, and then an elderly lady with a cart comes running along the platform, shouting something. My other friend grabs the old lady, throws her into the car, sends the cart in after her. The train speeds up, and then it occurs to me that these kinds of carts are also used by old ladies to sell pastries.
  I ask, “Alex, are you sure she needed to be on the train?” And Alex, scratching his head, replied, “No.” © elevitska / Threads
• My grandfather, a professor, wasn’t poor at all, worked until he was 90 at 2 universities, traveled abroad twice a year. At 90, he loved finding some wooden pieces at the dumpster, something for the summer house.
  One day he tells me that a girl approached him and gave him money. In shock, I ask him if he took it, absolutely sure he didn’t. And he answers, “Of course, I took it! I couldn’t possibly offend her!” © capushonova / Threads
• So, my husband and I were out one evening a couple of years ago, sat in the car chatting down by the water parked outside a pub. My husband is one of these people who likes to help all animals or insects that he can, so you can imagine how this story may turn out.
  We heard a thud, so we got out of the car, and a pheasant had flown into the wall of the pub and landed on the floor. So my husband immediately went up to it to see how it was. This is not an area where you would normally see a pheasant. The pheasant was fine, was just a bit dazed and in shock.
  So, my husband decided we should try and take it to a more ’pheasant appropriate’ place in the car. This would be around a 15-minute drive. So I agreed, as I felt sorry for it. The plan was, my husband was to wrap the pheasant up in his jacket, and I was to have the pheasant on my lap. So we did.
  Well, we got about 10 minutes up the road and the pheasant was still in shock and sat still on my lap. My husband decides it’s cold and, without warning, puts on the fan in the car. The pheasant got really scared. It was flying around the car, I was screaming, and my husband was still trying to drive. It was flapping all over the car, pooping as it went.
  My husband pulled over to the nearest area with grass and trees, and we opened the car door to get the pheasant out. Well, that was another 20-minute job. I know, I cannot believe this story is true either. But believe me, it is not an experience I want again. © Zestyclose-Ad-3376 / Reddit

• I have a romantic and attentive husband. And I don’t like surprises.
  On Valentine’s Day, my husband brought flowers and a little box from a cosmetics store. I open it — there are various samples. I say, what a good husband you are, you brought me a gift! I’m sitting there, examining the samples, and there’s also a small bottle of something.
  “Yes,” says my husband, “you’re not picky at all.” I didn’t even notice the gift cards for a large amount. © Overheard / Ideer
• Once, I was giving away several pairs of women’s shoes for free, all in good condition, some practically new. They all came with their original boxes.
  Then a man called me and said he wanted to take all the shoes, supposedly for his relatives. He came and started whining that his daughter doesn’t wear heels, and neither does his wife, asking to pack them in a bag for easier carrying. It was originally clear from the photos that some shoes had heels, why come for them then?
  But the most interesting part happened afterward. An hour later, this guy calls me and says, “Why did you give me so much footwear?” And then he cursed me 3 times. © dianathenumber1 / Threads

• I work as a photographer specializing in newborn babies. One day, I photographed a little boy named Nick when he was 7 days old. His mom chose the yellow background and a little yellow hat — so cute.
  3 months later, he and his mom came back for another session. The mom told me that she had seen the yellow photos in my profile before I delivered her order, and thought it was her son. She saved that photo, printed it out, and gave it to the grandmothers on the Mother’s Day and sent it by mail to other relatives.
  Everyone was happy, the photos were framed and hung on the walls, although one grandfather suspected something was off. Later, when the mother saw the actual photos of Nick taken by me, she was very embarrassed to call the relatives and explain that they had the photo of someone else’s boy in the frame. © Caramel / VK
• Grandpa turned into a hoarder in his old age. He collected various things from dumpsters. No matter how much we tried to fight it, it was all in vain.
  One day, we sorted through our clothing, gathering what we didn’t wear anymore into a large sack, which my aunt took out to the dumpster in the morning. In the evening, we came back, and Grandpa proclaimed, “Look at what good stuff someone threw out!” We looked and realized it was that very sack. © Overheard / VK
• My neighbors placed a piece of cardboard instead of a doormat in our shared hallway. This happened because my dog, unable to hold it until his walk, relieved himself on their doormat. Noticing this, I decided to brighten up the lifeless and unwelcoming cardboard with a colorful “Welcome” sign in an attempt to make amends.
  Finding some old, but still usable markers, I got to work, only then remembering that I can hardly draw, and my handwriting is far from beautiful. With no time for stencils, I focused on making the sign bright and colorful.
  It turned out horribly. I left it as it was and went home, and when the neighbors asked me about the sign, I said I had no idea who did it. The next day, they laid down a new piece of cardboard. © Overheard / VK

• I decided to patch up my karma and on the day of a big sale at a second-hand store, I bought a bunch of different clothes, hung them on the fence near my house so the local needy could dress up.
  I barely managed to hang up the clothes when a neighbor from the third floor came running and started taking everything. I explained where the clothes came from and who they were meant for, and she replied, “So what? I could use them for rags too!” Yeah, I did a good deed, indeed. © Overheard / VK
• I was about 7 years old. I’m sitting at home alone after school, and I hear someone coughing on the landing. I peek out and see a homeless-looking man sitting there. I closed the door and started crying because I felt so sorry for him.
  I went and made a sandwich with sausage, hid it behind my back, and decided to go out to feed him. I went out, my legs trembling with fear, approached him, and he shouted (apparently he was hard of hearing), “I’ll warm up and leave!”
  I got even more scared and ran away. Never managed to give away the sandwich. I really wanted to do a good deed. © Overheard / VK
• I was driving home from work along the main road. The traffic was dense. I stopped and out of a good heart let a car through, which was turning through the oncoming flow.
  Well, I let them through. I stopped, the car behind me stopped, but then got hit. As a result, the traffic jam got even worse. Did a small good deed and a big wrong. © Overheard / VK

Sometimes a good deed hides a whole drama, awkwardness, or even a minor catastrophe. But the main thing is that all these attempts to make the world a little better, however unsuccessful they may be, remain in our memory as funny and warm stories. Don’t be afraid to do good and it will surely come back to you.