A little boy selling magazines for school walked up to a house that people rarely visited. The house was very old and the owner hardly ever came out. When he did, he would not say hello to neighbors or passers-by, but simply glare at them. The boy knocked on the door and waited, sweating from fear of the old man. As he was ready to walk away, the door slowly opened. "What do you want?" the old man said. "Uh, sir, I uh am selling these magazines and, uh, I was wondering if you would like to buy one." The old man just stared at the boy. The boy could see inside the old man's house and saw that he had dog figurines   on the fireplace. "Do you collect dogs?" the little boy asked. "Yes, I have many collectibles in my house. They are my family here. They are all I have." The boy then felt sorry for the man, as it seemed that he was a very lonely soul. "Well, I do have a magazine here for collectors. It is perfect for you. I also have one about dogs since you like dogs so much." The old man was ready to close the door and said: "No, boy, I don't need any magazines of any kind, now goodbye." The little boy was sad for the old man because he was alone in the big house. Then he thought of a little dog figurine that he had got some years earlier from an aunt. The boy headed back down to the old man's house with it. He knocked on the door again and this time the old man came right to the door. "Boy, I thought I told you no magazines." "No, sir. I know that. I wanted to bring you a gift." The boy handed him the figurine and the old man's face lit up. The old man was surprised and said: "Boy, you have a big heart. Why are you doing this?" The boy smiled at the man and said: "Because you like dogs." From that day on, the old man started coming out of the house and greeting people. He and the boy became friends. This simple nice act changed both of their lives forever. What can we learn from the article about the old man?
He preferred dog figurines to real dogs. He longed for   friendship with others. He found his neighbors unfriendly. He was sad because he felt alone.