A 7-Year-Old Boy Finds $8,000 at the Playground, and You Won't Believe What Happens Next

We'd all like to think that in any situation, we'd always choose to do the right thing, but most of us haven't been in 7-year-old Aiden Wright's position.

While at the park in Salem, MA, the second grader discovered what he thought was a wallet at the top of the slide. When he brought it down to show his uncle, "he was actually holding a checkbook with some personal documents and an envelope tucked into it," Danny Wright wrote on Facebook. "I took it and peaked into the envelope and immediately told Aiden, 'Buddy, we're going to be learning a very important lesson today.'"

The pair counted the stacks of $100 bills and quickly took their $8,000 find to the police station. "We talked about it and I said, 'OK, now we're going to turn it in,'" Wright told Yahoo Parenting. "It's my duty as godfather to steer him the right way."

The officers contacted the checkbook's owner, Elias Santos, who had no idea the money was missing. The contractor had taken his children to the park after being paid for a job and didn't notice when it slipped out of his pocket at the playground.

"I am so grateful because we don't have people like this no more," Santos said to CBS Boston. After learning that Aiden was the good samaritan who turned in his property, Santos wanted to thank the boy in person. When they arrived back at the police station, Aiden and his uncle were surprised with a tangible thank you — $100.

"I never made any mention to him of the possibility of a reward," Danny said. "I thought it in my head but didn't want to get his hopes up. And that wasn't the point anyway. It was about him just doing the right thing. The lesson I want him to look back on when he's older is the Golden Rule, to treat people the way you would want to be treated."