Grandfather hands stranger's toddler $20 bill in Target for most tragic reason

A mother shopping with her young son in Target was caught off guard when an elderly man gave the toddler a $20 bill -- but when he explained himself, she was reduced to tears.

Alyssa Hacker, of Coweta, Oklahoma, says she was visiting the Fort Smith Target with her son Owen when the gregarious child struck up a conversation with a fellow shopper.

"We were at target waiting on Grammi and we found some dinosaurs," Hacker wrote on Facebook. "Owen grabbed all 3 and we were trying to pick out which one he wanted when Owen abruptly yelled 'HI' at this older man walking past us."

Hacker says the gentleman began interacting with her son, which initially made her feel a bit uncomfortable.

"He turned around and said 'hey sweet boy,'" she continued. "He proceeded to play dinosaurs with Owen and with this crazy world we live in I was a little hesitant as too (sic) how close he was with Owen."

But when Hacker found out the reason why the man wanted to play with her child, her uneasiness turned into overwhelming emotion.

"The man got his wallet out and pulled a $20 out, he put it in Owens [sic] pocket on his shirt and said 'I just lost my 2 year old [sic] grandson last week. You take this money and buy this boy all three dinosaurs' [sic] and rubbed Owens [sic] back, wiped his tears and walked off," she wrote.

Hacker says she "cried in the middle of Target" over the brief interaction -- and apparently, she wasn't the only one who was moved by the man's actions.

At the time of writing, Hacker's story has received nearly 330,000 reactions and almost 125,000 shares.

"There is still some good in this world," she ended her post.