History Main / ThatWasTheReward

* In ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E97TheGift The Gift]]" an alien brings a gift to the people of Earth. The people it interacts with kill it and burn the gift, which turns out to have been the CureForCancer.

->'''Man:''' "God, why didn't you protect me?"\\
'''God:''' "I sent you the news, the police, and a boat. What fucking more do you want?!"
-->-- Source can be [[https://upjoke.com/national-guard-jokes found here.]]

[[folder: Advertising ]]

[[folder: Anime ]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* The 1932 Creator/LaurelAndHardy short ''Film/TheMusicBox'' plays this trope to a tee. While trying to get a player piano delivered, the duo angers Professor Theodor Von Schwarzenhoffen. He turns up at [[ChekhovsGunman the end of the short]] and destroys the player piano in a fit of rage - only to learn from his wife that it was intended as his present.

[[folder: Literature ]]

* A 1953 book titled "Laughter Is Legal" mentions an anecdote about a lawyer expecting payment for his services but being offered a hand-crafted leather wallet instead. The lawyer is insulted about receiving a gift rather than cash. He says his fee is five hundred dollars. His client opens the hand-crafted wallet to reveal at least a thousand dollars in bills and then gets paid [[ExactWords his exact fee of five hundred dollars]]!
* One of Creator/RudyardKipling's stories concerns a British Army scout exploring the wilds of India, where he discovers a long-lost sultanate. The sultan welcomed the scout, and gave him an expensive gift each evening. On his last evening, the scout received a novelty store box decorated with seashells; the landlocked sultanate had never seen seashells before. Before departing, the scout gave the seashell box to a young girl who'd kept him company. When the scout returned one year later, [[spoiler:he learned from a servant that the girl had been caught with the box, and presumed a thief. She was executed by drowning for this crime. This news devastated the scout.]]
* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'', Igor Karkakoff dismisses the conspiracy theory of the paranoid "Mad-Eye" Moody, citing an incident where Moody smashed a birthday present because he believed it was a disguised basilisk egg, only to find that it was actually just a clock.
* One Literature/MissMarple short story has her helping a young couple find a treasure that they believe their recently deceased uncle hid in the house that he left to them. During the search of the house, they find a number of old love letters to the uncle from a female missionary. The couple wants to burn the letters out of respect for their uncle's privacy, but Miss Marple persuades them that the letters may be related to the treasure. [[spoiler: The letters ''are'' the treasure, or rather, the envelopes that contained the letters. The stamps on the envelopes were all rare collectibles and worth a small fortune]]. (Ultimately [[AvertedTrope an aversion]].)

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

'''Lois''': Oh! (''sheepishly'') I'm sorry.

* ''Series/MamasFamily'': "Pomp and Circumstance" has Mama recount how her cousin Claude wanted a hunting rifle as a graduation gift. His father gave him a Bible instead, leading him to angrily reject the gift. After his father's death years later, Claude comes across the Bible and opens it to find enough money to have paid for that hunting rifle he wanted.

'''Trina (Mockingly):''' Then it's not a present!
* Happens in an episode of ''{{Series/Cheers}}'' where Woody can't afford to get his girlfriend Kelly a present so he writes a song for her and plays it at her birthday party.
-->'''Kelly:''' Woody that was beautiful.\\
'''Woody:''' You really liked it?\\
'''Kelly:''' Oh, I liked it more than anything. \\
'''Woody:''' Thanks.\\
'''Kelly:''' So, [[TheDitz where's my gift]]?
* The 1961 episode of ''Series/DennisTheMenace'' titled "Dennis and the Fishing Rod" has Dennis trying to buy a fishing rod for his father. He tries to pay for it with a bill of Confederate money, but the merchant won't take the bill since he thinks it's worthless. Later on, the merchant learns from Mr. Wilson that the Confederate bill was rather valuable.

[[folder: Urban Legends ]]

* One famous legend involves a boyfriend/husband thinking his lover is cheating on him and seeing a brand new car parked outside. Thinking the car belongs to the adulterer, he has cement poured into the car to ruin it. His shocked wife/girlfriend comes out from the house and reveals that car was a gift for him.

[[folder: Web Original ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheRaccoons'' episode "Games People Play" has Cyril Sneer running from a tax agent, thinking he's in some kind of financial trouble. Cyril ends up on a game show during his escape [[spoiler: and not only ends up losing on the game show but also refusing the envelope that the tax agent had...which turned out to be [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments a considerable tax refund]]!]]
* The 1963 ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' short "Million Hare" has Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck racing against each to get to a TV station to win what they thought was a "million bucks". Daffy [[CheatersNeverProsper cheats extensively and ends up getting to the station first]]. However, he learns that the prize was a [[{{Pun}} "million box"]] instead. Daffy gives to Bugs, thinking it's worthless. Then the TV show host reveals that each little box (a million of them) inside the million box had one dollar inside!

** In the ''Lucky Number'' short, the nephews bring home a sport car Donald won in a lottery. However, they had to scam Donald into giving them free gas (Donald's a owner of a gas station/garage in this short) in order to pick up that car. Due to this, Donald wrecks the car without learning it was the prize until after he does it. All this happened because the nephews wanted to surprise Donald with the car instead of telling him he was the real winner. (Donald listened to the radio for the winning numbers and thought he lost. The nephews were the only ones who heard the announcer correct himself and give the real numbers.)

* A story by Creator/HGWells called "The Lost Inheritance" invokes this trope. An eccentric and wealthy uncle [[GiftedlyBad writes dull literature]] and his nephew, Ted, covets his uncle's wealth. As his uncle is dying, he gives Ted a book to read. Ted lies to his uncle about having read it (he never does) and the uncle dies. [[spoiler: The uncle's will is never found however, but an early will is located. It gives the uncle's fortune to a distant relative who squanders it quickly. Years later, Ted stumbles across that book his uncle gave him and opens it up...[[KickTheSonOfABitch only to find the true will that would have given him everything]]!]]

* One episode of ''Series/LoisAndClark'' had Lois being harassed by a guy known as the Prankster. At the end she receives a large bouquet of roses which she assumes is another prank and throws it in the trash and pours coffee all over them, then...

* In ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E97TheGift The Gift]]" an alien brings a gift to the people of Earth. The people it interacts with kill it and burn the gift, which it turns out was the CureForCancer.
* An episode of ''Series/MamasFamily'' ("Pomp and Circumstance") had an incident similar to the urban legend mentioned below. Mama recounts how her cousin Claude wanted a hunting rifle as a graduation gift. His father gave him a Bible instead, leading him to angrily reject the gift. Years later, after his father's death, Claude comes across the Bible and opens it to find money to have paid for that hunting rifle he wanted.
* An episode of ''Series/{{Victorious}}'' had Tori stumped on what gift to get her sister Trina for her "birthweek." (Trina is such a narcissist that she demands a whole week's celebration for her birthday.) After many ideas, Tori decides to write a song thanking her for all that she's done for Tori and explaining that, despite Trina's flaws, she still loves her sister. After Tori surprises her sister with it, performing it to her with a live band, back-up dancers, and a fog machine, Trina's first question is: "So, where's my present?"

* The exact same plot mentioned above happened in an episode of ''{{Series/Cheers}}'' where Woody couldn't afford to get his girlfriend Kelly a present so he writes a song for her and plays it at her birthday party (no backup dancers or fog machine though).

* The 1961 episode of ''Series/DennisTheMenace'' titled "Dennis and the Fishing Rod" had Dennis trying to buy a fishing rod for his father. He tries to pay for it with a bill of Confederate money, but the merchant won't take the bill since he thinks it's worthless. Later on, the merchant learns from Mr. Wilson that the Confederate bill was worth a lot of money.

-->-- Source can be found [[https://upjoke.com/national-guard-jokes here]].

* In ''Series/TheTwilightZone'' episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E97TheGift The Gift]]" an alien brings a gift to the people of Earth. The people it interacts with kill it and burn the gift, which it turns out was the CureForCancer.

-->--Source can be found [[https://upjoke.com/national-guard-jokes here]].

* The 1963 ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' short "Million Hare" has Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck racing against each to get to a TV station to win what they thought was a "million bucks". Daffy [[CheatersNeverProsper cheats extensively and ends up getting to the station first]]. However, he learns that the prize was a [[JustForPun "million box"]] instead. Daffy gives to Bugs, thinking it's worthless. Then the TV show host reveals that each little box (a million of them) inside the million box had one dollar inside!

* The exact same plot mentioned above happened in an episode of ''{{Series/Cheers}}'' where Woody couldn't afford to get his SpoiledSweet girlfriend Kelly a present so he writes a song for her and plays it at her birthday party (no backup dancers or fog machine though).

* One Literature/MissMarple short story has her helping a young couple find a treasure that they believe their recently deceased uncle hid in the house that he left to them. During the search of the house, they find a number of old love letters to the uncle from a female missionary. The couple wants to burn the letters out of respect for their uncle's privacy, but Miss Marple persuades them that the letters may be related to the treasure. [[spoiler: The letters ''are'' the treasure, or rather, the envelopes that contained the letters. The stamps on the envelopes were all rare collectibles and worth a small fortune]].

* In the season 3 of ''Franchise/LeDonjonDeNaheulbeuk'', after killing the BigBad, the Dwarf is looting his place for treasure and rips some useless paper in his search... Which turn out to be bearer bonds.

A character refuses [[MacGuffin something]] that is offered to him or may even destroys said thing. Afterwards, he learns that the item was his reward for a recent task he successfully or exceptionally completed. In some cases, the spurned/destroyed item was meant as a gift (e.g. birthday, wedding, Valentine's Day).

A character refuses [[MacGuffin something]] that is offered to him or may even destroys said thing. Afterwards, he learns that the item was his reward for a recent task he successfully or exceptionally completed. In some cases, the spurned/destroyed item was meant as a gift (i.e. birthday, wedding, Valentine's Day).

Examples

[[AC:{{Advertising}}]]

[[AC:{{Anime}}]]

[[AC:{{Film}}]]

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* A story by Creator/HGWells called "The Lost Inheritance" invokes this trope. An eccentric and wealthy uncle [[GiftedlyBad writes dull literature]] and his nephew, Ted, covets his uncle's wealth. As his uncle is dying, he gives Ted a book to read. Ted lies to his uncle about having read it (he never does) and the uncle dies. [[spoiler: The uncle's will is never found however, but an early will is located. It gives the uncle's fortune to a distant relative who squanders it quickly. Years later, Ted stumbles across that book his uncle gave him and opens it up...[[KickTheSonOfABitch only to find the true will that would have given him everything]]!]]

[[AC:{{Live Action TV}}]]

[[AC:{{Urban Legends}}]]

[[AC:Web Original]]

[[AC:{{Western Animation}}]]

** In the ''Lucky Number'' short, the nephews bring home a sport car Donald won in a lottery. However, they had to scam Donald into giving them free gas (Donald's a owner of a gas station/garage in this short) in order to pick up that car. Due to this, Donald wrecks the car without learning it was the prize until after he does it. All this happened because the nephews wanted to surprise Donald with the car instead of telling him he was the real winner. (Donald listened to the radio for the winning numbers and thought he lost. The nephews were the only ones who heard the announcer correct himself and give the real numbers.)

Usually meant as AnAesop or could also be LaserGuidedKarma if the character in question is a JerkAss or [[SmallNameBigEgo arrogant]]. Also may be PlayedForLaughs.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheRaccoons'' episode "Games People Play" has Cyril Sneer running from a tax agent, thinking he's in some kind of financial trouble. Cyril ends up on a game show during his escape [[spoiler: and not only ends up losing on the game show but also refusing the envelope that the tax agent had...which turned out to be [[CrowningMomentOfFunny a considerable tax refund]]!]]

* One MissMarple short story has her helping a young couple find a treasure that they believe their recently deceased uncle hid in the house that he left to them. During the search of the house, they find a number of old love letters to the uncle from a female missionary. The couple wants to burn the letters out of respect for their uncle's privacy, but Miss Marple persuades them that the letters may be related to the treasure. [[spoiler: The letters ''are'' the treasure, or rather, the envelopes that contained the letters. The stamps on the envelopes were all rare collectibles and worth a small fortune]].

* In the ''Series/TheTwilightZone'' episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E97TheGift The Gift]]" an alien brings a gift to the people of Earth. The people it interacts with kill it and burn the gift, which it turns out was the CureForCancer.

* In the ''Series/TwilightZone'' episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E97TheGift The Gift]]" an alien brings a gift to the people of Earth. The people it interacts with kill it and burn the gift, which it turns out was the CureForCancer.

* In BurnUp Excess, a rich young man, whom the AmazonBrigade assisted, offered one of the ladies 500 acres of desert land. She refused it, because it's just a pile of sand. Then she found out about the oil, but he had already left.

* The 1932 LaurelAndHardy short ''Film/TheMusicBox'' plays this trope to a tee. While trying to get a player piano delivered, the duo angers Professor Theodor Von Schwarzenhoffen. He turns up at [[ChekhovsGunman the end of the short]] and destroys the player piano in a fit of rage - only to learn from his wife that it was intended as his present.
* ''Film/TheDayTheEarthStoodStill1951''. At the beginning of the movie, after Klaatu gets out of his saucer he approaches the U.S. Army soldiers surrounding it. He offers a device that suddenly juts out spines and a soldier panics and shoots the device. Klaatu later explains its true nature.

* Zig-Zagged with TheThreeStooges short "Goof on the Roof". Moe, Larry, and Shemp learn their housemate is getting married AND a new television set. They decide to give him a wedding gift in the form of [[DIYDisaster installing his TV and its antenna]]. In true Stooges fashion, the trio wrecks their friend's TV and his new marriage. This trope is zig-zagged because they destroy someone else's gift (which they know is for him) by accident with the recipient learning afterwards what happened.

* A story by HGWells called "The Lost Inheritance" invokes this trope. An eccentric and wealthy uncle [[GiftedlyBad writes dull literature]] and his nephew, Ted, covets his uncle's wealth. As his uncle is dying, he gives Ted a book to read. Ted lies to his uncle about having read it (he never does) and the uncle dies. [[spoiler: The uncle's will is never found however, but an early will is located. It gives the uncle's fortune to a distant relative who squanders it quickly. Years later, Ted stumbles across that book his uncle gave him and opens it up...[[KickTheSonOfABitch only to find the true will that would have given him everything]]!]]

* One of Rudyard Kipling's stories concerns a British Army scout exploring the wilds of India, where he discovers a long-lost sultanate. The sultan welcomed the scout, and gave him an expensive gift each evening. On his last evening, the scout received a novelty store box decorated with seashells; the landlocked sultanate had never seen seashells before. Before departing, the scout gave the seashell box to a young girl who'd kept him company. When the scout returned one year later, [[spoiler:he learned from a servant that the girl had been caught with the box, and presumed a thief. She was executed by drowning for this crime. This news devastated the scout.]]

* One episode of ''LoisAndClark'' had Lois being harassed by a guy known as the Prankster. At the end she receives a large bouquet of roses which she assumes is another prank and throws it in the trash and pours coffee all over them, then...
-->'''Clark''': Those roses cost me fifty dollars.
-->'''Lois''': Oh! (''sheepishly'') I'm sorry.
* In the ''TwilightZone'' episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E97TheGift The Gift]]" an alien brings a gift to the people of Earth. The people it interacts with kill it and burn the gift, which it turns out was the CureForCancer.
* An episode of MamasFamily ("Pomp and Circumstance") had an incident similar to the urban legend mentioned below. Mama recounts how her cousin Claude wanted a hunting rifle as a graduation gift. His father gave him a Bible instead, leading him to angrily reject the gift. Years later, after his father's death, Claude comes across the Bible and opens it to find money to have paid for that hunting rifle he wanted.

-->'''Tori:''' The song was your present!
-->'''Trina:''' How much did it cost?
-->'''Tori:''' The song didn't cost money!
-->'''Trina (Mockingly):''' Then it's not a present!

-->Kelly: Woody that was beautiful.
-->Woody: You really liked it?
-->Kelly: Oh, I liked it more than anything.
-->Woody: Thanks.
-->Kelly: So, [[TheDitz where's my gift]]?

* TheRaccoons episode "Games People Play" has Cyril Sneer running from a tax agent, thinking he's in some kind of financial trouble. Cyril ends up on a game show during his escape [[spoiler: and not only ends up losing on the game show but also refusing the envelope that the tax agent had...which turned out to be [[CrowningMomentOfFunny a considerable tax refund]]!]]
* The 1963 LooneyTunes short "Million Hare" has Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck racing against each to get to a TV station to win what they thought was a "million bucks". Daffy [[CheatersNeverProsper cheats extensively and ends up getting to the station first]]. However, he learns that the prize was a [[JustForPun "million box"]] instead. Daffy gives to Bugs, thinking it's worthless. Then the TV show host reveals that each little box (a million of them) inside the million box had one dollar inside!

** In the ''Lucky Number'' short, the nephews bring home a sport car Donald won in a lottery. However, they had to scam Donald into giving them free gas (Donald's a owner of a gas station/garage in this short) in order to pick up that car. Due to this, Donald wrecks the car without learning it was the prize until after he does it. All this happened because the nephews wanted to surprise Donald with the car instead of telling him he was the real winner. (Donald listened to the radio for the winning numbers and thought he lost. The nephews were the only ones who heard the announcer correct himself and give the real numbers.)