Three sons left home, went out on their own and prospered. Getting back together, they discussed the gifts
they were able to give their elderly mother.
The first said, “I built a big house for our mother.” The second said, “I sent her a Mercedes with
a driver.” The third smiled and said,
“I’ve got you both beat. You
remember how mom enjoyed reading the Bible? And
you know she can’t see very well. So I
sent her a remarkable parrot that recites the entire Bible. It took elders in the church 12 years to teach
him. He’s one of a kind. Mama just has to name the chapter and verse, and
the parrot recites it.”
Soon thereafter, mom sent out her letters of thanks:
“Milton,” she wrote one son, “The house you built is
so huge.
I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house.”
“Gerald,” she wrote to another, “I am too old to
travel. I stay most of the time at home, so I
rarely use the Mercedes. And the driver is so
rude!”
“Dearest Donald,” she wrote to her third son, “You
have the good sense to know what your mother likes. The
chicken was delicious.”