You may have heard of this story about the man and his son with their mule. If you have not, you may want to read about it here from La Papillion’s blog:father-son-and-donkey Well, the little boy grew up and became a father himself to a bright young boy of ten. One Saturday morning, father and son decided to sell one of their mules to the weekend market inside of town. Before they sat off from their farm, the father recalled the lessons he had learned when he was young and hoped to pass it on to his son. “Son, why are we going to the market?” asked the father as they started their journey. “To sell our mule!” answered the little boy with glee. He is happy to go to town once again and visit the shops with all the candies and chocolates! Especially the chocolates, he simply loves them! The father looked at his son with pride and tapped his finger on his son’s nose. “Don’t you forget now.” And off they went on their hour long journey to town. Father and son walked side-by-side, while father was pulling the mule behind him. A while later, the boy’s little feet started to ache and he jumped onto the mule to rest his feet. Not long after, they met two old men walking in the opposite direct towards them. On passing these two old men, father and son could hear one of the old men grumbling to his companion. “Young kids these days have no respect for their elders. The poor father walks while he enjoys the ride.” Upon hearing it, the little boy turned to his father with shame in his eyes. “Father, you want to ride?” The father looked at his precocious son and smiled. “Why did you ride the mule in the first place?” asked the father. “My feet hurt,” answered the boy sheepishly. “Does it still hurt?” “Yes... Oh! I understand now. Thanks father!” The father smiles as he walked along, pulling his mule while his son sits on top. But oh folly! Midway through the journey, the father stepped on a stone and sprained his ankle. Now father has to ride the mule while his little son pulls the mule at the front. A group of farmer’s wives approaches as they are returning from their weekend marketing. “Insect!” shouted one woman, “a full grown man like you enjoying your ride while you son walks?” pointing her finger angrily at the father. The little boy was startled, but he gave the women folks a greeting and kept on walking. The father was now beaming with pride at his son’s lack of explanation to the women folks. The boy is smarter than his age. Before long, they reached town. While walking towards the weekend market, they came before the little boy’s favourite chocolate shop. “Father, please?” pleaded the little boy. “You remember why we came to town this morning?” asked the father. “But it’s only for a short while. Please, please?” beaming his most innocent face to his father. How could the father say no to that? They tied the mule to a pole and went into the chocolate shop. After 10 minutes, father and son came out of the chocolate shop, but they found their mule missing!? Despite frantically searching nearby, there’s no sign of the mule anywhere… Before the father could let out his frustration, he stopped when he saw the tearing red eyes of his son. The little boy was full of regret. “Father, it’s my fault! I should not have asked for chocolates…I am sorry.” All of sudden, the anger and pain of losing the mule is lost. The father’s heart is now filled with love for his son. “Don’t worry. We can come next Saturday to sell another mule,” the father tried to console his son. “Come, let’s go home.” As father and son returned to their journey back home, the little boy reached out and grab the hand of the father. ______________________________________________________ Both father and son learned something that day. If you were the little son, what did you learn? If you were the father, what did you learn? About the Author: "Hi! I'm a Singaporean working in Athens, Greece. I aspire to be like the swan that's here and gone. And if need be, I'll rather be the hammer than the nail. Yes, it's from that song. 123, Away, I rather sail away.... (El Condor Pasa)" Singapore Man of Leisure (welcome to my blog; just google it!) This post was written by a guest contributor. Please see their details in the post above. If you'd like to guest post for TheFinance.sg, feel free to contact me for details about how YOU can share your tips and knowledge with our community.