CHAPTER 1 SON OF A WIDOW

All the friends of Keong said he was a hardworking boy. He studied regularly for his examination. He did not believe in last minute studying.

He said, “If you do that, you will fail.”

He made sure he did his class exercises properly. He answered all the questions before handing in his exercise books. At night, he did his homework. He was able to do his homework well for he paid attention in class. He understood what the teachers were teaching.

Keong lived with his mother. She was a widow. Her husband passed away eight years ago. At that time, she had nothing, not even a house. Her husband was not a hardworking man. He worked only for a few months in a year. Most of the time, he asked his wife for money.

名人名言

So, Keong's mother had to work very hard. She was a good maid to her employer and his family. She cooked all the meals. She washed all their clothes. She also washed four cars and cleaned the house every week. That was not easy.

For ten years, Keong's mother worked for the same employer. The employer's house was huge. Her employer extended it.

There were seven rooms and fifteen windows. She had to clean all of them. She had to sweep and mop the downstairs and upstairs floors. Sometimes, Keong went to help her do the heavy jobs like cleaning the windows and ceiling fans. He saw the way his mother worked to buy their food and pay for his schooling. So, he was happy to help her do the chores.

Keong's mother accepted the hard work. Her employer treated her and Keong well. Mother and son were given the back room. It was a small but otherwise, comfortable room.

名人名言

Keong saw how hard his mother worked to pay for his education. She had to pay for his books, bus fare and tuition fees. Even at seven years old when he entered Grade One, he made up his mind to study hard.

He wanted to give his mother a good life. Most of all, he wanted to reward her for all she did for him. To him, she deserved a better life.