Sunday, May 10, 2009

A Bowl of NoodlesContributed by: Pattamaporn Kittipanachol


That night, Sue had a quarrel with her mum and without bringing anything with her, she ran out of the house. While she was walking on the street, she discovered that she did not have any money on her, not even a cent to make a phone call. As she was walking along the street, she spotted a noodle stall, it smells so nice, how she longs for a bowl. But, she has no money.After awhile, the owner of the noodle stall seeing Sue standing in front of his stall for quite a long time, asked: 'Hey Miss, do you want a bowl of noodles?''But...but...I didn't bring any money with me...' she answered shyly.'It's alright, I'll give you a treat.' The noodle vendor said, 'Come have a seat, I'll cook you a bowl of noodles.'Not long after, the owner served Sue with a bowl of noodles and a plate of vegetables. Sue ate a few mouthfuls and she started to tear. 'What happened, young lady?' the owner asked.'Nothing, I'm just touched!' Sue said while drying her tears. 'Even a stranger I met on the street would offer to cook a bowl of noodles and treat me! But... my own mother, after a quarrel chased me out of the house and asked me not to go back again. You as a complete stranger could show me care and concern while my own mother...she's so cruel.' She said to the owner.The boss after hearing what Sue had said, replied with a sigh: 'Miss, how can you think that way? Ponder over this, I just cooked a bowl of noodles for you and you are so touched. Your mother had been cooking noodles and rice for you since you are young till now, why aren't you grateful to her? And you even quarrel with her?'Sue was stunned upon hearing that. 'Why didn't I think of that? A bowl of noodles from a stranger and I'm so grateful but yet my own mother had been cooking for me for so many years and I'm not even showing the least concern about her. And because of a trivial matter, I quarrelled with her.' She finishes her noodles swiftly and braces herself up and march towards the direction of home.As she was walking home, she thought to herself what she wants to tell her mum right now... 'Mum, I'm sorry, I know I'm at fault, please forgive me.'Once she reached the doorstep, she saw her tired and anxious mother, frantically searching everywhere for her. When she spotted Sue, the first sentence which came out of her mouth is: 'Sue, come into the house quickly, I've the dinner ready and it'll be cold if you don't eat it now.' Right at that moment, Sue was unable to hold back her tears anymore and started weeping in front of her mum.At times, we may be very grateful to other people around us for a little gesture they showed us, but to our close ones, especially our parents, it's a lifetime of gratefulness we have to remember.We should never forget what our parents had done for us but often we treat that as a natural process for them to sacrifice for us. However, parent's love and care are the most valuable gift given to us since we were born. They don't expect any repayment from us for raising us but think about it .....do we treasure the unconditional sacrifice from our parents - and so we return to them their just dues.

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