There once lived a rich businessman who had a lazy and fun-loving son. The businessman wanted his son to be hard-working and responsible. He wanted him to realize the value of hard work and take over his business. One day he said to him, “Today, I want you to go out and earn something, failing which you won’t have your meals today.”

The son was not used to any kind of work. This demand by his father scared him and he went crying straight to his mother. Seeing tears in her son’s eyes, his mother grew restless. To help him, she gave him a gold coin. “Go to your father and tell him that you earned it.” In the evening when the father asked his son what he had earned, the son immediately presented him the gold coin. The father then asked him to throw it into a well and the son did as he was told.

The father was a wise man and guessed that the gold coin was given to him by his mother. The next day he sent his wife to her parent’s town and asked his son to go and earn something, telling him he would not have night meal if he failed again. This time he went crying to his sister who sympathized (同情) with him and gave him a gold coin out of her own savings. When his father asked him what he had earned, he showed the coin to him. The father again asked him to throw it into a well. The son did it quite readily.

Again the father’s wisdom told him that the coin was not earned by his son. He then sent his daughter to her husband’s house. He asked his son to go out and earn some money with the threat that he shall not have anything for dinner that night.

This time since no one could help him out, the son was forced to go to the market in search of work.

At this the businessman smiled.

His father said, “All set, boy?” and Jeremy nodded quickly, picking up his gun. Finally, they arrived at the marsh. Normally, Jeremy would ask his father to wait while he tried to record the beautiful place with his camera, but not this morning. This was the morning when 14-year old Jeremy was to have duck shooting.

Actually, he hated duck shooting since his father bought him a gun, taught him to shoot and promised him this trip. But he loved his father, and wanted to make his father pleased.

Jeremy put down the camera, sat down and waited anxiously.

“Better get ready. Sometimes ducks are on top of you before you know it,” his father said. He watched Jeremy break his gun, put in the bullets and close it again. “I’ll let you shoot first,” he said. He stopped suddenly, eyes narrowed. “There is a small group of ducks heading this way now. Keep your head down. I’ll give you the order.”

Jeremy’s heart was beating wildly. He prayed, “Don’t let the ducks come, please.”

But they kept coming. “Four black ducks and one mallard (绿头鸭),” said his father.

High above, Jeremy heard the sound of wings as the ducks went over and began to circle. The mallard was leading; his bright orange feet dropped down, reaching for the water. Closer, closer...

“Get set,” his father whispered.

“Now, shoot!” cried his father in a loud voice.

Jeremy felt his body obey. He stood up, his hands holding the gun the way his father had taught him.

At the same time, the wild ducks saw the gunners and flew. “Shoot!” said something sharply in Jeremy’s brain, but the expected sound didn’t come. Up went the mallard, until it flew away.

His father asked in a controlled voice, “Why didn’t you shoot?”

His father was handing the camera to him and said softly, “Here comes another duck.”

My single mother used to take on several jobs just in order to make ends meet．When I was fifteen years old, she started her own business, and things began to get easier financially．There was no longer a question as to whether she would be able to afford groceries for the week．

The following spring, when I was sixteen years old, a new family moved into our neighborhood．The wife, Melissa, quickly made friends with my mother, and the children, though younger than me, became my pals soon．They lived within walking distance from us, and once school let out for the summer, I would walk over to their house to watch Disney movies while my mother was at work．

One afternoon, I was at their house during lunchtime, and they were generous enough to include me in the meal．Their daughter, ten at the time, requested a glass of milk with her food．Melissa stated, “We are out of milk, and we don't have any more money for groceries this week．” She suddenly realized that I was present and explained with a defeated look, “Money has been really tight．”

The family had recently moved to Central Pennsylvania from California because Melissa had been offered a good job．The position had not worked out, and her husband had to take the first job he could find．They had uprooted their children and moved across the country, leaving behind family and friends, only to end up in trouble．I thought about our own circumstances just a year earlier．

Later, I came home with a heavy heart as I reflected on their hardship．I told my mother about the rough time Melissa was experiencing．“Do you think we could help them?” I asked．In response, she immediately opened the cupboard doors and started pulling out food．We searched each cabinet, grabbing bag after bag, can after can-cereal, peanut butter, spaghetti sauce, and more．Then we handled the canning shelf where my mother's precious homemade goods were stored．We found a sizable box and packed it full．

Then we drove to our friends' house, made our way to the door with our box and bags, and knocked eagerly．

Looking at my mother, I felt proud to be the daughter of this incredible woman．