There's happiness in sharing

by Husna Inayathullah

A happy family lived in a village in the southern province. It was a nuclear family consisting of five members, father, mother and three children. They lived in a beautiful house.

The father, Mr. Perera was a businessman and Mrs. Perera was a housewife. They lived very happily and peacefully.

"Thaththi, what will you bring for us tomorrow?" asked Piumi one night just after her father had returned from work with a box of cup cakes.

"Mmmm... putha, let's see, what do you want?" asked Mr. Perera. "Wait for a moment thaththi, I'll ask Tharaka and Nishanthani. We'll discuss and let you know", said Piumi. Mr. Perera smiled and said, "All right."

Mr. Perera usually goes to work early in the morning and returns home late in the night with different varieties of sweets and fruit. The children usually wait for the arrival of their father and they welcome him warmly.

The mother, Mrs. Perera was a very dedicated housewife. She cooked tasty and nutritious food for the family, washed the clothes and swept and cleaned the house.

She was as busy as a bee. In the evenings she was engaged in helping her children do their homework until the father comes from work.Once the father came, the family had dinner together and each and everyone shared some of their experiences of the day.

They cracked jokes and laughed till they went to bed. Everyday when the father brought some sweetmeats on his way home after work, the mother used to divide them equally among the children and this became a practice.

The three children Piumi, Tharaka and Nishanthani got used to share the food equally among them due to their mother's practice.

Days passed on very smoothly and suddenly one day Tharaka fell ill. He was severely suffering from fever. So he could not play or take food as he had no appetite.

On that day when Mr. Perera bought some chocolates on his way home from work, the other two children did not feel like eating.

They said, "Ammi, we can't eat these chocolates without Tharaka, we will divide them equally among us and eat them after malli gets better."

"Okay putha, then I will put them into the refrigerator and tomorrow you can eat them together," said Mrs. Perera.The next morning was a Sunday so the whole family was at home. Mr. Perera had a day off and the children were free from attending tuition classes. It was a day for which the whole family was waiting for as they could spend the time together.

"Ammi, ammi, can you please give those chocolates which thaththi bought last night? Now malli is feeling quite well and he says that he can eat them. So we all can eat them together," said Nishanthani.

Mr and Mrs. Perera felt very happy and proud of their children. The sharing and caring nature of the children were admired by them.

The attachment between the siblings were indeed great. There was harmony, unity and amity among the children.

Mr. Perera said, "I'm really lucky to have children like these..." "Yes of course it is a God given gift for us," said Mrs. Perera. The father and mother hugged their children and everyone ate the chocolates together.

The parents were overjoyed and satisfied for bringing up children with such qualities which will not only benefit society but the whole world.