The Little Boy
There once was a little boy who lived with his mother and father on the edge of a small
town in Egypt. The boy’s father was a carpenter and his mother was a basket weaver.
Together they made very little money and often had a hard time buying food and clothes.
Because the family was poor they had a very small house and the little boy was forced to
wear clothes that his mother made from grass and cloth she weaved.
One day the boy asked his father if he could go into town with him and watch him work.
His father said no at first but eventually allowed the little boy to follow. “Be careful” his
father told him. “There are a lot of people in town and you may get lost, make sure not to
talk with strangers.” Together they went into town.
The little boy watched his father work but quickly became bored. He decided to walk
around and see the sights. He soon ran into a well dressed, fancy young man who looked
at him very strangely. The little boy said hello but the young man said nothing. Finally
the young man spoke. “You are a ragged little boy, I can hardly look at you. Your clothes
and grass shoes show that your poor. I will not waste my time with you.”
The little boy said nothing to his father on the way home. He was mad that his clothes
were so ragged and his shoes were only made of woven grass. Finally when he and his
parents sat down for dinner, he spoke. “I hate my clothes and I hate being poor.” The
little boy cried. “Why can’t we have more money and nice clothes? Why cant I have what
everyone else has?”
His father looked at him across the table with a sad face. “I am sorry I don’t make much
money son, but I like my job and enjoy building things. I am thankful for what I have and
I am thankful for having a healthy family. We need to be thankful for what we have and
not spend time worrying about what we don’t have.”
The boy became quiet and didn’t understand. He was still very mad and hated his grass
shoes.
The next day he walked into town, determined to find some new shoes. As the little boy
entered town he met a young girl sitting on the ground. She was holding her feet in her
hands and crying. As the little boy walked up to her he could see that her feet were
bleeding. “Whats wrong with your feet” the little boy asked.
“My mother and father cannot afford to buy shoes. I walked all the way to town with my
bare feet over the rocks. I hope to find some old shoes for my sore feet.” The young girl
just stared at the little boy’s grass shoes. “You are lucky to have shoes” she finally said.
The little boy said thank you and continued on his way into town, determined to find new
shoes. As he passed an alley he looked down and saw a young child hobbling towards
him. He watched as the child approached and saw that he was smiling.
The little boy soon could see why the child was hobbling. The child had no feet. “Why
are you smiling?” the little boy asked. “You have no feet and can hardly walk.”
The child stopped and stared at the little boy. “I just found an old piece of bread in the
alley. I haven’t eaten very much and this will be my dinner for at least a couple of days.
If you are hungry I will share it with you.”
The little boy didn’t know what to say. Finally he spoke. “Where are your parents? How
come they are not feeding you?”
The child looked down at the ground and said “My parents left me because I was born
without any feet. They didn’t want to take care of me so I am on my own. I live here in
this alley. I make it ok. At least I have my legs and arms.”
The little boy was suddenly struck with sadness. He reached into his pocket and handed
the child the only money he had. A single gold coin that he had saved for the most
important thing he could think of…..a new pair of shoes.
The little boy went no further into town. He instead walked all the way home to see his
parents. When he approached his tiny house his parents came running out to meet him.
They were so happy to see him. They had worried all morning when they saw he had left.
The little boy ran into his parents arms and began to cry. “Thank you so much for loving
me, thank you so much for feeding me, thank you so much for giving me a home, thank
you so much for making me grass shoes. I am so thankful for everything I have.
#1. What was the setting of this story?
#2. Who were the characters of this story?
#3. Why do you think parents would tell their children this story?
#4. What is the moral of this story?