Amancamehomefromworklate,tiredandirritated,tofindhis5-yearoldsonwaitingforhimatthedoor.

　　“Daddy,mayIaskyouaquestion?”

　　“Yeahsure,whatisit?”repliedtheman.

　　“Daddy,howmuchdoyoumakeanhour?”

　　“That’snoneofyourbusiness.Whydoyouasksuchathing?”themansaidangrily.

　　“Ijustwanttoknow.Pleasetellme,howmuchdoyoumakeanhour?”pleadedthelittleboy.

　　“Ifyoumustknow,Imake$20anhour.”

　　“Oh,”thelittleboyreplied,withhisheaddown.Lookingup,hesaid,“Daddy,mayIpleaseborrow$10?”

　　Thefatherwasfurious,“Iftheonlyreasonyouaskedthatissoyoucanborrowsomemoneytobuyasillytoyorsomeothernonsense,thenyoumarchyourselfstraighttoyourroomandgotobed.Thinkaboutwhyyouarebeingsoselfish.Iworkhardeverydayforsuchchildishbehavior.”

　　Thelittleboyquietlywenttohisroomandshutthedoor.Themansatdownandstartedtogetevenangrieraboutthelittleboy’squestions.Howdareheasksuchquestionsonlytogetsomemoney?Afteraboutanhourorso,themanhadcalmeddown,andstartedtothink:Maybetherewassomethinghereallyneededtobuywiththat$10andhereallydidn’taskformoneyveryoften.

　　Themanwenttothedoorofthelittleboy’sroomandopenedthedoor.

　　“Areyouasleep,son?”Heasked.

　　“Nodaddy,I’mawake,”repliedtheboy.

　　“I’vebeenthinking,maybeIwastoohardonyouearlier,”saidtheman,“It’sbeenalongdayandItookoutmyaggravationonyou.Here’sthe$10youaskedfor.”

　　Thelittleboysatstraightup,smiling.“Oh,thankyoudaddy!”Heyelled.Then,reachingunderhispillowhepulledoutsomecrumpledupbills.Theman,seeingthattheboyalreadyhadmoney,startedtogetangryagain.Thelittleboyslowlycountedouthismoney,thenlookedupathisfather.

　　“Whydoyouwantmoremoneyifyoualreadyhavesome?”thefathergrumbled.

　　“BecauseIdidn’thaveenough,butnowIdo,”thelittleboyreplied.“Daddy,Ihave$20now.CanIbuyanhourofyourtime?Pleasecomehomeearlytomorrow.Iwouldliketohavedinnerwithyou.”