The poor boy begged his mother to give him the last $13 she was saving for food to start a business. A few months later, he took her to where they lived in a little old trailer and gave her the keys to their $2 million house.
Motivating children to work hard and with determination helps them grow into responsible individuals. Annie Byrne, an Atlanta mother, believed in this and taught it to her son Simon.
“It doesn’t matter that my son and I now live in an old rusty caravan. One day he will take me to the palace and make me his queen,” dreamed the poor widow, who was working as a nurse and struggling to make ends meet.
One day her prayers were answered when her son handed her the keys to a house worth $2 million. But little did she know the price the boy paid to fulfil that dream…
“Mum, when are we going to start living in a nice house?” – Simon (13) asked his mother. “It’s colder here and it’s stuffy inside.”
Annie did not have an immediate opportunity to answer this question. She knew it was not going to happen any time soon. She did not have much in savings and her salary was barely enough for food and education for her son, who was on holiday.
“Very soon… We’ll move out of here, very soon, son,” she said with tears in her eyes. “Now close your eyes and sleep.”
But Annie couldn’t sleep peacefully. She knew that ‘very soon’ would never come. She spent the night with her son, with a heavy heart, resigned to the fact that misfortune had chained them to each other forever.
The next morning, Simon’s friends invited him to play, but the boy refused because he could not be happy thinking about his mother’s difficulties. He went for a walk alone and was amazed to see one of the boys busy throwing money into a box behind his lemonade stand.
“Wow! That’s amazing!” – exclaimed Simon. He too wanted to set up a kiosk and start earning money, but he didn’t have a cent in his pocket. Sighing in frustration, he walked on, thinking about what else he could do to improve the situation in his life.
“I have an idea!” – he said excitedly. “Why didn’t I think of it sooner?” He ran home as fast as he could, out of breath, and begged his mother to give him money.
“But, son, I don’t have much left. I only have $13 and I need it to buy bread and eggs. That’s the money I have until my next paycheck, which is coming next week,” Annie grumbled.
Simon was stubborn. “Mum, trust me… just give me this money and you won’t regret it… I’m not asking for a penny more, just what you have.”
Reluctantly, but curiously, Annie put the thirteen dollars in Simon’s hands, waiting to see what he would do with it.
Late in the evening the boy came home with a pile of bags in his hands. “What is it?” – she asked, but he ignored her and picked up the shovel to get to work.
Annie watched in bewilderment as Simon began to rake the area near their caravan. He ploughed it up, made some seedbeds and began to tear apart the bundles he had brought earlier.
“Simon, what are you doing?” asked Annie. “Are those seeds? Do we have time for all this? What’s wrong with you?”
The boy smiled and as he finished sowing the last bag of seeds he looked at his mother and said: “Mother, only if we sow today can we harvest tomorrow!”
At first Annie did not understand what the boy meant, but over the next few weeks Simon worked very hard in his garden. He watered it, pulled weeds and was pleased to see the first fresh shoots emerging through the cracks in the wet soil.
Soon the once barren yard outside their trailer was filled with fresh greenery and plants. Annie was amazed. At first she thought it was for their own use. But Simon wouldn’t let her when she went to pick tomatoes. The mother was shocked at what he told her next.
“Mother, we are not allowed to eat our own produce. I sell them in the little kiosk I set up… and we only have to use the leftovers if we want to expand!” – said the boy, leaving Annie stunned.
Soon the fresh produce from Simon’s garden became what people wanted to take home for healthy meals. The boy used natural pesticides and everything in his shop quickly sold out as soon as it was on sale.
Gradually, Simon started making more money than he expected. But then he realised that his garden was too small to produce more. He expanded it and this time grew exotic fruits and flowers as well as vegetables.
After getting more money, Simon and his mother moved into a rented house near their caravan. Annie gave up her job to help her son in the fields. This further strengthened Simon’s resolve. Together, mother and son sold healthy produce from the garden in their kiosk, which was now bigger and attracted the attention of the whole town.
But their unexpected success was not without rivalry and scorn from Alex, a rich farmer. This man could not accept the young lad’s mysterious success, and wanted to meet him to study him and beat him to the top.
One day Alex went to meet Simon and was surprised to see his garden. He looked around and took a deep breath, expecting to smell chemicals, but there were none.
“I’m surprised! How do you manage to grow such wholesome produce without using chemical pesticides, son?” – he asked the boy curiously.
Simon smiled and said: “We humans can only survive by eating food, not poison. So why feed poor plants with toxins when there are natural alternatives to ward off insects and pests?”
The boy’s answer stunned Alex greatly. He was amazed at young Simon’s true talent and intelligence. He regretted hating Simon, not knowing his skills, and decided to team up with him.
Feeling overwhelmed and impressed by the boy’s ideas about growing naturally healthy produce in the garden, Alex invited him to work on his farm.
“You don’t have to be a worker, son. You can be my partner. Together we can grow great garden produce, don’t you think?” – he said.
Simon could not believe his ears and ran to his mother to tell her the news. He asked her opinion on whether to take this next big step, not knowing that it would soon change their lives.
After much deliberation, Annie agreed and allowed Simon to work with Alex. For the next few months, the boy combined his schooling with gardening on Alex’s farm while tending to his small garden near their caravan, for which he was always grateful.
In no time at all, Alex and Simon’s joint efforts had paid off. In addition to selling fresh produce locally, they even started exporting to neighbouring states.
After two years, Simon had saved up a huge amount of money and was eager to fulfil his mother’s wish. With Alex’s help, he built a large house on the place where their caravan had once stood and handed his mother the keys to the house.
At that moment, Annie realised that her wish had come true. Her son had succeeded and made her queen of the great palace. She shed tears of joy and embraced her boy.
“Simon, my boy…,” Annie cried. “You were supposed to enjoy your childhood, but you sacrificed all your fun and friendship to make me smile. I love you, my darling!”.
Oh, come on, Mum, I’d do anything for you,” Simon replied. “I can laugh and run again, but I can’t watch you suffer. My childhood isn’t over… I’m still your little boy!”
Although Simon had become a rich young man, he still paid tribute to the small garden that had led him to success. He continued to harvest fresh produce, but he never sold it again.
“…Because, as you know, Mum, we have to stay healthy and fit. At the end of the day we have to taste the fruits of our hard work, so we’re not going to sell them, we’re going to eat them!” – he laughs.
While Simon continued to hold his head high in his newfound success and business, word spread that he was expanding his business to another state. Well, good luck, Simon! Keep up the good work!
