Three sons left home, went out on their own and prospered.
Getting back together, they discussed the gifts they were
able to give their elderly mother.

The first said, “I built a big house for our mother.” The
second said, “I sent her a Mercedes with a driver.” The
third smiled and said, “I’ve got you both beat. You remember
how Mom enjoyed reading the Bible? And you know she can’t
see very well. So I sent her a remarkable parrot that recites
the entire Bible. It took elders in the church 12 years to
teach him. He’s one of a kind. Mama just has to name the
chapter and verse, and the parrot recites it.”

Soon thereafter, Mom sent out her letters of thanks:

“Milton,” she wrote one son, “the house you built is so huge.
I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house.”

“Gerald,” she wrote to another, “I am too old to travel. I
stay most of the time at home, so I rarely use the Mercedes.
And the driver is so rude!”

“Dearest Donald,” she wrote to her third son, “you have the
good sense to know what your mother likes. The chicken was
delicious.”