CHARACTER BUILDING - Fried Rice and Step Child

This story is taken from a true story in 1960s era in Pontianak and retold from generation to generation, and my mom always told me. Hopefully useful.

Just mention the name of the boy is A Siang. He was a boy aged 8 years and still sits in second grade elementary school. He was an orphan, her mother died when giving birth, and her father remarried. But his father also died of illness a few months ago.

A Siang live in a small town in Pontianak, along with her stepmother. His father married again when his mother died, and from his new wife, he was blessed with a boy who is different one year with A Siang. Just mention the name of A Kwang, his aged seven years and sat on the bench first grade.

While his father was still alive, his step-mother love him. Whatever A Kwang has , A Siang get it also. But after his father death, her step mom’s original characteristics appear. Almost every day A Siang always treated very differently with those found by A Kwang.

A Siang and A Kwang school at the same place. Every day they are always given lunch by their mother. The menu should be equal between A Siang and A Kwang, since his father's death, A Siang always get a different menu with his stepbrother.

Indeed every morning before go to school, they were always given breakfast. If A Kwang get a delicious menu every morning, A Siang every day always get the same menu: fried rice. Even including a menu that brings to school every day: fried rice.

A Kwang had protested to his mother because she never fried rice dish out to him, while the A Siang’s lunch menus are always not be separated from the fried rice.

"A Kwang, my son.I'm Sorry.Is Not that mom did not want cook fried rice to you. But it's hot fried rice, especially if I fry with meat goats. I mean if gave him fried rice every day is so hot in his long run and eventually died. " his mother said.

Finally A Kwang can accept and understand what her mother treated her differently.

A Siang himself never asked why his stepmother always gave him fried rice menu ranging from breakfast to lunch menu at school. Their dinner menu was not much different, only breakfast and lunch are always different.

One day, as usually A Siang brings fried rice for lunch at school and one of his teacher pay attention. He also asked A Siang why everyday he is always eating fried rice. A Siang said his mother gave he and A Kwang the same menu since his father died.

The teacher just nodding his head because he understands the bad attitude of A Siang’s stepmother, then the teacher said, "Every morning when you came to school, you come to my room first. I will gives you a cup of bitter tea. Drink the tea before starting your studies in classroom. And each finished lunch, you return to me again. I will gives you a cup of bitter tea. Drink before you continue your lesson. "

A Siang teacher's wishes, and it was all done and A Kwang didn’t know.

A month, two months, passed. A Siang’s stepmother shock and disbelief when he realized a Siang still healthy and never suffer pain, especially pain in the heat. Instead, a Siang even more body fat.

Her mind initially turned evil become greedy. She thought the fried rice could make a person fat. And from that day, he gave the same menu to A Kwang, children, ranging from breakfast until lunch.

A month, two months, passed. A Kwang started coughing, frequent headaches and often feverish body heat. But his mama still give the fried rice with the hope their children will become fat like A Siang. A Kwang eventually died from heat illness he suffered was not prevented in again and reached its peak.

He did not know that A Siang always drink a bitter tea made by his teacher every time he finished eating the fried rice, because of the bitter taste tea can neutralize the fat and heat provided by the fried rice. So the expectation that he wanted happened to A Siang did not happen and prevented by a cup of tea after each meal of fried rice and even caused it on to their own biological child.

Only after the departure of A Kwang, the teacher came to their house and explain everything. After the incident, A Siang’s stepmother regret and she finally received a Siang as her own son and they live happily. Since that day there was no longer the fried rice was cook to A Siang.

Several lessons that can we learn from this true story are:
1. Do not do the wickedness because it will be exposed to bad karma.
2. Do not be greedy because greed would bring suffering.
3. Not all people who do wickedness was success because the truth will ultimately prevail.
4. Not always too good and innocent people become easy targets of crime, because people like that there would be salvation.
5. People in doing good, though yet to receive the reward but the suffering has been away from it. Instead of people doing wickedness, though not yet got revenge, but fortune has been away from it.

May this true story can give us some useful lessons in life.