The old lady from the new territories

The old lady from the new territories

(Favourite story from Chinese)

There was an old lady called Mrs. Wong who lived in the New Territories. She had two sons. The elder son worked in a laundry in Kowloon. The younger son sold umbrellas in a shop in Hong Kong. Whenever it rained, she worried about her elder son. “Oh!  He will lose his business if it rains,” she said. “how can he dry his clothes?” when there was no rain, she worried about her younger son. “Who will buy his umbrellas? How will he earn enough money to live?” it did not matter whether the weather was good or bad., she was never happy. After some time, she became ill. She could neither eat nor drink.

A young boy named Ah Foo lived next door to Mrs. Wong. He always used to play in front of her house. One morning, the old lady said to him, “It’s such a fine day, but there’s no rain. Who will buy my younger son’s umbrellas?” Ah Foo looked at her but did not say anything. In the afternoon, it poured with rain. The old lady looked up at the sky.

“How will my elder son dry his clothes?” she asked.

“Mrs. Wong,” Ah Foo replied, “Please don’t worry so much, if it rains, your younger son will be able to sell his umbrellas. When the rain stops, your elder son will be able to dry his clothes.”

Mrs. Wong was silent for a while. She then smiled.

“You are right,” she said. “There is a good and bad side to everything but we must always look on the bright side”