Summary
Growing Gold provides a touching story about a struggling farmer and his wife who work very hard each day in order to grow their food and support their family. Unfortunately, their three sons are very lazy and do not help their parents at all. The boys just sit and dream about gold all day as the parents struggle. Frustrated, the clever mother devises a plan to get her sons to appreciate the value and reward of hard work. She tells her sons about the gold buried under the ground in their fields and that they must work the fields in order to pull the gold up from the ground. Her story works as her sons learn about the value of hard work when they are rewarded with a field of gold.
Analysis
T. V. Padma uses this timeless folktale from India to illustrate valuable life lessons about character, respect, taking responsibility and the value of hard work. Their field of gold is actually wheat that the family plowed, sowed, tended, and harvested with their own hands. The clever mother teaches her three sons an invaluable lesson to appreciate the hard work and sacrifice that their parents have made for them. They even learn to take on more responsibility for their future.
Illustrations
Questions
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