The Mother

Sally was a hard-working mother. She lived in a small house with her husband, Tom, and their two teenage children, Amy and Jack. Sally loved her family very much, but they were lazy. Every day she cooked, cleaned, washed clothes, and did the shopping, but none of the family helped. Tom sat on the sofa watching TV, Amy stayed in her room with her phone, and Jack played games for hours. They expected her to do everything and never thanked her.

One morning, Sally woke up and felt something change inside her. She looked around the messy kitchen. There were dirty plates everywhere, the rubbish bin was full and there were clothes on the floor. Sally sighed and said softly, “Enough. I am not their servant.” She smiled to herself. She had an idea.

She made breakfast as usual, but she did not clean anything. When Tom came in, he said, “Sally, where are my clean shirts?” Sally smiled. “I don’t know,” she answered. “Maybe you can find them.” Tom looked confused, but he said nothing.

Amy came into the kitchen next. “Mum, why is there no clean bowl for my cereal?” she asked. “Because I didn’t wash it,” Sally said. “You can wash one yourself.” Amy looked shocked. She had never washed a dish before.

Then Jack shouted from the living room, “Mum! Why is my schoolbag still dirty?” Sally walked to him and said calmly, “Because you didn’t clean it.” Jack opened his mouth, but no words came out.

The house became very quiet. Sally took her bag, put on her coat, and said, “I’m going out. I will be back later. There is food in the fridge if you want to cook.” Her family stared at her in surprise.

Sally left the house and went for a long walk in the park. She enjoyed the cool air and the sound of birds. For the first time in years, she felt relaxed. She sat on a bench and watched people walking their dogs. She smiled. “They need to learn,” she thought.

At home, Tom, Amy, and Jack looked around the messy rooms. Tom said, “We should do something.” Amy nodded. “Mum works so hard. Maybe we should try.” Jack sighed but agreed.

They started slowly. Tom washed the dishes while Amy cleaned the kitchen table. Jack picked up clothes and put them in the washing machine. They worked for a long time, and soon the house looked much better.

When Sally returned home, she opened the door carefully. She expected a disaster. But instead, she saw a clean floor and a tidy kitchen. Her family stood together, looking nervous.

Tom said, “We are sorry, Sally. We didn’t see how much work you did. We want to help now.”

Amy stepped forward. “We made dinner.”

Jack nodded. “And I cleaned my room.”

Sally felt warm inside. She smiled and hugged them. “Thank you,” she said. “From now on, we work together.”

And they did. The house became a happier place, not because it was clean, but because everyone helped and respected the mother who had taught them an important lesson.

📒 Key vocabulary

• messy – not clean or tidy
• rubbish – trash; things to throw away
• servant – a person who works for others in a house
• shocked – very surprised
• stared (stare, stared, stared) – look at someone for a long time
• nodded (nod, nodded, nodded)- move the head up and down to say ‘yes’
• hugged (hug, hugged, hugged)- hold someone in your arms
• respected (respect, respected, respected) – treat someone well and value them

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