There was once an 11-year-old boy, Fahad,    who never said, ‘Please’ or ‘Thank you’, to anybody. He just didn’t understand why he should do it.

When his father bought him a toy, he used to just take it because he thought it was his father’s duty to bring him things. He was his only son, after all. When his mother washed up his soiled football jersey really clean and made his lunch so fast, he just grabbed it from her and ran to school. After all, it was her job to do the laundry and cooking — did it really matter when and how she did it?

His parents were very distressed about this situation as whenever they tried to explain to Fahad the importance of appreciation — like to thank others when they helped him — they  were met with the same answer, “Why waste my breath when they had to do it anyway?”

And it wasn’t like Fahad didn’t know what his parents wanted from him; he just didn’t agree with them.

On his mother’s birthday, her card from Fahad said: “Happy Birthday. PS: I know you think I should thank you but I don’t understand why I should thank you for doing your own work.”

On his father’s birthday, he wrote in his card: “Best wishes on your birthday.” In brackets, he had written below, “The reason I don’t thank you for earning or doing everything you do is because everyone’s dad does it, so why shouldn’t you?”

One day, Fahad’s mom had an idea. She gave him a list of chores. “Fahad,” she said. “I’m going out for the day to run some errands. I won’t be back till evening. I want you to weed the garden, dust the house, clean up all of your drawers and your room....” and so on. He agreed and his mother left.

Fahad was not a lazy boy and he did love his parents. So he set to work right away, doing one task after the next, giving it all his time and effort. His arms ached, and he was tired, but he didn’t stop till he was done with everything.

In the evening, his mother reached home. Fahad eagerly opened the door. She greeted him with a smile, and then asked him to get her a glass of water. After she drank it, she looked up to see Fahad standing expectantly in front of her.

“Yes?” she asked. “Did you want something?”

Confused and let down, Fahad shook his head, and with a very heavy heart, went to his room.

The next morning, which was Fahad’s birthday, when he woke up, he found a card on his bedside. “Happy birthday, son!”

the card read. And then Fahad saw this written at the end, “PS: My logic is that since it is your father’s job to earn and my job to do the laundry and cook, surely you must have some work in the house? All the chores you did yesterday were your job, so I figured no thanks was required. Your lovingly, Mom.”

For the first time Fahad understood what appreciation and gratitude meant to the other person. He went and hugged his parents and apologised to them. That day, Fahad learnt an important lesson, that manners do count, that thanking someone is not just about thanking them but about being the better person. He realised that just because something is someone’s duty does not mean they don’t deserve to be appreciated for it.

Because the day we start sticking strictly to only our responsibilities and rights, the world will be a very sad place. Nobody will be nice to each other, nobody will love, and the little joys and satisfactions in life will be lost forever. It is a scary thought that we might end up like robots!