Once upon a time, there lived a little boy named Tonatona. He was Mummy's world and everything to her. Mummy's life revolved around him.
When he was about three years old, his Mummy would put him in the bilum and swing him while singing, softly in his ear, singing, " Tonatona ena bolo, kiapa lalonai...byebye..Tonatona...Tonatona go to sleep". He had grown accustomed to his Mummy singing his name everytime she put him to sleep in the bilum.
One day, the sun was too hot for him to sleep in his bed. His Mummy put him in the bilum and sang, "Jonty ena bolo, kiapa lalonai, byebye Jonty....Jonty go to sleep". When he heard his Mummy singing not his name but Jonty's, he turned his head to her, eyes wide open, staring at his Mummy as she sang Jonty's name. He burst out crying loudly. His Mummy realized that she was supposed to sing Tonatona's name not Jonty's. " Oh! Sorry, Tonatona, okay, now I will sing your name, not Jonty's", she said. As she changed her song to include Tonatona, he began to doze off to sleep.
He was such a nice little boy. Respectful and obedient. When he was just a little boy, his Mummy would discipline and give him advice about respecting adults and their belongings.
One Saturday evening, a street vendor passed by with juice and buns. He ran to his Mummy to ask her to buy those goods for him. He knew he couldn't check his Mummy's purse or bilum for money because that wasn't how his Mummy taught him. He was always careful not to check his Mummy's bilum for money. He knew it was wrong and he could face consequences.
One sunny day, he went over to his friend Jonty's house to play. There were five small boys about their age playing alongside them. Jonty's grandma was sitting under a tree about three meters away from the children, busy weaving her bilum. Suddenly, something unexpected happened. She ran into the house, forgetting to take her small hand bilum with her. One of the children ran toward the bilum, grabbed it, and pulled out a paper note. "Ah,huh! I am so lucky! Now I'm going to buy my ice cream!". Upon hearing this, all the children ran toward the boy. Tonatona heard them shouting and cheering with joy, so he ran behind them to see. "Hey! Boys! That's not your money, and it's not your bilum to check! Don't you have respect for adults? I'm going to report you to Grandma". Tonatona shouted.Grandma ran out to see what was wrong. Tonatona explained the situation.
As a token of appreciation, Grandma thanked Tonatona for being respectful and honest. She offered him some money to buy his ice cream and encouraged the boys to behave like Tonatona. "When you do good, you will receive good blessings. When you do bad, you will reap the consequences. Do not steal. If you want something, ask,and you will be given". Grandma advised.
Tonatona went on to tell his Mummy about his good behaviour, and she was so proud of him. She hugged him, kissed him on the forehead, and said, "son, I am so proud to have you as my child. You are a gift from above. I am glad that my time and effort in your up-bringing were not wasted. It was worth it".
