In plain words
The son was a small boy. He grew hungry. “My son! Sit under this tree,” the mother told him, and she went from house to house, begged a little food and brought it back. After her child had eaten, she too ate. But who will give food every day? Some days she would get nothing. Somehow she would get a little food, give it to her son and go hungry herself. As some days passed in this way, her health declined little by little. One day the son: “Mother! You are very weak. So take rest. Today I shall go and beg,” he said. The mother did not agree. When a son says he will go begging, what mother will consent? But this boy made his mother sit down by force and set out to beg himself. The little food he got he gave to his mother. He told her the lie that he had already eaten. As some days passed in this way, he too grew very weak; poor boy, he had no strength even to speak.
One day he went up to a house: “Sir, hungry, hungry...” he said piteously. It was an officer's house. He was sitting on an easy chair on the veranda, reading the newspaper. Seeing this boy, he felt pity, went inside, put rice on a leaf, brought it out and told him to sit right there and eat. But the boy said he would take it home. “You say you are hungry. Why should you not eat right here?” said the officer. Meanwhile the boy, faint with weakness, grew dizzy and fell down. As he tried to say something, the officer put his ear to the boy's mouth and listened. Saying, “First to Mother, first to Mother...”, the boy gave up his life. Such virtuous children are there even today, in our Bhārata.
Students, girls and boys! First of all, cultivate compassion. Support those who are in difficulty. If you have ten rupees in your pocket, give away at least one rupee. Our culture of Bhārata teaches that immortality is attained only through sacrifice. “Hastasya bhūṣaṇaṃ dānaṃ, satyaṃ kaṇṭhasya bhūṣaṇaṃ.” For the hand, charity alone is the ornament; for the throat, truth alone is the ornament.