Sons argue over who got Mother the best present. But her response took them all by surprise

Three sons left home, went out on their own and had prosperous lives. Getting back together years later, they discussed the gifts they were able to give their now elderly mother.

The first said, “I built a big house for our mother.”

The second said, “I sent her a Mercedes with a driver.”

The third smiled and said, “I’ve got you both beat. You know how much Mother loves music? She has trouble managing all that new technology to play songs from her phone. I sent her a remarkable bird that knows hundreds of songs. It took musical professionals 12 years to teach him all those melodies. He’s one of a kind. Mother just has to name the song, and the bird sings it.”

Soon thereafter, Mom sent out her letters of thanks — in her own way. “Milton,” she wrote one son, “the house you built is so huge. I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house.”

“Gerald,” she wrote to another, “I am too old to travel anymore. I stay at home most of the time, so I rarely use the Mercedes. And the driver is so rude!”

“Dearest Donald,” she wrote to her third son, “you at least have the good sense to know what your mother likes. The chicken was delicious!”