Once when you were young

You came home from school weeping.
You said,
"Ma, some friends said I am ugly"

You looked so sad,
but I gave you a smile....

I asked you,
"Are you sorry?"

Your answer,
"I am sad".

I told you,
"I am glad they told you the truth,
and not the otherwise.
It's nicer to hear painful things
but that it's the truth
than to hear pleasant things
but that it's a lie,
because to hear a lie straight-face
is the same as a mockery,
and the hurt can even be much deeper."

What your friends said was
a lucky thing to me
because they assured us
that you are my biological son
who inherited most of my looks!

Look at me, your mother,
born to be a very ugly woman,
did you see me sad that I had been born
like this?

Never!

I am glad to know that
although I am ugly
I have such good parents
I have such a good husband
I have such good children
I have such lot of good relatives,
friends, and acquaintances

What more should I ask for?
I can't thank the Almighty enough
for the blessed life
He has given me
with so many people who love me.
They are real precious gifts
that not everyone has
the same luck to own!

So, don't worry, son.
Continue to be good and kind to everyone.
Physical looks are only skin-deep.