A man came home from work late, and as usual, tired and irritated, to find his 5 year old son waiting for him at the door.

"Daddy, may I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, sure. What is it?" replied the man.

"Daddy, how much money do you make an hour?"

"That's none of you business! What makes you ask such a thing?" the man said angrily.

"I just wanted to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?" pleaded the little boy.

"I am paid $20 an hour," responded the man, resentfully.

Looking up, the little boy said, "Daddy, may I borrow $9 please?"

The father was furious. "The only reason you wanted to know how much money I make is just so you can borrow some to buy a toy or some other nonsense. You march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you're being so selfish. I work long, hard hours everyday and don't have time for such childish games."

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. The man sat down and got even madder about the little boy's questioning. After a time, the man calmed down. He started to think he might have been a little hard on his son. Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $9. After all, he didn't ask for money very often.

The man went to his son's room and opened the door. "Are you asleep, son?" he asked.

"No Daddy. I'm awake," replied the boy.

"I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier," said the man. "I'm sorry I was so angry. What do you need that $9 for?"

The little boy sat up, beaming. He reached under his pillow, he pulled out some crumpled up bills. The man, seeing that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his Dad.

"Why did you want $9 if you already have money?" the father grumbled.

"Because I didn't have enough, but if you lend me $9, I will have enough to buy an hour of your time tonight," the little boy replied.