In a small town lived Semyon Semyonovich. Everyone knew him because he was a taxi driver and had given a ride to nearly every resident of this little town at some point. He was always distinguished by his honesty and spoke directly to people about what he disliked. Some people didn't like him for this, whilst others greatly respected him.
But his children, daughter Nina and son Petya, were ashamed of their father.
One day, one of Nina's classmates was riding in the taxi driven by Semyon Semyonovich. The boy was busily erasing a poor mark from his school diary. The taxi driver noticed this and took the diary from him. When they arrived at their destination, Semyon Semyonovich handed the diary directly to the boy's parents.
The next day, the boy told everyone at school what had happened.
Listen, Nina, wasn't that your father who turned me in to my parents yesterday? I've seen him drive you to school several times.
Asked the offended boy.
No, it was just a taxi driver.
Nina was too embarrassed to admit the truth.
Another time, Petya's friend, whilst riding in a taxi, found someone else's wallet. Semyon Semyonovich noticed this and took the foreign object from him. The wallet contained quite a lot of money. The boy offered to split it with Semyon Semyonovich. But he refused. The taxi driver took the wallet to the police, as was the proper thing to do in such a situation.
The next day, the friend asked Petya if his father was a taxi driver. But Petya also couldn't admit it and lied.
Since Petya and Nina's mother didn't work and was occupied with household duties, Semyon Semyonovich worked very hard, dreaming that his children would lack for nothing. He left early in the morning and returned late at night.
He was a rare visitor at school. But he came at the first request from the children's form tutor. He lived respectably and did his best to ensure his children became as honest as he was.
One day, returning from another fare, Semyon Semyonovich found a lottery ticket in his car. He spent a long time recalling all his passengers that day. For a long time he couldn't figure out who had forgotten the ticket. But then he remembered picking up a young man from the institute who had been filling something out. Semyon Semyonovich decided to try to find him and return the ticket.
The next day, the television reported that one of the lottery tickets had won a super prize—10 million roubles. But they couldn't find the ticket's owner.
Imagine the children's surprise when they saw the winning ticket that television was searching for. The children were delighted and were just about to take it when Semyon Semyonovich appeared in the doorway. He took the lottery ticket from the children.
This is someone else's property. I found the ticket yesterday late in the evening in my car and today I will return it to its owner.
Said the taxi driver.
But Dad... It's a winning ticket. Don't return it. Let's take the prize.
The children insisted.
That's not right. It's dishonest. I'm so ashamed that you could even think about taking someone else's property.
The taxi driver took the ticket and set off for the institute. But on the way, in the crowd, he spotted his former passenger, the very one he had set out to find. He stopped the car and ran up to the young man and handed him the ticket.
The young man was taken aback. He had seen the news story about the winning ticket and had already given up hope of getting it. He thanked Semyon Semyonovich for his honest and courageous deed. He asked the taxi driver how he could find him, as he wanted to reward him. Semyon Semyonovich at first refused such thanks, but eventually gave him his telephone number.
The next day, television showed a story of the young man receiving his prize. In his interview, he told about the honest taxi driver with whom he planned to share his winnings.
That's what our dad is like. He's famous now! Nina and Petya boasted to everyone around them.
But you said he wasn't your father.
They only heard in response.
Nina and Petya felt very ashamed.
It's not shameful to be an honest person; it's shameful to be ashamed of your parents who raised you.
