One day, a mother took her nine children to the beach. She planned to spend the afternoon there and had prepared sandwiches and noodles.

When they arrived, the five boys got into their trunks and headed straight for the sea. The girls sat around with their mother. The youngest, who had a sweet voice, began to sing.

It was noon and the sun blazed. The boys came back after a session of games. They were very hungry. The mother took out the food and the children ate. The boys kept asking for more, so mum gave them her share as well.

After the meal, the boys lazed around for a while before jumping back into the water. By then, the mother was feeling hungry and thirsty. She felt dizzy, and passed out.

Her daughters panicked. The youngest said: "We have no more food or water. We have to take her to the shade under the trees, then go to the nearby shop to get her something to eat.''

Her sisters agreed. So they started to carry their mother to the shade. After a short distance, the eldest girl said, "Mum is so heavy, I can't carry her anymore. I keep sinking into the sand." So she passed mum to her sister.

The second daughter carried the mother for a while, then she said," I wish our brothers were here. I am too weak to carry her." So mum was passed to the third daughter, who said the same thing after a few steps.

So the youngest girl had to carry mother. She was the smallest in size of the four, but she did not utter a word about mum being too heavy.

Finally, they reached the spot under the trees. The youngest daughter then ran to the shop to get food. The mother regained consciousness soon after that. Her daughters gave her a drink and told her that she had fainted.

Mother then asked who had carried her all the way to the shade. The daughters answered, in unison, that all of them did. Mum looked towards the beach and said; "Only one of you carried me all the way."

The girls were puzzled. The mother then pointed towards the beach, where there was a single set of footprints on the sand. Mum said, "She carried me with such love and compassion that even the waves could not wipe out her footprints."