There is an old Indonesian story about altruism. It is called "The Golden Watermelon." Long ago, a rich man died. His two sons each received half of the man's money. The older son Muzakir, took his money and locked it in a strong box. He didn't share it with anyone. The younger son, Dermawan, was kinder. Dermawan shared his money with people who had none. Many people heard about Dermawan's kindness. They came to him and asked for money. Soon, Dermawan had no money left.Muzakir laughed at him and called him fool.
One day, a bird with a broken wing fell into Dermawan's yard. Dermawan took care of the bird. He fed it rice from his own bowl. When the bird was better, it flew away. Later it returned and dropped a watermelon seed into Dermawan's garden. A watermelon grew, filled with pure gold Muzakir learned about the golden watermelon. He caught a bird and broke its wing. Then he kept the bird and gave it old, bad rice. When the bird was better, it flew away, and Muzakir waited for his watermelon seed. Soon the bird returned with a seed. However, when Muzakir's watermelon grew, it was filled with disgusting, smelly dirt. The dirt covered Muzakir, and he ran away. Everyone laughed at him.
In this story, Dermawan does good things for others, but altruism is more than that. Altruism must include making a sacrifice. Dermawan made a sacrifice when he gave his money away, and when he gave the bird rice from his own bowl. Both times, Dermawan showed what it means to be altruistic.