Ultimately, this is a story about an adopted boy An Tiem who believes in work ethic more than wealth. Due to the faith in his own abilities rather than depending on the wealth from his adopted father King Hung, An Tiem survives on a deserted island by cultivating seeds dropped by a white pheasant. The seeds grow into a garden full of watermelon, which help sustain him and provide bartering material so that he thrives from trade. I think of my father in reading this story because he was adopted as a child (his parents died in the early stages of the Viet Nam War). When he grew up, my father made the most of his situation, joined the army to fight for Vietnam, and then took off to America to grow his own garden, cultivate his own family and plant the seeds for a new life.