The mother of John Bosco, Margherita was a living example to her children. Once, she suspected that someone was stealing their grapes so she kept watch with her three sons. That night, they saw a man sneak into their vineyard but as he was grabbing the grapes, Margherita shouted, “Hey, thief! Are you not afraid of going to hell for some little grapes?” Then, the children started banging on drums and cried, “Thief! Thief! Police, quickly catch the thief!” The thief was frightened out of his wits and fled. The children were amused and Margherita told them, “See, unarmed as we are, we were able to scare off the thief.” John Bosco learned to be resolute in the face of difficulties from his mother. Once, while visiting his maternal grandfather with Margherita, they heard a strange sound coming from upstairs. As darkness approached, everyone but John Bosco was afraid. He grabbed a lamp and bravely went upstairs, with everyone else cautiously following behind. When they reached the source of the sound, they saw a grain sieve moving by itself on the floor. The others fled in fear, thinking it was a work of the devil. But John Bosco bent down, lifted the sieve, and revealed a hen. It turned out that the sieve had been knocked down by the hungry hen, entrapping it, and causing the hen to make those strange noises. So John Bosco grabbed the hen and had it cooked as a celebratory feast for the family.