The Apple in the Bag

The Mathematics teacher asked a six-year-old child in the class, “If I give you an apple, then another apple and then one more apple, how many apples will you have?”

With a few seconds the boy replied confidently, “Four!”

The teacher was dismayed as she was expecting an effortless correct answer of three from this boy who was among the brightest in the class. “May be the child did not listen properly,” she thought.

She tried once more, “Please listen carefully. It is very simple. You will be able to do it right if you think about it. If I give you an apple, then another apple and then one more apple, how many apples will you have?”

The boy noticed the disappointment on his teacher’s face, so he listened carefully, and calculated again on his fingers, while trying to come up with the correct answer that will please the teacher. 

This time hesitatingly he replied, “Four...”

The disappointment stayed on teacher’s face. Then she remembered that the boy loves mangoes. She thought maybe he doesn’t like apples and that is making him lose focus. This time with renewed eagerness in her voice, she asked, “What If I give you a mango, then another mango and then one more mango, how many mangoes will you have?”

Sensing the teacher's eagerness, the young boy calculated on his fingers again. Both the child and the teacher felt the pressure to reach a closure on this.

With a hesitating smile and a question in her voice, the young boy replied, “Three?”

The teacher now had a victorious smile as her approach had worked. She wanted to congratulate herself, but before that one last thing remained to be fixed.

So she said, “That's correct, very good. Now tell me, if I give you an apple, then another apple and then one more apple, how many apples will you have?”

The answer came promptly, “Four!”

The teacher was aghast.

“How.... tell me, How?” she demanded in a little stern and irritated voice.

In a voice that was low and hesitating young boy replied, “Because I already have one apple in my bag.”

This little story has a very important lesson for us. We need to learn to appreciate and understand different perspectives. Quite often, we try and impose our perspectives on others and then wonder what went wrong. When someone behaves in a manner that is different from what we expect from them, it is not necessary they are wrong. Maybe its about our perception, or the way we are looking at things. There may be an angle to it that we may have overlooked like the apple in the boy's bag. 

Next time we are in such a situation with someone, let us remind ourselves to check if there is an apple in the bag and ask gently, "Can you please help me understand?"

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About This Post

Thanks Rajashree Kotekar for sharing this inspiring story.