A Kindergarten Lesson

A kindergarten teacher was helping a boy with a math question and she asked, “If I give you one apple and one apple and one apple, how many apples will you have?” The boy confidently answered, “Four.” Surprised, thinking the boy didn’t listen properly, the teacher asked again, “Listen closely this time… If I give you one apple and one apple and one apple, how many apples will you have?” Seeing the look of disappointment on her face, the boy hesitantly replied, “Four.”

Assuming maybe the boy didn’t like apples, she asked, “If I give you one strawberry and one strawberry and one strawberry, then how many you will have?” He replied, “Three.” The teacher smiled victoriously and asked one more time, “Now, if I give you one apple and one apple and one apple, how many apples will you have?” Without missing a beat, the boy again replied, “Four.”

Confused and becoming slightly annoyed, the teacher asked how that could be possible. The boy smiled and replied, “Because I already have one apple in my bag.”

Here’s the way I see it: When someone gives you an answer that is different from what you expect to hear, don’t always assume they are wrong.