One night, four college students were out partying late and didn’t study for the test scheduled for the next morning.
In the morning, they thought of a plan.
They made themselves look as dirty and exhausted as possible. Then they went to the professor and told him they had been at a wedding the night before.
“Unfortunately, on our way back, one of our car tires blew out,” they explained.
“We had to spend the entire night trying to fix it, and that’s why we couldn’t study for the test.”
The professor listened carefully.
He felt sorry for them.
“All right,” he said. “You can take the test tomorrow.”
The four students smiled.
They went home and spent the entire day studying.
The next morning, they returned to the professor.
He separated them into four different rooms.
The first question on the test was worth five points.
It was easy.
They all smiled.
Then they turned the page.
The second question said:
“Which tire blew out?”
The students stared at the paper.
There were four choices:
A. Front left
B. Front right
C. Back left
D. Back right
They looked at each other through the windows.
Their clever plan had suddenly become a very expensive lesson.
The professor later explained,
“If you’re going to tell the same story, at least make sure you all know the details.”
The four students nodded.
They had learned something important that day.
Studying for the test would have been much easier.
