Once a teacher asked his two students to come and meet him at the start of a road which was near a forest.
The two students got there as the teacher told them and greeted their teacher. The teacher showed them the road and said, "You both have to start here and reach the end point of the road. After this test, there will be another test which will happen next week. Completing this road will also influence the result of the next test." He wished them good luck. Together, the two students started the race.
Just after a while, they found that the road was divided into two paths. The first student made up his mind to follow the path which seemed clear and was easier to go through. The second student decided to take the path which was blocked by a lot of fallen trees.
The first student passed that road easily and finished first. "I am glad I took the easier," the first student said proudly and he felt clever about himself. There were no obstacles on the path. Of course, the second student had to try his best. It took him much longer to finish because he had to pass through many obstacles on the path. However, when the second student arrived, he was very happy. There were many difficulties on the path, but he still took it and he was able to finish the race finally.
For the next test, the two students were asked to be near a ravine(深谷). The teacher looked at them and said, "You have to jump to the other side of this ravine." The first student was so scared and stepped back because he never did that before. However, the second student remembered the path of his last test and how he jumped wide gaps(豁口) there. He jumped into the air and made it!
After the test, the teacher said to the first student, "When you chose the easier path last week, it could only help you complete that test easily. However, you were not able to prepare for harder tests."
