Once there were two neighbors. One of them was an old teacher and the other was an office worker. Both of them planted the same plants in their gardens. The old teacher gave a little water to his plants every day and didn't always care for them, while his neighbor gave much water to his plants and looked after them well.
The old teacher's plants were simple but looked good. The office worker's plants were much taller and greener. One night, there was a heavy rain. The next morning, the office worker saw his plants were uprooted (连根拔起), but the old teacher's plants stood firmly (稳固地).
The neighbor was surprised and went to the old teacher and asked, "We both grew the same plants together. I looked after my plants better than you did, and I even gave them more water. However, my plants were uprooted, while yours weren't. Why?"
The old teacher smiled and said, "You gave your plants more water, so they didn't need to work for it. I gave them a little water, so their roots grew deeper to get more water. It made them stronger."