Jimmy and the strawberries
A teacher asked Jimmy how many apples he'd have. His answer was four. She expected three. But Jimmy had a reason — and it changes everything about how we listen.
A teacher teaching Maths to a six-year-old Jimmy asked him, "If I give you one apple and one apple and one apple, how many apples will you have?" With a few seconds Jimmy replied confidently, "Four!"
The dismayed teacher was expecting an effortless correct answer (three). She was disappointed. "Maybe Jimmy did not listen properly," she thought. She repeated, "Please listen carefully. If I give you one apple and one apple and one apple, how many apples will you have?" Jimmy had seen the disappointment on his teacher's face. He calculated again on his fingers. But within him he was also searching for the answer that will make his teacher happy. This time hesitatingly he replied, "Four…"
The disappointment stayed on teacher's face. She remembered that Jimmy loves strawberries. She thought maybe he doesn't like apples and that is making him lose focus. This time with exaggerated excitement and twinkling eyes she asked, "If I give you one strawberry and one strawberry and one strawberry, then how many will you have?" Seeing the teacher happy, the young boy calculated on his fingers again. With a hesitating smile, Jimmy replied, "Three?"
The teacher now had a victorious smile. Her approach had succeeded. But one last thing remained. Once again she asked him, "Now if I give you one apple and one apple and one more apple how many will you have Jimmy?" Promptly the answer was "Four!"
The teacher was aghast. "How? Tell me, how?" she demanded. In a voice that was low and hesitating young Jimmy replied, "Because I already have one apple in my bag."
Many of us like the teacher want people to say what we think is the right answer. But when someone gives you an answer that is different from what you are expecting, it may not necessarily be wrong. There may be a reason which we may not have understood or not even thought about.
Our perspective is our truth. But it is not the only truth. Before judging someone's answer, it might be worth asking — why? Because sometimes the most unexpected answers carry the most wisdom.