9
The Twins

A man had two sons. They were twins. They looked exactly alike, but in one important way they were very different: One was an optimist, while the other one was a pessimist.

An optimist is someone who always thinks that good things will happen. A pessimist is someone who always thinks that bad things will happen.

The man was worried about his sons. There are good and bad things in life, he knew. He did not want them to be too pessimistic or too optimistic. He took his problem to a friend, Sally.

“How can I cure them of their foolish optimism and pessimism? ”he asked his friend.

Sally was thoughtful. Then she said, “When is their next birthday? ”

“It's on Wednesday, ” the father replied. “They'll be twelve years old.”

“Excellent, ”Sally said.“Here's what you should do. Give your pessimistic son a really wonderful present. Give your optimistic son a really terrible present. That should cure them of their optimism and pessimism.”

The father did as his friend told him.

The next Wednesday morning the boys looked at their birthday presents.

The pessimist looked at his first. It was a beautiful and very expensive gold watch, but he was not pleased with it.

“Awww, ” he said, “I don't like this very much. I'm sure it won't keep good time. It will always be fast or slow, and it will probably break many times, and I'll have to spend lots of money to get it repaired.”

Then the optimist looked at his present. He was really pleased.

“Look! Dad's given me a shoelace, ”he said. He held up the shoelace.

“I haven't found the shoes yet, but I'm sure they are here somewhere.”