What do you wish from me?” the master asked. “I wish to be your student and become the finest karateka in the land,” the boy replied. “How long must I study?’ “Ten years at least,” the master indicated. “Ten years is a long time,” said the boy. “What if I studied twice as hard as your other students?” “Twenty years,” replied the master. “Twenty years! What if I practised day and night with all my effort?” “Thirty years in that case,” was the master’s reply. “How is it that each time I say I will work harder, you tell me that it will take longer?” the boy asked. “The answer is clear. A pupil in such a hurry learns slowly.” Box 1 on page no. 57 One day Mulla Nasruddin went to his neighbour and asked to borrow his huge pot. The neighbor reluctantly loaned him the pot indicating a lack of trust. Next day Mulla returned the pot with a small pot saying: “Your pot was pregnant, had labour and here’s the baby. It belongs to you.” The neighbour thought this was odd but accepted the gift believing that one should not look into the mouth of a gift horse. A week went by and once again Mulla borrowed the pot and returned it the next day with a small pot as the new-born child. Next week when the Mulla asked to borrow the pot the neighbour was only too pleased to comply. Two days went by and the Mulla did not return the pot and the neighbour became worried. On the third day he went to the Mulla demanding the return of his pot. Mulla told him: “Alas, my friend, that’s impossible. Your pot passed away in labour.” The neighbour was maddened and screamed: “Look, you idiot. We all know pots do not die in labour.” “My friend,” the Mullah replied calmly, “we have already established that pots become pregnant, have labour and you even have two of the babies. I cannot help it if you were unlucky that your pot could not survive three labours in such a short time. You should have looked after it better.” Box 2 on page no. 57 An American man goes to a doctor. “Doctor, I don’t know what’s wrong. I can’t seem to stop worrying, I’m anxious, I can’t sleep. I think I’m getting an ulcer...” The doctor nods. “You do look exhausted. What’s the matter?” Patient answers: “I don’t know. I’m not sure.” Doctor says: “Then, tell me something about your life.” The man brightens up: “Oh, everything is great. We have the best life. We live in our own three bedroom, two-bath home in a nice neighborhood, drive two new cars, have closets full of good clothes, our three kids go to private schools, we eat out a couple of nights a week, have a condo in the mountains for skiing, we had a great vacation last year in the Bahamas and we’re planning to go to Hawaii in two months.” The doctor smiles. “My, that sounds wonderful! You have a wonderful life.” “Oh, we do, we do,” the man says. “Then what’s your problem?” The man shakes his head. “Well, I’m not exactly sure. I think it might be that our income is only $460 a week.”