HE WAS ONLY WRONG BY TWO!
John was a football coach at a British University. He always
tried to fi nd good football players for his team. John trained his
players very well.
They were good at running, jumping, swimming, rowing
and playing different games. They often took part in races and
practically always won. All John’s players were tall strong
men, excellent sportsmen and just nice people. They hardly
ever gave him trouble and the University team was the best in
the South of England. Regular training, keeping to a diet and a
lot of exercises were very important for the sportsmen. They
always followed the coach’s advice and received good and
excellent results in all home and international competitions and
matches. They rarely lost a game or hardly ever ended matches
in a draw. In fact, they practically always won.
The only trouble with some of his football players was their
poor knowledge of many school subjects because the
sportsmen were often not good at Maths, English, etc. and it
was not always easy for them to be good University students.
One day the coach brought an excellent young football
player to the Professor of the University. The Professor had to
ask the young player some
questions. The Professor chose
very easy questions, but the boy
couldn’t answer them. At last the
Professor asked, “Well, what’s
fi ve times seven?” The student
thought for a long time and then
answered, “Thirty-six.”
The Professor shook his head
and looked at the coach. “It’s impossible!” he said. “I don’t want to
punish your team. I understand he can
throw a ball very well, but he doesn’t
know mathematics at all. He can’t be a
student.”
But the coach seriously asked, “Oh,
please, sir! Let him become a student.
He was only wrong by two.”