Member-only story
Flat tire
Lying is not a way to avoid a crisis; rather, it is the beginning of an even greater one.
It was the morning of a final exam at a university.
Four students were driving to campus together. The weather was so beautiful that, despite being on their way to an exam, they couldn’t resist the temptation to enjoy the day. They went for a drive and stopped at a café, spending their time on other things — until they realized that the exam had already begun.
The problem was that their professor was known for being extremely strict regarding attendance and exam policies; he made no exceptions for students who arrived late. Fearing they might fail the course, the four students panicked.
Then, one of them came up with a clever plan.
“Let’s tell him we got a flat tire on the way here. We can say it took a long time to change it to the spare.”
The four students agreed on the story. They even smeared some dirt on their clothes and pretended to wipe sweat from their brows as they pleaded with the professor:
“Professor, we had a flat tire on our way to campus. It took a long time to change it, which is why we’re late. We’re very sorry — could you please give us a chance to retake the exam?”
