A recent Spanish exam featured a Mexican fable involving a jaguar and a cricket. The jaguar was offended by the cricket's croaky creaking and wanted him to be quiet. He challenged the cricket to a race. Whoever reached a rock first would win and decide the question. The cricket, being smarter than the jaguar, jumped onto the jaguar's tail and then worked his way forward until he reached his head. Just before the jaguar reached the rock, the cricket jumped onto the jaguar's nose and from there to the rock, beating him by, er, a nose.One of the questions the students had to answer about the story was to explain the moral of the story (in English). Those who successfully translated the story and understood the events, typically gave answers similar to these:
•Never underestimate your opponent.
•Don't judge by size or appearance.
•Don't be overconfident.
•If your opponent is bigger or faster than you are, use your brain.
But, today, a student who was retaking the exam in an attempt to raise his grade, earned the chuckle award, because his answer made me chuckle:
"If you want a cricket to be quiet, you step on him."
Sure, he missed the point, but his strategy would have worked better than the jaguar's.
