Blue Lightning
Sally loved cars more than anything else. This spring she thought of building a go-kart to enter for the Go-Go Race. So she asked her dad for help.
"Well," he said. "How about this: you do some research first and then come back to me with a design. "
A week later, Sally brought her notes and drawings to Dad. She named her go-kart "Blue Lightning". Dad looked over her work, thinking. "Well, that's interesting," he said. "Have a try. Just build Blue Lightning as you've designed. "
Over three weekends of hard work, Sally turned her design into a real, working go-kart and painted it light blue. Dad asked her to take it for a test drive. Sally agreed.
After she did that, Sally drove back to Dad. "Well," she said. "Now I know why you wanted me to have a test drive. "
"Oh, do you?" he said. "Please share. "
"When I drove fast, there was a lot of push back," she said. "I think it's because of the lightning bolt (闪电) shape. "
"Very good!" Dad said.
"So, why didn't you tell me about that problem in the first place?" Sally asked.
Dad laughed. "Where's the fun in that? If you give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. But if you teach a man to fish, he'll eat for a lifetime. "
Sally said, "I see. Anyway, designing is half the fun !"
Dad smiled. "Good. Sometimes, learning happens during the process. We learn how to do something right by doing it a few times first and making mistakes along the way. "
That encouraged Sally and she worked even harder. When she showed Dad her new go-kart, he nodded with pride.
Finally came the race. Sally wasn't worried about whether she would win—in her mind, she had already won, by building something better than ever before.