Tommy was a fine student. Well, at least he was the finest student in his class. He was always first in every test. But there was only one thing wrong; none of his classmates really liked him.
In many ways they admired him and even wished that they could be like him. However Tommy had one fault that they did not like, he liked to boast. No one likes a boaster.
When Tommy came first in the math test, which he always did, he would go around the class thumping his chest and boasting, “No one test for I am the best. I am the best in any contest.”
When he won the science quiz, he would strut around the class and crowed that he was first again as if no one really knew it or as if they really cared about it.
Every one knew that Tommy would come first in everything but he had to make certain that he rubbed it in real good.
It was not because he was a brilliant student. In fact, he was just an average student who was in a class of underachievers. The rest of them just did not try. They did not have any confidence in themselves and so they just sort of drifted along and allowed Tommy to be the king of the class.
Tommy reveled in the situation. Soon he did not have any friends, but that did not matter to him. He did not care he was the brightest student in the class and they were just a bunch of losers.
One day his teacher, Miss Barton, took him aside and offered him some advice, “Tommy, we all know that you are the brightest student in our class, but don’t you think that you should be a little more humble. No one likes any one who blows his own trumpet.”
Tommy just hung his head down low and thought to himself, “What is she talking about? What does she expect me to do? I will not be able to enjoy my victories if I cannot boast about them.”
Miss Barton was talking again. “ You must show respect to your classmates and they will respect you. You know something, maybe you ought to help your classmates to become better instead of just crowing.”
That one got Tommy wondering, “Now she is really going too far with this. I don’t want anyone to challenge my position in this class. It feels so good to be the king of this roost. If I help them to be better…he could not even bear to think of what this could mean.
He was glad just to get away from his teacher and her solutions.
One day a new student came to Tommy’s class.
“Children, I would like to introduce a new member to our class. Her name is Judy. She has just moved into our community and will be your new classmate.”
That was when Tommy’s troubles began. From that day he could never come first in his class again. Try as he might, Judy always came out on top.
But the funny thing was, she never boasted. Instead, she would always try to help her classmates to learn how to solve their problems.
The result at the end of every test was always the same. Judy came first. Tommy came second. And it was not even close. The harder Tommy tried, the harder it became for him to beat her. The more times he came second the more he began to hate her. He had lost his position as the king of the class and he did not like it.
One week their teacher had a spelling bee competition, and Tommy studied hard for it. As the competition wore on, one by one the other children dropped out. Soon there were only two of them left; Tommy and Judy.
Both of them spelt so well that their teacher had to declare it a tie. But that did not sit too well with Tommy. He pouted all day and grumbled to himself, “That’s not fair. She always got the easy ones and I always got the hard ones or else she would have dropped out too.”
Then Tommy noticed something curious. While the rest of his classmates had disliked him, with Judy it was different. In fact, they really liked her. He decided to observe more closely and find out how this was possible.
The first thing he noticed was that Judy was not a boaster. Curiously it was not Judy who boasted about herself, it was the class that was talking about her. Then he saw something else; Judy was always helping her classmates.
She was not helping them to cheat but in her spare times they were always spelling or learning how to solve the math problems. This was something else. Why should she want to help them to learn? If they got brighter wouldn’t they challenge her position.
Another curious thing that he began to observe was that his classmates were now getting better grades than ever before. As a matter of fact their grades were getting close to his. Too close for comfort, he thought.
“Sooner than later,” he reasoned to himself, “I will not only be losing my position at the head of the class, I will be slipping down the ladder as well.”
He decided that the only way forward was to study harder. But to no avail. Judy kept on getting first place and his classmates kept on getting closer. True, his grades were improving. He was getting better marks than ever before but some how the gap between him and judy never seemed to get any closer.
One day he decided to have a talk with the enemy.
“I don’t know how you do it, but I believe you are a cheater,” he accused her.
“I would never do such a thing,” she answered.
“You do.”
“Do not.”
“You do.”
“Do not.”
“Well, if you are not a cheater you are just lucky. I don’t believe that you are so bright, and I am going to beat you one of these days,”
“Well, that is how you feel.”
“Alright! Tomorrow is the science quiz and I always come first in that. I am going to beat you too,” he said confidently as he walked away.
Judy was just as confident, “I accept you challenge. Come, bring it on.”
The next day, the class squared up for the science quiz. Miss Barton could not remember if she had ever seen a more eager class for any test. Every one was ready and eager to begin.
At the end of the quiz Tommy felt sure that he had beaten Judy at last. Miss Barton was very excited as she announced the winners.
“Class,” she began, “this is the best quiz I have ever conducted. Every one did well. I am so pleased with all of you I am going to give you a special treat.”
Tommy was impatient. He wanted to hear the result. When he heard his score, he was shocked. It was the highest grade he had ever earned but to dismay, he placed third.
“How could this happen,” he thought. “I am sure I was going to be first.” He would have been glad to be second, but third. He began to cry. He did not hear the outcome of the rest of the quiz.
“Tommy, why are you crying?” he felt a hand around his shoulder. It was Judy who was trying to console him.
“Do not talk to me,” he snapped. “You are just coming to rub salt in the wound because you came first again.
“But Tommy, I did not come first. It was Allan who came first. Althea was second.”
Tommy stopped crying for a moment, “I don’t understand. You did not come f-f-first,” he stammered. “Where did you come?”
“Well, I came fourth. You beat me, Tommy. Just as you predicted, you would.”
“Fourth? But you are always coming first. What happened?”
“Well, Tommy. That is how life goes. Sometimes you win some. Sometimes you lose some.”
“And you are not mad?”
“No, I am not mad at all. I am happy that others can do as well as I can. And they did not beat me by much at all.”
“But I would have been very angry if I were you.”
“Well, Tommy I wish that you can see that coming first is not always everything. If you try and do your best even if you do not win, you should always be proud. And if you always come first, you should be humble too, and most of all, if you lose you should not cry.”
Miss Barton was listening in to the conversation,
“That is so true, Judy” she said. “Tommy, have you ever noticed that Judy has never bragged about her successes. She let her own work praise her. There is a little proverb that says, ‘Do not blow you own trumpet.’ Do you know what it means?”
“Yes, Miss Barton, It means that we are not to praise or boast about ourselves. You would let others do the boasting for us.”
“You are so right, Tommy. And oh, there is another thing that Judy has done. She has helped her classmates to be better. Because of her help everyone is now getting better marks. Even you have benefited from it.”
Tommy did not understand, so Miss Barton went on, “Before Judy came you were only getting C’s now you are getting A’s.”
Tommy thought this was true. He was too focused on his rivalry with Judy to observe that his own grade was improving. “Judy was willing to help others and so should you.”
“But I do not want them to get better grade than me,” he answered.
“That is where you are wrong. Remember this, when you help others to become better, you in turn will only get better.”
Thank you, Miss Barton. Thank you too, Judy.” Tommy gave a big hug to both Miss Barton and to Judy.