In a bustling town, there lived four close friends who spent most of their time playing games and wandering around the parks. While they were great at having fun, they were quite careless when it came to their school studies. They always avoided their books, hoping that luck would carry them through.
One Monday, their teacher announced a very important final examination. The four friends panicked. They hadn't opened a single textbook all semester. Instead of studying, they gathered in a corner to cook up a deceptive plan to avoid the test.
Before the exam day arrived, they approached the Principal with sad faces. "Sir," said one of them, acting distressed, "yesterday, while we were traveling to visit our relatives, our car met with a small accident. One of the tires got punctured, and we were stuck on the road for hours. It was so exhausting that we couldn't study at all!"
The Principal looked at them thoughtfully. "I see. That sounds quite troublesome. Since you were in such a difficult situation, I will grant you a request. I will postpone the exam to next week."
The friends exchanged joyful glances. However, the Principal added a condition: "But, to ensure complete fairness, you four must sit in separate examination halls this time."
The friends thought this was a great idea. "If we are in separate rooms, we can just pass notes to each other and help with the answers," they whispered excitedly.
When the exam day finally arrived, they walked into their respective rooms with confidence, thinking they would find a way to cheat together. But when they turned over their question papers, their hearts sank. There were no math problems, no history dates, and no science questions. There was only one single question printed in large letters:
"During your car journey last week, which specific tire got punctured?
- Front Left
- Front Right
- Rear Left
- Rear Right"
The four friends sat in stunned silence. Their clever lie had become their biggest trap. They realized that by trying to escape their responsibility through dishonesty, they had only created a problem they couldn't solve.
