“No, no! I cannot fail because I am a champion!” said Abdullah confidently to the maths teacher.

“You are proud of your intelligence. Abdullah, you never take the tests seriously. Now see, this arrogance has made you fail,” the maths teacher told Abdullah sternly.

“Oops! It was just a dream,” Abdullah woke up from a disturbed sleep, wiping the sweat on his face. It was the same dream that he dreamt the day before too. Shaking the uneasy feeling that this dream brought over him, Abdullah got ready for school and left.

That day, at recess, Abdullah and Adil were roaming in the ground, having snacks and discussing what the maths teacher, Sir Muktaar, gave them to learn the day before. Sir Muktaar was a very strict teacher and he was the only teacher in the school whom all the students and, even some teachers, were afraid of.

As the bell rang, the students started going towards the classroom as per scheduled. Every period was passing slowly, as it usually did.

“Abdullah, what do you think, are you going to pass this test?” Adil asked.

“Definitely, I am going to get the highest marks,” Abdullah was acting sure of himself, but deep inside he had doubts.

All were engrossed in the discussions when Sir Muktaar entered. The whole class became silent and attentive.

“Students, can you guess who got the highest marks this time?” asked Sir Muktaar loudly.

“Abdullah!” many students said in a chorus.

“Sorry, Abdullah couldn’t make it this time. It is Qamber, so gave him a loud applause,” announced the teacher.

“I am surprised to see your marks. Why did you fail the test, Abdullah?” inquired Sir Muktaar.

“I don’t know what happened this time,” Abdullah sounded depressed.

Sir Muktaar replied, “I have been noticing you for some days and I feel you have changed. You do not concentrate on your studies these days, which I believe needs a high degree of focus and, on the contrary, you feel very over-confident. But education teaches us that one must try to learn more and more from teachers, from our surroundings and put that into practice for the betterment of others, rather than to show off and be arrogant.

“History is witness to the fact that successful people were bestowed with various talents and they used it to work hard for the betterment of their related societies. If they had showed off their power, then they would not have reached great heights.

“No matter how many times one fails, what matters is that how many people one helped with their talent and knowledge. You are still small and have a lot of learning to do. So put your God-gifted talents to use by working hard and doing something for the betterment of not just yourself, but society too.”

From that day onwards, Abdullah promised to burn the midnight oil to be a better human and a better student. He engaged in class discussions and confidently asked questions, but he did it all without showing off or displaying pride.

He realised that one should not be unnecessarily proud of one’s talent and power, underestimating all others. And sometimes it is not others who defeat us, but our pride.

A wise man once said, “Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man .... It is the comparison that makes you proud; the pleasure of being above the rest ... pride is a spiritual cancer; it eats up the very possibility of love, of contentment, or even common sense.”

Published in Dawn, Young World, May 6th, 2017