William Henry Harrison, the ninth
president of the United States, like so many other early American presidents,
Harrison was born in a small town. As a boy, he was very quiet and bashful. In
fact, he was so quiet that everyone thought that perhaps he was stupid. The
people of the town, therefore, like to play tricks on him. For example, they
often put a nickel and a dime in front of him and they told him to choose which
one he wanted. He always chose the nickel and then they, all laughed at him.
One day, a certain woman took
pity on him. She said, “William, why do you always choose the nickel instead of
the dime? Don’t you know that a dime although smaller than a nickel, is worth
much more than a nickel?”
“Certainly, I know it,” William
answered slowly. “But if I choose the dime, they won’t play the trick on me any
more!”