God Helps Those Who Help Themselves

The Principal talked in such an offhand manner that it should have been obvious that there was no point in persisting. Even so the student was determined to try his luck, although all he really expected was to be asked to leave the room immediately. On seeing the insistence of the student, the Principal finally asked him rather dryly what his marks had been in the previous examinations, because he felt certain that he must have failed to get admission elsewhere due to his low marks. If this were the case, the Principal would have good grounds for rejecting his application. But the student’s reply was just the opposite of what he expected. He said, “Eighty five percent, Sir.” These words worked like a miracle. The Principal’s mood changed all of a sudden, and he asked the student to sit down and show him his certificates. When he had seen them and was satisfied that the student’s claim was true, he told him to write out an ante-dated application. Not only was the student then given admission in spite of such a long delay in applying, but he was also granted a scholarship by this very same Principal who had been so reluctant to even give him a hearing. Had the same student approached the Principal with a third-class degree, and had been refused admission as a result, he would surely have gone away full of hatred