Win or lose

Win or lose

　Pete hated losing at anything. He couldn’t stand losing. When he won, he would feel really good and he didn’t want to give up that wonderful feeling. But if he lost, he would feel terrible. It seemed to Pete that losing was the worst thing in the world.

　A new child named Albert came to Pete’s school. Albert was a tennis player. It didn’t take Pete and Albert long before they challenged each other to a match. Pete worked hard to prepare for the match. Albert, on the other hand, didn’t seem to take it seriously. But when they began to have a match, Albert became serious and scored again and again. There was always a smile on his face. However, Pete was so eager¹ to win that he managed to win by cheating. Pete made a big thing of his win, but it didn’t seem to matter to Albert.

　“It’s fun. We should play again some time,” said Albert.

　That night, Pete couldn’t fall asleep and didn’t feel very happy. What’s more, Albert didn’t feel bad about losing. One day, Pete saw Albert playing basketball. Although Albert lost again and again, that happy smile never left his face. Later, Pete found that no matter how bad the result was, Albert kept smiling. Albert enjoyed the game, not the result. Pete began to learn that enjoying a game was much more important than winning or losing.

Note：

1. eager adj. 渴望的；急切的