When I was seven, my father took me to the swimming pool. Watching him glide effortlessly through the water, I was filled with admiration. He said to me, "Wang Wang, if you can learn to swim within a month, I will buy you a copy of *Journey to the West*." For a boy obsessed with Sun Wukong at that age, that book was a priceless treasure. However, for a "land duck" like me—someone who knew nothing about water and was terrified of it—learning to swim in a month seemed like an impossible task. Still, I stubbornly agreed.
The first time I entered the water, I flailed wildly. Water rushed into my nose and mouth, choking me so much that I nearly lost my breath. Luckily, my father reacted quickly, preventing any serious accident. Then came the second time, the third time... and each time was a struggle against choking.
After every session, I would return home feeling completely drained. Lying on my bed, I felt discouraged, convinced I simply wasn't cut out for swimming. One day, exhausted from swimming, I fell into a deep sleep. "Little Wang, what's wrong?" "Ah! Great Sage!" I hurriedly bowed. "I heard you want to give up swimming..." "Yes, I'm just not good at it..." "A child should have perseverance and not give up halfway. As Edison once said: one percent inspiration plus ninety-nine percent perspiration equals success. You are the best!" "But I..." "With your fear of hardship, how can you expect to read *Journey to the West*? I don't approve!" With that, Sun Wukong vanished into the clouds. I woke up feeling as if I had understood something profound.
From then on, I practiced in the bathtub and kept training relentlessly at the swimming pool. Whenever I felt like quitting, the words "You are the best" would echo in my ears, and I would grit my teeth and keep going.
A month passed. True to his word, my father took me back to the pool. At his signal, I dove into the water. I swam a full lap and even performed several moves, such as the "carp flip." When I climbed out, beads of sweat were rolling down my forehead. My father looked at me and gave me a proud thumbs-up.
On the way home, my father took me to the bookstore...
