A family had twin boys whose only resemblance to each other was their looks. Opposite in every other way, one was an eternal optimist, while the other a dismal pessimist.
It was the twins’ 9th birthday. Just to see what would happen the father loaded the pessimist’s room with every imaginable toy and game. In the optimist’s room he loaded it with a pile of horse manure.
Later that night, the father passed by the pessimist’s room and found him sitting amid his new gifts crying sorrowfully.
“Why are you crying?” the father asked.
“Because my friends will be jealous, I’ll have to read all these instructions before I can do anything with this stuff, I’ll constantly need batteries, and my toys will eventually get broken,” cried the unhappy pessimist.
Passing the optimist twin’s room a moment later, the father found the boy dancing for joy in the pile of manure.
“What are you so happy about?” he asked.
His optimist son replied, “I figure there’s got to be a pony in here somewhere!”
