Slightly better

Once upon a time, there was a young student named Lily who loved running track and field events. She practiced every day tirelessly, but she always came in second place during competitions.

One day, her coach gave her a piece of advice: “You’re doing great, Lily, but if you want to win that gold medal, you need to take it up a notch. You need to step up your game.”

Lily was determined to improve, so she trained even harder. She ran a little faster, jumped a little higher, and threw a little farther. Soon enough, her hard work paid off and she won her first gold medal.

Excited to share her accomplishment with her family, Lily’s little brother asked her how she did it. “I just had to take a step up,” she replied. “I had to be slightly better than I was before.”

The next day, the brother found a crossword puzzle on the back of the newspaper, and one of the clues was ‘Slightly better.’ Without hesitation, he filled in ‘ASTEPUP,’ remembering his sister’s advice on how to win her gold medal.

And that’s how Lily’s journey to success led to an unlikely connection between a sports mantra and a crossword puzzle clue.