A prominent lawyer´s son dreamed of following in his father´s footsteps. After graduating from college and law school with honors, he returned home to join his father´s firm, intent on proving himself to be a skilled and worthy attorney.
At the end of his first day at work he rushed into his father´s office, and said, "Father, father! The Smith case, that you always said would go on forever -- the one you have been toiling on for ten years -- in one single day, I settled that case and saved the client a fortune!"
His father frowned, and scolded his son, "I did not say that it would go on forever, son. I said that it could go on forever. When you saw me toiling on that case for days and weeks at a time, didn´t it ever occur to you that I was billing by the hour?"
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