Flat and Fat

A flat grapefruit was sitting on an old, peeling bench at a bus stop. It was lost in thought until a fat grapefruit rolled into the space beside it.

Suddenly the flat grapefruit had an idea. "Excuse me, fat grapefruit, but could I have some of your volume?" it asked. "I'm pretty flat."

"I wish I could give you some," the fat grapefruit replied. "But unfortunately I'm on my way to a worldwide conference of fat grapefruits."

"Oh, I understand," the flat grapefruit said.

Soon the bus arrived. The flat grapefruit rolled onto the bus, like a wheel. The fat grapefruit also rolled onto the bus, but like a big rolling ball.

The flat grapefruit had been planning to get off the bus somewhere toward the end of the route. But it saw the fat grapefruit getting off at the convention center, and in a spur-of-the-moment decision it rolled off the bus too.

The fat grapefruit ignored the flat grapefruit, nervous that it would ask for some of its volume again.

The flat grapefruit also ignored the fat grapefruit, instead seeking help from crowds of fat grapefruits at the convention. It found a thousand fat grapefruits who were each willing to donate a single piece of pulp, and with the donations, it was easily admitted to the convention because it now met the volume requirement.