In the great land of Knowledge, in the famous city of Mathematics, on Notebook Street there lived mathematical signs: Plus, Minus and the Equals sign.
They lived happily together, but whenever the opportunity arose, they couldn't help but argue about who was the most important.
One evening Plus and Minus were sitting at a table, working through problems. Nothing seemed to suggest trouble.
Suddenly Plus said:
I have two lines, so I'm bigger and more important, and all you can do is take things away from everyone! Minus is just a dash, nothing more!
Minus was hurt by these words, felt quite offended and stormed off.
The next morning the city experienced a real catastrophe. Plus, as usual, came to work, but there was complete chaos. The answers in the problems didn't match at all, numbers were growing at an alarming rate. Division came to help, but couldn't manage to fix everything.
The Equals sign stood to the side, watching the disorder unfold. He was a wise sign and always made the right decisions.
It's unclear how it all might have ended, but Equals said:
You are both important and necessary signs!
Plus, find Minus quickly, we need to fix this straight away.
Plus found Minus and asked for forgiveness.
Together they returned to the city of Mathematics, approached the wise Equals sign and stood on either side of him.
And Equals said:
All signs are equally important and equal to me, and I will always find a place for each of you in my heart. Promise me you'll never quarrel again!
From that day on, love, understanding and mutual support flourished in the city.
