Genghis Khan(1162-1227)， the founder of the Mongol Empire， was originally named Temüjin. As a little boy， he lived on the grassland with his father， a tribal leader and a brave warrior who often led his army on military expeditions. Like his father， Temüjin was not only courageous and clever， but also had great strategic ability. This made his father love him very much.
Once when he returned from a successful expedition， Temüjin’s father was in such good form that he spent some time drinking and carousing with his soldiers. When they were all well merry with drink， their leader suddenly announced that he wanted to hold a horse race. But this would be no ordinary race. The leader announced that the horse who ran slowest would be the winner. This strange race made everyone very curious and all put down their work in order to watch.
All riders sat ready on their horses. When the race began， each contestant made his horse run very slowly on purpose， so much so that the horses hardly moved a step forward. Some horses even stepped back， and then walked a few steps forward， while others just stood still. This was a picture quite different from the usual galloping storm that was normal in Mongol horse races. Everyone present screamed with laughter， greatly amused by this unique race.
As time went by， it was getting darker and darker. But the riders and their horses were still all at the starting line. The race seemed it would never end， and the audience started to lose interest. Temüjin’s father looked a bit worried as he wanted to finish the race as soon as possible.
Seeing his father’s anxious look， the 12-year-old boy who had stayed beside him all the time， spoke to him in a low voice， “Dad， I have a good idea to make the race finish quickly.” The father， knowing his son was very clever， smiled and asked， “What is it my son？” The boy put his lips to his father’s ear and whispered some words. It made the father burst into laughter and clap his hands. Immediately， he told his son to go ahead with his plan.
Temüjin went up to the riders. He told them to get off and exchange horses with each other. The people around couldn’t figure out what he was doing. After everyone had exchanged horses， the boy spoke a few words to the riders.
Soon the contest restarted. Upon the signal， every rider whipped his horse heavily. All the horses started to gallop trying to overtake each other instead of staying still as before. The riders finished the race in a very short time. Finally， Temüjin’s father announced， “The winner is the rider whose horse ran most slowly.” In fact， the winner’s horse hadn’t run slowly at all.
By this time， the audience began to understand Temüjin’s intentions. He had asked the riders to exchange their horses， so that everyone would not be riding his own horse. Then he told all riders that the original owner of the last horse to reach the finishing line would be the winner. Therefore， every racer was aware that if he was the first to cross the line on someone else’s horse， he could be the winner. As a result， they all ran like crazy， afraid of falling behind.
