The Hare and the Tortoise
Once upon a time, in a peaceful meadow, there lived a speedy Hare and a slow, but steady Tortoise.
The Hare was very proud of how fast he could run.
One day, as the Turtle was slowly walking by, the Hare couldn’t help but mock his slow walk.
“Do you ever get anywhere?” he asked with a laugh.
The Turtle didn’t take the mocking lightly. So, he replied,
“Yes, and I get there sooner than you think. I can race you to prove it.”
The Hare was much amused at the idea of running a race with the Tortoise, but for the fun of the thing he agreed.
The animals of the meadow gathered to watch the race. They marked a starting line and a finish line, and the race was about to begin.
“On your marks… get set… go!” shouted the deer, who was the judge.
The Hare immediately took off, zooming ahead in just a few seconds.
Midway through the race, the Hare looked back and saw that he had left the Tortoise so far behind.
He thought to himself, “Maybe to make things interesting, I can rest here until the Tortoise catches up. Then I can take off again”.
So he sat under a tree and closed his eyes. But soon he fell fast asleep.
Meanwhile, the Tortoise kept moving at his steady pace, not stopping for a moment.
After a time, he passed the place where the Hare was sleeping.
He kept on going.
Step by step, he moved closer to the finish line.
The Hare slept on very peacefully.
At last, when he did wake up, he was shocked to see the Tortoise just a few steps away from the finish line!
Panicked, the Hare now ran his swiftest.
But it was too late..
The Tortoise crossed the finish line just as the Hare arrived.
All the animals cheered for the Tortoise.
The Hare felt embarrassed.
“I learned something today,” the Hare said. “Being fast is great, but steady and consistent wins the race.”
The Tortoise smiled and comforted the Hare, and they became great friends from that day on.
The end.