The Hare mocks the Tortoise for being slow, so the Tortoise challenges him to a race that the Fox agrees to judge. The Hare naps in the grass certain he has time to spare, then wakes with a start and sprints for the finish, only to find the Fox already calling the Tortoise the winner.
One morning the Hare was making fun of the Tortoise for being so slow on his feet.
“Wait a moment,” said the Tortoise. “I’ll race you, and I’ll bet I win.”
The Hare was so amused by the idea that he laughed out loud.
“Oh, very well,” he said. “Let’s try it and see.”
They soon agreed that the Fox should mark out the course and be the judge. He paced out the course from the starting line to the goal, called the two of them to their places, and gave the word to go.
The Hare was off like a puff of wind. Before long he was so far ahead that he could not see the Tortoise behind him at all, and he began to feel there was no hurry in the world.
“I have time to spare,” he said to himself. “I may as well rest here a while.”
So he lay down in the cool grass beside the road, and in a moment he was fast asleep.
Meanwhile the Tortoise came plodding along, one steady step after another. He did not stop and he did not look back. He passed the sleeping Hare and kept going, and in time the goal came into sight, and then he was there.
At last the Hare woke with a start. He sprang up and ran faster than he had ever run in his life, but when he came flying up to the finish, the Fox was already calling the Tortoise the winner.
Retold by Talerie, Source: Aesop's Fables: a new translation (opens in a new window)
License: Public domainCopy this text, adapt it, use it however you like. A link back to Talerie is appreciated but never required.CC0 1.0 (opens in a new window)
