The Tortoise and the Hare

In a green meadow, there lived a hare who was very, very fast. Zoom! He could run from one end of the meadow to the other before you could say his name. And he liked to tell everyone about it. One sunny morning, Tortoise came walking slowly by. Step... step... step. The hare laughed. "Good morning, Tortoise! Are you going somewhere? At that speed, you'll get there next week!"

Tortoise did not get cross. She just smiled. "I may be slow," she said, "but I always get where I'm going. In fact, I'll race you." The hare laughed so hard he fell over in the grass. "You? Race me? Ha ha ha!" All the animals came to listen. "A race! A race!" chirped the birds. "Very well," said the hare. "Tomorrow morning. From the big oak tree, all the way to the windmill on the hill."

The next morning, everyone came to watch. The wise old owl held up a leaf. "Ready... steady... go!" Whoosh! The hare shot off like an arrow. He ran so fast that dust flew up behind him. Tortoise put one foot forward, then the next. Step... step... step. "Go, Tortoise, go!" called the little rabbits. Soon the hare was just a tiny speck far away, and Tortoise was still near the oak tree.

Halfway to the windmill, the hare looked back. He could not see Tortoise anywhere. "Ha!" he said. "This is too easy. She won't get here for hours. I have time for a little rest." He lay down under a shady apple tree. The grass was soft. The bees hummed. The sun was warm. "Just a tiny nap," said the hare, and he yawned a great big yawn. And soon he was fast asleep, snoring softly.

Meanwhile, Tortoise kept going. Step... step... step. She did not run, and she did not stop. She walked past the pond, where the frogs said, "Keep going!" She walked past the flowers, where the butterflies said, "You can do it!" Her legs were tired, but she said to herself, "Slow and steady. Slow and steady." And, step by step, she came up the hill to the apple tree.

There was the hare, fast asleep, with a butterfly sitting on his nose. Tortoise did not wake him. She did not laugh at him either. She just walked quietly past. Step... step... step. Up the hill she went, closer and closer to the windmill. The animals waiting at the finish could hardly believe their eyes. "It's Tortoise!" they whispered. "Tortoise is coming!"

At last, the hare woke up. He stretched. He looked at the sky. The sun was going down! "Oh no!" He jumped up and ran as fast as his long legs could go. Zoom, zoom, zoom! But it was too late. Just as he reached the top of the hill, Tortoise stepped across the finish line by the windmill. Everybody cheered. "Hooray for Tortoise!"

The hare puffed and panted. He felt a little silly. Then he held out his paw. "Well done, Tortoise," he said. "You really did win." "Thank you," said Tortoise kindly. "You are much faster than me. But you stopped, and I kept going." From that day on, the hare never boasted again. And he and Tortoise became good friends, and watched many sunsets together. Slow and steady. Good night.