The Tortoise and the Hare
- 3 minute read
- Ages 4-8
- Aesop's Fables
There was a hare who could not stop talking about how fast he was.
He told the squirrels. He told the birds. He ran circles round the deer just to show them. And every day he passed the tortoise on the path and said something about how slowly he was going.
One morning the tortoise had heard enough.
"I will race you," he said.
The race is set
The hare fell over laughing.
"You will race me?"
"To the old oak at the far end of the field," said the tortoise. "Tomorrow morning."
Word went round the whole forest, and by morning every animal had come to watch. The fox stood at the starting line to send them off.
"Go!"
The hare was gone. He was across the first field before the tortoise had properly started moving.
And the tortoise started walking.
Halfway
The hare stopped at the top of the hill and looked back.
He could just see the tortoise, a small dark shape a very long way behind, still in the first field.
The hare sat down in the grass. There was no hurry. There was no possible hurry. He could sleep the whole morning here and still win by a mile.
The sun was warm. The grass was soft.
He lay back and closed his eyes, just for a moment.
Still going
The tortoise came over the hill some time later.
He saw the hare asleep in the grass. He did not stop and he did not speed up, because he could not speed up. He walked past him at exactly the same pace he had been walking all morning.
Down the slope. Along the hedge. Across the second field.
The animals at the finish line saw him coming and began to shout, and the shouting is what woke the hare.
He sat up. He looked down the hill.
The tortoise was ten steps from the oak tree.
The hare ran. He ran faster than he had ever run in his life, flat out, ears back, down the slope and along the hedge and across the field.
And it was not enough, because it had never been about speed.
Moral of the story
Slow and steady wins the race. Talent counts for nothing if you stop, and effort counts for everything if you do not.
Questions and answers
- Why did the tortoise challenge the hare to a race?
He was tired of the hare constantly boasting about his speed and mocking him for being slow.
- What was the hare's mistake?
He was so far ahead that he decided to rest, fell asleep in the grass, and lost his lead.
- Did the tortoise ever stop during the race?
No. He kept walking at exactly the same steady pace from start to finish, even when he passed the sleeping hare.
- What woke the hare up?
The animals at the finish line began shouting as the tortoise approached the oak tree.
- Why could the hare not win even though he was faster?
He had wasted too much time. Speed is useless if you do not use it, and by the time he woke, the tortoise was almost at the finish.
Word meanings
- hare
- An animal like a large rabbit with long ears and very fast legs.
- boasting
- Talking with too much pride about yourself.
- pace
- The speed at which someone walks or moves.
- flat out
- As fast as it is possible to go.
Questions about The Tortoise and the Hare
What is the moral of The Tortoise and the Hare?
The moral is 'slow and steady wins the race'. Consistent effort beats natural talent that is not used properly.
Who wrote The Tortoise and the Hare?
It is one of Aesop's fables from ancient Greece, retold in almost every language in the world.
Why did the hare lose the race?
He became overconfident. Because he was certain he would win, he stopped to sleep and gave the tortoise time to pass him.
What can children learn from this story?
That working steadily towards a goal matters more than being naturally quick, and that overconfidence can cost you what you had already won.