4. The Hare and The Tortoise – An Aesop’s Fable
There was once a Hare who always bragged about how fast he could run. Tired of his boasting, all the animals got together and told the Hare to pick an animal with whom he would have to race. If he won, he could continue to boast to the animals of not just this forest, but the surrounding ones as well. But if he lost, he would not utter a single word about his speed, to anyone ever again.
The Hare agreed. He had seen that the Tortoise was slow at walking. So he decided to race against the Tortoise.
All the animals gathered to watch the race as they were curious to know the outcome. They marked a winding path down the forest for the race.
The Hare ran for a while, then paused and looked back. The Tortoise was way behind him.
He thought he would sit down and rest a while, while the Tortoise caught up. He stretched out in the shade of a tree, and ‘Lo! fell fast asleep.
The Tortoise, in the meanwhile, steadily walked and walked and walked. He never stopped until he reached the finishing line.
The animals who were watching the race, cheered loudly for the Tortoise. The sound woke up the Hare. He stretched and started running again. But it was too late. The Tortoise had already crossed the finish line.
Moral: Slow and steady wins the race.
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Click Next To Read Next Story – The Ant and The Grasshopper
Four stories are missing here in this site.
I remember this story as it was prescribed us in our 6th grade English text book. The name was ‘Persuasion is Better than Force’ . I enjoyed reading it and now my children enjoy listening to this bedtime story.
My aunt used to tell me this bedtime story when I was a kid. I really enjoyed her warm hug and story narration that put me into gentle sleep. It was heaven to be with her. Later my grandmother took over the task of story telling as my aunt got married and moved out to her husband’s house.
very nice collection of story