Once upon a time, there was a tortoise who lived a quiet, happy life. He didn’t really care what he had to do, as long as he could do it at his own pace. That meant he did everything very, very slowly.
One day the tortoise was out for a very slow stroll, when suddenly something went Zooooom! There was a cloud of dust and then nothing. Nobody was there.
“Perhaps I imagined it,” thought the tortoise lazily.
He walked on, but for a second time something went Zooooom! A cloud of dust appeared again, and then nothing.
“What is it?” he wondered. “It’s moving ever so fast.”
He walked on again. Zooooom! This time the dust settled and in front of the tortoise stood a tall brown hare.
“Howdy doody, slowcoach,” said the hare. “What you doin’? Where you goin’? Huh? Huh?”
“Doing?” asked the tortoise. “Going? I was just taking a quiet stroll.”
“A stroll? That’s so boring,” laughed the hare. “You should run and rush and Zooooom! Look. I’ll show you.”
The hare zoomed here and zoomed there and soon everything was covered in a big cloud of dust.
“You see! You see!” said the hare. “That’s the way to do it. Run! Rush! Zoom!”
“Hmmm,” said the tortoise. “I’m happy going at my own pace, thank you very much.”
“How can you live without speed, man?” asked the hare.
“I get by,” said the tortoise.
“Loser!” laughed the hare.
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” argued the tortoise.
“I bet you’ve never won anything in your life,” said the hare. “I’ve seen snails move faster than you.”
“How about a race then?” asked the tortoise quietly.
“Ha ha!” laughed the hare. “Ha ha! A race? You and me?”
“That’s what I said,” replied the tortoise. “A race.”
“You’re on,” said the hare, still laughing to himself.
“This is going to be the easiest race I’ve ever run.”
They decided they would race to the old oak tree on the top of the hill.
“Ready,” said the hare.
“Steady,” said the tortoise.
“Go!” shouted the hare and – Zooooom! – he was gone.
The hare was so fast that he almost overtook himself.
“This is so easy,” he thought. “I could run backward and still win.”
So he turned around and ran backward for a little while.
But then he got bored.
“This is so easy. I could hop on one leg and still win.” So he hopped along on one leg for a little while, but then he got bored of that too.
“This is so easy. I could have a sleep for a while and still win.” So the hare lay down and closed his eyes. Soon he was fast asleep.
Meanwhile the tortoise was plodding along at his usual pace. As he walked, he looked at the blue sky and the birds in the trees, but he never stopped once. He was a little surprised when he found the hare asleep, but he didn’t wake him as he passed by. Soon the tortoise was at the hill with the oak tree.
The hare woke up and yawned.
“What a great sleep,” he thought. “Boy, I’m a great sleeper. I bet I sleep better than anyone else.” Then he remembered the race. “Oh no!” he cried. Zooooom! He ran as fast as he could towards the old oak tree on the top of the hill, but he was too late. The tortoise was already there. The tortoise had won the race.
“Hello, Hare,” said the tortoise. “What took you so long?”
“I don’t believe it!” gasped the hare. “You can’t have won! I’m the fastest. You are a slowcoach!”
The tortoise smiled and sang a little song:
“You might have a lot of pace,
But slow and steady wins the race."