The Hare and the Tortoise
Once,
a hare was wandering about in a green field. By chance, he saw a tortoise,
which was moving at a very slow speed. The hare made fun of his slow speed. The
tortoise did not mind but gave him an open challenge to run a race with him. The
hare readily accepted the challenge.
The
starting and reaching points were decided. Both the little animals started
running the race. The tortoise kept running at his usual slow speed. But the
hare picked up at once his fastest speed to reach the winning point. He reached
the halfway within a few minutes.
The
hare was lazy. He felt like sleeping. He looked behind to see the tortoise. But
he was not visible to him anywhere.
Thinking
that the tortoise would reach there in half an hour, he lay down on the green
grass and fell asleep. After fifteen minutes, the tortoise passed that place.
He saw the hare snoring in sleep. But he did not stop. He kept on moving.
After some time, he reached the winning post. Other animals in the forest were already
waiting for the winner. They started clapping for the tortoise.
In
the meantime, the hare woke up. He started running in a hurry.
But
alas! When he reached the winning post, the tortoise was already declared the
winner. The hare felt ashamed and ran away from that place.
Moral:
Never boast of your abilities. Or Pride hath a fall.
