The Tortoise and the Hare

 

By VOA

11 January 2020

Now, it is time for Words and Their Stories, a weekly program from VOA Learning English.

English expressions come from a number of different places and some are quite old. Perhaps one of the oldest expressions is "slow and steady wins the race." It comes from a collection of stories known as Aesop's Fables². Aesop is thought to have lived over 2,000 years ago in ancient Greece.

"Slow and steady wins the race" means that if you set a goal for yourself and keep working toward it, you will reach that goal. However, to accomplish that goal you mustn't waste time on mindless or meaningless things. You must not lose focus.

And that brings us to one of Aesop's fables called "The Tortoise and the Hare."

As you probably know, a hare looks like a large rabbit. It has long ears and runs very fast, much faster than any tortoise. That cannot be debated.

As in many fables, the animals are given human personality traits. The hare has a loud, bragging⁴ personality and seems overconfident. Tortoise is focused. In "The Tortoise and The Hare" these two animals race each other!

But now that we know they also have human personalities⁵, what will happen?

Let's find out. Here is the Learning English version of "The Tortoise and the Hare."

NARRATOR: One day, Tortoise was walking through the woods. She had business to take care of. So, she walked through the forest with her usual determination. When Tortoise passed by Hare, he was standing⁶ against a fence post. She simply nodded her head and walked on ... very slowly.

HARE: Hey, Tortoise. Where are you going?

TORTOISE: I have some important business to take care of.

NARRATOR: Hare found this very funny. He did not want to waste the chance to make fun of Tortoise for being so slow.

HARE: If it's so important -- why don't you hurry? You'll never get anything done walking like that.

TORTOISE: Like what?

HARE: Slowly, you fool!

NARRATOR: Tortoise lifted her head slowly and answered.

TORTOISE: I will take care of my business and I will get it done sooner than you think.

HARE: Yeah, I doubt that! Look at your slow feet! They are no match for my fast feet. Watch me run!

NARRATOR: Hare ran around and around in circles. He was indeed very fast.

HARE: See? I told you I was fast.

TORTOISE: Yes, you are very fast. And you are very confident in your speed. I have an idea -- why don't we run a race?

HARE: A race? Between me ... and you? Ha ha ha!

NARRATOR: The idea of running a race with Tortoise was so funny to Hare that he laughed and laughed. But finally, he agreed. He wanted to embarrass Tortoise for even having the nerve to challenge him.

HARE: You have some nerve challenging me. Sure! I'll race you!

TORTOISE: Great. We will meet back here tomorrow at this time. Don't be late ...

NARRATOR: Now, Fox was standing nearby and heard everything. She agreed to be the judge. So, the next day, Fox marked the distance for the race and started the runners off with her famous whistle. (Fox was well known among all the woodland creatures for having the best whistle.)

FOX: Tortoise! Hare! You will start the race on my whistle. On your mark! Get set!

NARRATOR: And off they went! After only a short time, Hare was very far in front of Tortoise. Now, Hare, being a petty animal, did not just want to win. He wanted the Tortoise to feel foolish. So, he started running backward and yelled insults at her.

HARE: You are so far behind me! You look really small! How does it feel to be a loser!

NARRATOR: Then Hare ran even further ahead of Tortoise. As he ran, he said to himself:

HARE: How dare that Tortoise thinks she can beat me? I am one of the fastest animals in these woods. You know, I'm not just going to beat her. I'm going to teach her a lesson.

NARRATOR: So, he stopped. He was going to wait until the Tortoise caught up with him. And then tease her some more. Hare said:

HARE: I'll just stay here under this tree and rest a bit. I'm so fast that I'll be able to beat Tortoise and take a nap!

NARRATOR: Tortoise just kept going -- slowly but steadily⁷. She said to herself:

TORTOISE: I am just going to keep my eyes on the prize. Slow and steady. Onward⁸ I go!

NARRATOR: After some time passed, Tortoise came to where Hare was sleeping.

HARE: (snoring)

NARRATOR: Hare slept on peacefully as Tortoise passed by him quietly. When Hare finally awoke, Tortoise was near the finish line. Seeing his mistake, he now ran as fast as he could! But he could not catch her in time and Tortoise won the race!

So, what is the lesson from this fable¹? Sometimes in life, the person who succeeds is not the one who is the ablest but the one who is the most focused and determined⁹.

Also, if you waste your time bragging and showing off – as the Hare did – you might not reach your goals.

And that brings us to the end of this program. But join us again next week for another Words and Their Stories.

Words in This Story

fable – n. a short story that usually is about animals and that is intended to teach a lesson

personality trait – n. a quality or characteristic that distinguishes the character, action and attitude of a person

brag³ – v. to speak in a way that shows too much pride

overconfident – adj. having too much confidence about something : confidence – n. a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something

focused – adj. concentrated on one topic or goal

determination – n. a quality that makes you continue trying to do or achieve something that is difficult

embarrass – v. to make (someone) feel confused and foolish in front of other people: to make (a person, group, government, etc.) look foolish in public

petty – adj. showing or having a mean narrow-minded attitude

eyes on the prize expression This means that you should keep your focus on achieving a positive end result or goal

show off – verbal phrase to impress other people with his or her abilities or possessions

1 fable   

n.寓言；童话；神话

参考例句：

• The fable is given on the next page. 这篇寓言登在下一页上。
• He had some motive in telling this fable. 他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

2 fables   

n.寓言( fable的名词复数 )；神话，传说

参考例句：

• Some of Aesop's Fables are satires. 《伊索寓言》中有一些是讽刺作品。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Little Mexican boys also breathe the American fables. 墨西哥族的小孩子对美国神话也都耳濡目染。 来自辞典例句

3 brag   

v./n.吹牛，自夸；adj.第一流的

参考例句：

• He made brag of his skill.他夸耀自己技术高明。
• His wealth is his brag.他夸张他的财富。

4 bragging   

v.自夸，吹嘘( brag的现在分词 )；大话

参考例句：

• He's always bragging about his prowess as a cricketer. 他总是吹嘘自己板球水平高超。 来自辞典例句
• Now you're bragging, darling. You know you don't need to brag. 这就是夸口，亲爱的。你明知道你不必吹。 来自辞典例句

5 personalities   

n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
• Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

8 onward   

adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先

参考例句：

• The Yellow River surges onward like ten thousand horses galloping.黄河以万马奔腾之势滚滚向前。
• He followed in the steps of forerunners and marched onward.他跟随着先辈的足迹前进。

9 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。