The Hare and the Tortoise
Aesop, trans. George Fyler Townsend (1867)
One of Aesop's best-known fables, on the folly of overconfidence and the reward of steady effort.
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About this text
This fable is attributed to Aesop, a figure traditionally said to have lived in ancient Greece around the 6th century BC, though little is reliably known about him and many fables credited to his name were likely gathered from multiple oral sources over centuries. This particular English wording comes from George Fyler Townsend's 1867 translation, one of the most widely reprinted English versions of Aesop's fables and now in the public domain.
The fable ends with its moral stated outright as a single short sentence — "Slow but steady wins the race" — a structure fables use more directly than almost any other form of literature. Copying the whole fable up to that final line, rather than skipping to the moral, shows how much narrative work (the challenge, the race, the nap, the finish) leads up to a conclusion that's often quoted entirely on its own.
What to watch for
- 1 semicolon: a semicolon joins two complete thoughts that belong together, a pause longer than a comma but shorter than a period.
- 1 colon: a colon points ahead to what explains or completes the first half of the sentence.
- 2 quotation marks: quotation marks come in pairs and wrap exactly what someone says; check that every one that opens also closes.
- Capital letters in the middle of a sentence: Hare, Tortoise, Fox. Ask why each one is capitalized before typing it.
- Longest word: "comfortably" (11 letters). Try spelling it aloud once before reaching it.
- 7 lines averaging about 19 words each. Long lines: a younger child may do half the text per sitting.
Full text (reference)
A Hare one day ridiculed the short feet and slow pace of the Tortoise, who replied, laughing: "Though you be swift as the wind, I will beat you in a race."
The Hare, believing her assertion to be simply impossible, assented to the proposal; and they agreed that the Fox should choose the course and fix the goal.
On the day appointed for the race the two started together.
The Tortoise never for a moment stopped, but went on with a slow but steady pace straight to the end of the course.
The Hare, lying down by the wayside, fell fast asleep.
At last waking up, and moving as fast as he could, he saw the Tortoise had reached the goal, and was comfortably dozing after her fatigue.
Slow but steady wins the race.