Once upon a time, in a lush green forest, there lived a wise old tortoise and a boastful hare. The hare was very proud of his speed and often bragged to the other animals about how fast he could run. On the other hand, the tortoise was happy moving slowly and steadily.
The hare made the decision to race the tortoise one day. The hare asserted, “I bet I can defeat you in a race; I’m so swift, I’ll reach the finish line before you even begin!”
The tortoise thought for a moment before responding. He said, ‘I accept your challenge’ and then mentioned “please remember that slow and steady wins the race.”
All the animals gathered to watch on the day of the race. The hare, confident in his abilities, sprinted off at the sound of the starting whistle, leaving the tortoise far behind.
As the hare ran, he saw a field of beautiful flowers and decided to stop and admire them. “I have plenty of time,” he thought, “I’ll just take a quick break before crossing the finish line.”
Meanwhile, the tortoise plodded along, never losing his focus. He passed the hare, who was still admiring the flowers, and continued on his steady path toward the finish line.
As the hare finally woke up from his nap and realized that he was far behind the tortoise, he ran as fast as he could to catch up, but it was too late. The tortoise had already completed the course and won the competition.
The hare, ashamed and humbled by his defeat, apologized to the tortoise for his arrogance. The tortoise forgave him and taught him the valuable lesson that true success comes from hard work and determination, not just speed and boasting.
From that day on, the hare learned to be more humble and to always remember the wise words of the tortoise. He also started to train harder and became a better runner than ever before. The Tortoise and the Hare became good friends and went on many more races together, and the hare never forgot the importance of being humble, determined, and steady.
The moral of the story is that slow and steady wins the race, and that true success comes from hard work and determination, not just speed and boasting. The story teaches children about the importance of humility, perseverance, and the value of sportsmanship.