Once there was an arrogant Hare, Hagen (Irish for young), who used to snicker at his steady, but slow neighbor, the Tortoise Trevor (Irish for prudent).

 

"You will never can get anywhere with those stumpy legs of yours, Tedious Trevor!” Then the hare stretched out his legs and gloated, “Behold these gams of gold!”

Trevor the tortoise rolled his eyes and went about his business.

All the animals of meadow and mountain were frustrated with the braggadocio of the bunny. The hare’s hubris was beyond compare.

One day as Hagen the Hare was watching the plodding turtle make his way to the river, he sneered, “Hey, Cereal Bowl with Legs, you might as well wait for erosion to bring the shore closer to the water than crawl at your pace! Ha ha ha! It would be faster!”

Just then the turtle slowly turned his head and calmly said, "I will race you, Hare." Then the terse turtle continued on his path.

The other animals were astonished because they knew the Tortoise, although a reliable friend, was not the swiftest of the denizens of the forest.

Hearing the challenge, the Hare burst into belly-busting laughter: "That slowpoke thinks he can beat me! Over my dead body!”

The phlegmatic turtle pledged: "I will be at the race track at dawn."

In the morning, all the big and little animals gathered to watch the unusual race: sparrows, two red foxes, a family of squirrels, one billy goat, five does, one buck, a fawn, the farmer's dog, Snookie, and even a few toads. More and more animals gathered as the race was about to begin.

When the hare and the rabbit were poised at the starting line, the wise owl gave the starting hoot.

At the signal, the Hare leaped forward in great bounds, leaving the Tortoise in his wake. He boasted to the fans on the sidelines, “I’ve got this one wrapped up. You might as well toss me the blue ribbon now! Ha ha ha ha!”

Since the July sun was very warm, Hagen the Hare, decided to retreat under a shady tree to cool his fur. As he got comfortable, he told himself, “No way that stumpy reptile will catch up to me!”

Within moments, the hare was deep asleep, lost of dreams of carrots, blue ribbons, and the roar of the crowd.

Meanwhile, the Tortoise crawled steadily down the hot, dusty road: slowly, but surely.

Soon he passed the drowsing Hare who was oblivious to his competitor’s shadow.

Humbly, the Tortoise plodded on towards the goal. When the Hare suddenly woke up, he saw that the Tortoise was just reaching the finish line. He could hear all the animals cheering the winner.

As Trevor the prudent turtle accepted his award, he bowed his head and said to the crowd, “As brevity is the soul of wit, perhaps, commitment is the seed of success!”

The defeated hare hung his head and said, “Next time I am using my Nikes!"