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Original Writer: Unknown
Rewritten: Udhayan |
Once upon a time, in a forest, there were two friends, a tortoise and a hare. 1 |
The tortoise could only move very slowly. But the hare could move very fast. Therefore, it was customary for the tortoise to make fun of the slow pace of the tortoise. 2 |
One day, when all the animals in the forest were gathered, the hare wanted to tease the tortoise and asked, “Friend, how about we race?” 3 |
Even though the tortoise realised that the hare was asking this to make fun of him, he said: “Of course I am ready. Let’s race.” 4 |
This answer shocked the hare, who thought the tortoise would reject it. 5 |
The other animals were also surprised. They told the tortoise: “You can never run with the hare and win. So don’t just compete.” 6 |
But the tortoise was not ready to back down. It decided to run the race. 7 |
When the bell rang to start the race, the hare started running very fast. 8 |
The tortoise started crawling as fast as he could. When the hare had run about halfway, he felt exhausted. 9 |
The hare looked back. The turtle was nowhere to be seen. Then he thought: ‘Anyway, it would take a long time for the turtle to crawl here. Let’s sit under a tree for a while and rest a little before we go.’ Saying that the hare sat down under a nearby tree. But due to fatigue, he fell asleep. 10 |
At this time, the tortoise, who was crawling along, saw the hare sleeping. Yet, regardless of the hare, it continued towards its goal. 11 |
After a while, the hare woke up and looked around. The tortoise was nowhere to be seen. Thinking the tortoise had not reached here, the hare started running again. When the hare reached his destination, he was shocked by the sight he saw there. 12 |
The tortoise had arrived here before the hare. Seeing this, the hare lowered his head in shame. 13 |
The tortoise went to his friend and said: “Let’s not make fun of anyone. Each of us has our own talents. We should be able to recognise them. You have the ability to run fast. Similarly, I have the ability to live on land and in water.” 14 |
Upon hearing this, the hare realised his mistake and apologised to the tortoise. 15 |
And then they lived in that forest as good friends forever. 16 |
The meaning of this story is that we should not underestimate anybody. 17 ★ |
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