Aesop's famous fable is read by the late Richard Briers in this adaptation combining text, audio and illustrations.
The video
THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE
‘Look at me!’ said the Hare to the other animals. ‘Just look how fast I can run.’ The Hare ran across a field as fast as he could. All the animals agreed that yes, the Hare was very fast.
The Hare ran back. ‘See,’ he shouted. ‘I’m not even out of breath.’
‘Yeah, that was fast,’ said the Fox.
‘So who wants a race?’ said the Hare. ‘Anybody think they could beat me?’
None of the animals spoke.
‘See,’ said the Hare. ‘You’re all too scared to even try.’
‘I’ll have a go,’ said the Tortoise.
The Hare laughed. ‘You? The slowest creature in the whole world? I’m not wasting my time racing a Tortoise.’
‘What’s the matter?’ said the Tortoise. ‘Scared I might beat you?’
Some of the animals laughed at that so the Hare said: ‘Alright then, Tortoise. Let’s have a race…right now…then we’ll see who’s laughing.’
'Not today,’ said the Tortoise. ‘We’ll race next week. Got to do a bit of training first.’
Next morning the animals watched the Tortoise do his ‘training’. First he did some gentle stretching exercises to warm himself up…and then he started to run.
‘Has he started running yet?’ asked the Fox.
‘Hard to tell with Tortoises,’ said the Badger. ‘He’s definitely moving.’
‘Is he?’ said the Fox.
‘Tortoise, are you sure about this?’ said the Crow.
‘Don’t worry,’ said the Tortoise. ‘This is just day one. I’ll speed up. You’ll see.’
On the day of the race crowds of animals came to watch. The Tortoise slowly made his way to the starting line and then suddenly…the Hare arrived at top speed wearing a brand new track suit.
‘The race starts here,’ said the Fox pointing to a line on the ground. ‘And ends at that tree on the other side of the field. First one to touch the tree is the winner.’
‘Right, let’s get on with it,’ said the Hare. ‘Ready Tortoise? Ready to see some real speed?’
‘I’m ready,’ said the Tortoise.
‘Ready, steady…go!’ said the Fox and the race began.
The Hare roared off, then stopped and looked back. The Tortoise was still crossing the starting line.
The Hare ran back to the Tortoise. ‘Didn’t you hear him say go? You can start, you know.’
‘I have started,’ said the Tortoise.
‘Look,’ said the Hare. ‘You’re going so slowly, I’m going to have a rest. Might even have a little sleep. I’ll finish the race when I wake up and still beat you by miles.’
The Hare lay down in the sun and fell asleep.
The Tortoise kept going. Slowly, steadily he moved across the field and by evening time, he was getting close to the finishing tree.
Still the Hare slept on and now the animals started to get excited.
‘You know what? I think he might win,’ said a Rabbit.
‘I can’t believe it,’ said the Badger. ‘The Tortoise might actually win.’
The animals started to get excited and as the Tortoise got close to the finishing tree, they started to cheer.
‘Come on, Tortoise!’ they shouted. ‘Nearly there! Keep going, old friend! Keep going!’
But the noise of the cheering crowd woke up the Hare. He looked across the field, saw the Tortoise about to reach the tree and in a flash he was running.
The Tortoise heard the Hare thundering up behind him but he kept going…and going…and suddenly he was there. Just in time, the Tortoise touched the tree with his nose. He’d done it. The Tortoise had beaten the Hare fair and square.
‘There you go,’ said the Badger. ‘Slow and steady’s sometimes better than fast and flashy.’
‘Not fair,’ said the Hare. ‘I was asleep. We have to run the race again. It’s not fair.’
But no-one was listening to the Hare.
The Hare and the Tortoise
The Hare boasts to the other animals about how fast he can run. He challenges them to a race and when none of them responds he taunts them that they are too scared even to try. When the Tortoise offers to race the Hare scoffs that he won’t waste his time racing the slowest creature in the world. The Tortoise returns the taunt, saying the Hare must be scared of being beaten. Some of the animals laugh at this so the Hare agrees to a race, to take place a week later.
The Tortoise spends the week in training, but continues to move very slowly and the other animals wonder if the race is a good idea. Nevertheless, there is a large crowd of animals gathered on the day of the race.
The race starts and the Hare roars off. When he stops to look back, the Tortoise has barely crossed the starting line. The Hare taunts the Tortoise that he'll be able to stop for a rest and still beat him. However, when the Hare goes to sleep in the sun, he sleeps for so long that the Tortoise is able to overtake him.
The animals cheer as the Tortoise nears the finishing tree and this wakes up the Hare. The Hare runs as fast as he can to catch up, but the Tortoise just makes it to the finish in time. Sometimes slow and steady wins the race.
Reader: Richard Briers
Writer: Rob John
Illustrations: Jake Cawthray
Video questions
- Why do you think the Hare shows the other animals how fast he can run? (He wants to show off)
- Why don't most of the animals want to race the Hare? (They know how fast the Hare is; they know a race would be pointless)
- How do you think the Tortoise feels when the Hare laughs at him?
- How do you think the Hare feels when the Tortoise says he must be scared of being beaten?
- What makes it possible for the Tortoise to win the race, despite being very slow? (The Hare decides to go to sleep and the Tortoise chooses to keep going)
- Why does the Hare stop for a rest in the middle of the race? (He is over-confident; he wants to mock the Tortoise)
- What makes the Hare wake up? (The cheering of the other animals)
- Why won’t the animals listen to the complaints of the Hare at the end of the race? (They are happy that the Tortoise has won; they've had enough of the Hare and his boasting)
Resources
The Hare and the Tortoise. document
Download / print the story as a pdf
Teacher Notes
Download / print the notes for this story as a pdf
See also...
The Boy who cried Wolf. video
Aesop's famous fable about telling the truth is read by the late Richard Briers.
The North Wind and the Sun. video
Aesop's fable about a competition between the wind and sun is read by Lindsay Duncan.
The Fox and the Crow. video
Aesop's fable about a wily fox and a proud crow is read by Jonathan Pryce.
- See more Aesop's Fables from BBC Teach.