The Hare and the Tortoise
故事全文
One day, a rabbit met a turtle at the foot of a mountain. He laughed at the turtle and said, “Dear turtle, you move so slowly! By the time you are halfway up the mountain, I would have made it to the top of the mountain and back!” The turtle replied indignantly, “I may be slow. But you might not beat me in a race!” The rabbit scoffed and said, “That's impossible! I accept your challenge! See you at the foot of this mountain at noon tomorrow. Let's see who will win this race!”
The next day, all the animals gathered at the foot of the mountain at noon to watch the turtle and the rabbit race. The turtle and the rabbit stood at the starting line. Mr. Giraffe was the referee, and when he said, “Start!” The rabbit dashed forward immediately. Soon, he was too far away to be seen. The turtle moved forward slowly, one step at a time.
The rabbit soon reached the top of the mountain. He looked down and saw no sign of the turtle. So, the rabbit thought to himself, “What a silly turtle to think that he could outrun me! How ridiculous! I ran so far without taking a break, and now I feel a little tired. Let me take a nap here. I can still beat the turtle after I wake up.” The rabbit laid under a tree and fell asleep.
When the turtle finally got to the top of the mountain, he saw the sleeping rabbit, but he did not stop, and continued to move forward. He finally made it back to the foot of the mountain and won the race. Just then, the rabbit woke up and saw that the sun was setting. He quickly ran down the mountain. When he reached the finish line, the rabbit saw that the turtle had already won the race.
The rabbit felt ashamed of himself and told the turtle, “Dear turtle, I was too conceited and lost the race. I promise not to make fun of you anymore.”
