Once a hare went to a pool to quench his thirst. There he chanced to see a slow -moving tortoise and mocked at it. The tortoise felt pinched and challenged the hare to a race.
The hare accepted the challenge with a smile and a day was fixed for it. On the fixed day, the race began early in the morning. As expected, the hare left the tortoise far behind.
Soon the hare felt bored. So, he stopped and began eating blades of green grass. Having had his fill, he felt sleepy. Seeing a shady bush nearby, he lay down under it. As the tortoise was quite away behind, he had no worry from his side.
As for the tortoise, he plugged along at his slow place and overtook the sleeping hare. Passing by him silently, he got to the winning point.
When the hare awoke, it was fairly late. He feared that the tortoise might have passed by him. So, he ran at break –neck speed but only to find his rival already there as a winner.
