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Le Lièvre et la Tortue

The Hare and the Tortoise

1Rien ne sert de courirRunning is no useFree2m

The tortoise bets the hare that she will reach the goal before him. The hare laughs and calls her mad; she bets all the same, and the stakes are set by the goal. The hare needs only four leaps, so he lets her go and grazes, sleeps and listens to the wind, thinking it beneath him to start early. The tortoise sets off and hurries slowly, without stopping. When the hare sees her almost at the end, he shoots off like an arrow, but too late: the tortoise arrives first. «Was I not right? What good is your speed? And what if you carried a house?» Running is no use; you must set off in time.

Retold from Fables de La Fontaine (Bernardin-Béchet, Paris 1874), Livre sixième, X: Le Lièvre et la Tortue by Jean de La Fontaine (public domain).

Stories retold from public-domain tales. Text, audio and pictures © Glowing Fables.

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