The Tortoise and the Hare: an Aesop fable for kids, with its moral and questions

The story

On a sunny hillside lived a hare who loved to run. He always told everybody how fast he was.

One morning he met a tortoise plodding along the path with a leaf on his back. “Good morning, Slowpoke,” laughed the hare. “At this rate you will reach the pond by next winter!”

The tortoise did not get cross. “Perhaps,” he said, “but I would still like to race you, from this tree to the big rock by the pond.”

The hare laughed, but he agreed. The old owl was the judge. “Ready, steady, go!” she hooted.

The hare shot away, and soon the tortoise was a tiny dot far behind. The tortoise just kept going, one slow step and then another.

Halfway along the path the hare stopped. “I have all the time in the world,” he yawned. “I will have a little nap under this shady tree, and still win.” He curled up and was soon fast asleep.

The tortoise crept past the sleeping hare. His legs ached, but he did not stop.

When the hare woke up, the sun was low. He sprang up and raced to the pond as fast as he could. But there, beside the big rock, sat the tortoise, and the owl was calling out, “The tortoise wins!”

The hare hung his long ears. After that day he never boasted again.

What is the moral?

The old saying is “slow and steady wins the race.” The tortoise was not the fastest, but he never gave up. The hare was quick, yet his boasting made him careless. His teasing was unkind too, so you can ask how the tortoise felt.

Meet the characters

The hare is fast, funny and proud, a little too sure that speed is all that matters. The tortoise is calm and patient, and tries even though he knows he is slow. The owl is the fair judge at the finish line.

Six questions to ask

1. Why did the hare laugh at the tortoise at the start?
2. Why did the hare decide to take a nap?
3. What did the tortoise do while the hare slept?
4. How do you think the hare felt when he saw the tortoise at the rock?
5. Can you remember a time when going slowly and carefully helped you?
6. What kind words could the hare have said to the tortoise?

Compare with an Indian tale

India also has a famous tortoise story, but it is a different tale from a different tradition. In the Talkative Tortoise, from the Panchatantra, a tortoise is carried by two geese and falls because he cannot stop talking. Aesop's tortoise wins a race by being steady, while the Panchatantra tortoise learns to hold his tongue. Both have a tortoise, but they are different stories with different lessons.

Where does the story come from?

This is one of Aesop's fables. Aesop is the name tradition gives to a storyteller of ancient Greece. The race is number 226 in the Perry Index, a standard catalogue of the fables. The tale is very old, and the words here are our own.

More to explore on Rangooo

Not sure what to read next? The story picker can suggest one. Try the moral quiz, browse more moral stories for kids, or visit Indian folk tales for kids. You might also like the Thirsty Crow or the Lion and the Mouse.

Questions

What is the moral of the Tortoise and the Hare?

Slow and steady wins the race. Bragging and taking it easy can lose a race that steady effort would win.

Is the Tortoise and the Hare a Panchatantra story?

No. It is one of Aesop's fables, which come from the ancient Greek tradition. The Panchatantra is a separate collection from India, with its own stories.

Who wrote the Tortoise and the Hare?

The fable is traditionally credited to Aesop, a storyteller of ancient Greece. Nobody knows exactly who first told it, and many writers have retold it since.

Is the Tortoise and the Hare story in the public domain?

The old fable itself belongs to everyone. Our words are our own retelling, written for children of five to nine.

Why did the hare lose the race?

He was so sure of winning that he stopped to sleep. The tortoise never stopped, so he crossed the line first.