Tortoise and the Hare... What they didn't tell you is they all die (of course).

May 29, 2019 4:14 PM

LessonsFromDad

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Many were told this story as kids, the tortoise and the hare decided to race to see who was faster, the tortoise won the race because he was slow and steady and the rabbit lost because even though he was fast, he was over confident and wasted time and the Tortoise ended up beating him in the end.

YAY FOR TORTOISE!

However, this is not the 1915 version by Lord Dunsay.

***
TLDR of the below story;
Tortoise wins, but when there is a forest fire the forest burns down because they sent the tortoise to warn the other animals.
***

Full story below:
_______________

THE TRUE HISTORY OF THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE

For a long time there was doubt with acrimony among the beasts as
to whether the Hare or the Tortoise could run the swifter. Some said
the Hare was the swifter of the two because he had such long ears,
and others said the Tortoise was the swifter because anyone whose
shell was so hard as that should be able to run hard too. And lo, the
forces of estrangement and disorder perpetually postponed a decisive
contest.

But when there was nearly war among the beasts, at last an
arrangement was come to and it was decided that the Hare and the
Tortoise should run a race of five hundred yards so that all should
see who was right.

"Ridiculous nonsense!" said the Hare, and it was all his backers could
do to get him to run.

"The contest is most welcome to me," said the Tortoise, "I shall not
shirk it."

O, how his backers cheered.

Feeling ran high on the day of the race; the goose rushed at the fox
and nearly pecked him. Both sides spoke loudly of the approaching
victory up to the very moment of the race.

"I am absolutely confident of success," said the Tortoise. But
the Hare said nothing, he looked bored and cross. Some of his
supporters deserted him then and went to the other side, who were
loudly cheering the Tortoise's inspiriting words. But many remained
with the Hare. "We shall not be disappointed in him," they said. "A
beast with such long ears is bound to win."

"Run hard," said the supporters of the Tortoise.

And "run hard" became a kind of catch-phrase which everybody
repeated to one another. "Hard shell and hard living. That's what
the country wants. Run hard," they said. And these words were
never uttered but multitudes cheered from their hearts.

Then they were off, and suddenly there was a hush.

The Hare dashed off for about a hundred yards, then he looked
round to see where his rival was.

"It is rather absurd," he said, "to race with a Tortoise." And he sat
down and scratched himself. "Run hard! Run hard!" shouted some.

"Let him rest," shouted others. And "let him rest" became a
catch-phrase too.

And after a while his rival drew near to him.

"There comes that damned Tortoise," said the Hare, and he got up
and ran as hard as could be so that he should not let the Tortoise
beat him.

"Those ears will win," said his friends. "Those ears will win; and
establish upon an incontestable footing the truth of what we have
said." And some of them turned to the backers of the Tortoise and
said: "What about your beast now?"

"Run hard," they replied. "Run hard."

The Hare ran on for nearly three hundred yards, nearly in fact as far
as the winning-post, when it suddenly struck him what a fool he looked
running races with a Tortoise who was nowhere in sight, and he sat
down again and scratched.

"Run hard. Run hard," said the crowd, and "Let him rest."

"Whatever is the use of it?" said the Hare, and this time he stopped
for good. Some say he slept.

There was desperate excitement for an hour or two, and then the
Tortoise won.

"Run hard. Run hard," shouted his backers. "Hard shell and hard
living: that's what has done it." And then they asked the Tortoise what
his achievement signified, and he went and asked the Turtle. And the
Turtle said, "It is a glorious victory for the forces of swiftness." And
then the Tortoise repeated it to his friends. And all the beasts said
nothing else for years. And even to this day, "a glorious victory for
the forces of swiftness" is a catch-phrase in the house of the snail.

And the reason that this version of the race is not widely known is
that very few of those that witnessed it survived the great forest-fire
that happened shortly after. It came up over the weald by night with
a great wind. The Hare and the Tortoise and a very few of the beasts
saw it far off from a high bare hill that was at the edge of the trees, and
they hurriedly called a meeting to decide what messenger they should
send to warn the beasts in the forest.

They sent the Tortoise.
______________

"Lord Dunsany, ''51 Tales''"
https://www.fulltextarchive.com/page/Fifty-One-Tales/#p270

Talent with idleness is just as useless as no talent with dishonest self evaluation and pride.
-
Be honest with yourself and others on your strengths and weaknesses, play up your strengths, let others take the spotlight with your weaknesses.
-
This has been your Lesson from Dad,
much love.

In the Bugs Bunny version, the tortoise wins because he and his cousins CHEAT.

6 years ago | Likes 7 Dislikes 0

As @HughJackmansass says, that's aesop fanfiction. the actual fable is from ancient greece.

6 years ago | Likes 15 Dislikes 0

+1 believe it or not, I needed to be reminded of this today. Thanks!

6 years ago | Likes 178 Dislikes 5

v

6 years ago | Likes 6 Dislikes 0

Sounds like it's a metaphor for political parties and their rabid, cool-aid-drinking, supporters.

6 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

This is post Aesop, who wrote the original fable. Also, pronounce it E-Sop ;)

6 years ago | Likes 5 Dislikes 0

Run Forrest animals, run!

6 years ago | Likes 6 Dislikes 0

Sup im talent with idleness

6 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Hi talent with idleness, I'm dad

6 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

“Lock her up!” And this became a catch-phrase too.

6 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 1

slow and steady makes more sense to me considering the race was the hare's strength and the tortoise beat him.

6 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Wasnt the tortoise awarded the position of fire Marshall or something and everyone died because forest fire?

6 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

6 years ago | Likes 11 Dislikes 4

wItH eNoUgH tRaInInG...

6 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 1

6 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

It’s also a great story about the stupidity of political factions. People cheer the wrong things for all the wrong reasons.

6 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

It’s a lesson about gambling. The hare bet against himself.

6 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

This was why the nightmare fuel that was Watership Down was a mandatory watch

6 years ago | Likes 40 Dislikes 1

I love the book as well, there is a real sense of eldritch horror to some scenes that couldn't be captured in animation

6 years ago | Likes 12 Dislikes 0

i haven't seen it, but i read the book back in middle school. don't remember much except that there was a lot of dying

6 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Omg so much death!

6 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

And don't let dumb ppl run the forest?

6 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

"The contest is most welcome to me," said the Tortoise, "I shall not shirk it." (1915 shit talking)

6 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

TL;DR but yes in the end all the animals die in a fire cause the tortoise was slow as fuck

6 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

I thought it was don’t take a nap in the middle of a fucking race

6 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

sounds pretty political

6 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

I thought it was about the consequences of procrastination.

6 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Where the tortoise represents the deadline.

6 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

I was always taught it was a story about small sample sizes and anomalous results.

6 years ago | Likes 164 Dislikes 3

Was your favorite game as a child R?

6 years ago | Likes 38 Dislikes 1

No?

6 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Hahahaha.

6 years ago | Likes 5 Dislikes 0

Even the guy that wrote R hates R

6 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

Gump.

6 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

6 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

What’s with big ears=fast? Was there a politician at the time known for his ears?

6 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

It's exactly because it's pointless. Also, no colleges in the forest last I heard.

6 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

People assign some kind of virtuousness to the traits that their guy has but does not share with the other guy.

6 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

Why so many R's in Forest?

6 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

I like to roll them

6 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 3

Rrrrolll them*

6 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 3

6 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Bring back teaching kids the real fables that don't sugarcoat or shy away from death. Give em something to chew on, philosophy for kids.

6 years ago | Likes 114 Dislikes 13

[deleted]

[deleted]

6 years ago (deleted May 30, 2019 3:11 AM) | Likes 0 Dislikes 0

inorite?

6 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

"Real fables"? Fables are things that evolve with each retelling. To declare one version definitive would be to kill all future growth.

6 years ago | Likes 5 Dislikes 0

So the thing to decide is whether the fables have evolved or devolved. Probably some of both

6 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 1

I know right? In our attempt to shield kids from a more harsh reality, we’ve removed important lessons from these fables

6 years ago | Likes 34 Dislikes 9

No one watered down/sugarcoated the fable from 600BC; a guy from 1915 just punched it up a little bit and made it edgy.

6 years ago | Likes 35 Dislikes 1

Someone just pointed out Little Mermaids feet actually felt like walking on knives, prince picked another woman, mermaid kills her self

6 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Well yeah, that's why it's a gay allegory

6 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

It wasn't' written in Women were not men back then.

6 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Exactly. Not everyone is a winner and some of us will have to work hard to live comfortably. Life is unfair.

6 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Life is unfair, the rabbit lost and it's nobodys fault but his own.

6 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Not really. It’s everybody’s fault. Nobody had the common sense to point to the fact that even if the trtl won the hare was faster

6 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

DEATH TO DISNEY! Get the pitchforks and torches!

6 years ago | Likes 6 Dislikes 1

Fun fact: the Grimm versions are already cleansed versions of the story, but they are the first properly recorded versions

6 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

Dunsany was post-Aesop...

6 years ago | Likes 224 Dislikes 4

This. Dunsany is one version with its own viewpoint, but it's not the original story. Dunsany basically wrote Aesop fanfiction.

6 years ago | Likes 157 Dislikes 2

What was aesops lesson?

6 years ago | Likes 6 Dislikes 1

Very, very, very post-Aesop. Aesop was born 621 BC. Dunsany was born July 24, 1878.

6 years ago | Likes 58 Dislikes 1

Post is post, doesn’t matter the distance between as long as we have the words of both. Besides, they both dead now. Lol

6 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 1

This. I see posts like this all the time and don't understand why we consider an 1800's version of tortoise and hare the CORRECT one. 1/2

6 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 1

It may be interesting but Dunsany's is basically fanfic. To say it's the true meaning is pretty misleading. 2/2

6 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 1

People love the made up "not wat u thogt" shit. Like that "blood is thicker than water" post that's total horseshit.

6 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Of note, also based on ramblings of mentally ill victorians, like this one.

6 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

U mean the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb?

6 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0