In a sunny, green meadow lived a Hare named Harry and a Tortoise named Terry. Harry the Hare was fast, fast, fast! He loved to tell everyone how fast he was. 'I am the fastest animal in the world!' he would boast. 'No one can beat me!' Terry the Tortoise was slow and steady. He just smiled. 'You are fast, Harry,' Terry said in his slow, kind voice, 'but being steady is good, too.' Harry laughed. 'Steady is boring! I will race you to the big, blue lake to prove I am the best!' 'Okay,' Terry said. 'I will race you.'
All the animals gathered to watch the big race. 'Ready... Set... GO!' shouted the owl. WHOOSH! Harry the Hare was gone. He ran so fast, he looked like a white blur. In just one minute, he was so far ahead, he could not even see Terry. Terry the Tortoise just smiled. He took one step. Plod. Then another. Plod. He was very slow, but he was very steady. He just kept walking, one foot after the other. Plod, plod, plod.
Harry the Hare got almost to the finish line. He looked back. He could not see Terry. 'He is so slow!' Harry laughed. 'This race is too easy.' Harry saw a patch of soft, warm grass under a shady tree. 'I am so fast, I can take a little nap,' he thought. 'I will still win.' So Harry lay down in the soft grass and fell fast asleep. Zzzzz. While he was sleeping, Terry kept walking. Plod, plod, plod. He was slow, but he did not stop. He walked right past the sleeping hare.
A long time later, Harry woke up. 'Oh my! What a good nap!' He looked back. No tortoise. 'Time to win!' he said. But then he looked at the finish line. He saw Terry, the slow, steady tortoise, just one step away! 'Oh no!' Harry shouted. He ran as fast as he could. ZIP! ZOOM! But it was too late. Terry the Tortoise took one last, slow step and crossed the finish line. Terry had won! Harry learned a big lesson that day: 'Slow and steady wins the race.'