Animal tales
“You’re a slowpoke!” said the Hare to the Tortoise. “If we were to have
a race, I’d beat you by miles!”
“Let’shave a race and see,” suggested the Tortoise.
Off they went. The Hare was soon far ahead. When he looked back, he
couldn’t even see the Tortoise. “He’ll never catch up to me,” thought
the Hare. “I think I’ll rest awhile.” He lay down and fell fast asleep.
But the Tortoise kept plodding along. Before long he passed the
sleeping Hare.
When the Hare awoke, he hurried to the finish line. And there, to his
surprise, was the Tortoise, waiting for him. The Tortoise had won the
race!
This story was first told in Greece, more than 2,500 years ago. It is
one of Aesop’s Fables. These Fables are stories in which animals
talk and act like people. They do things that can teach people lessons.
The lesson of the story of the Tortoise and the Hare is that it doesn’t
matter how fast you are—what is important is that you stick to the
job.
Animal stories that teach lessons are told everywhere in the world. Most
of them are thousands of years old.
In Africa, the Ashanti people of Ghana have stories about Anansi the
Spider. He is always playing tricks on the other animals. His tricks
usually get him into trouble.
Coyote is the hero of many American Indian animal tales. He is a
trickster, too. And in Indonesia, people tell stories of Cousin
Mouse-Deer, a little animal who uses tricks to protect himself.
In African folk tales, Anansi the Spider plays tricks on the other
animals.
Aesop was a Greek slave who told fables with animal characters. These
are some of the animals, as painted by the English artist, Arthur
Rackham.
