Aesop Fables » Tortoise http://www.aesop-fable.com Wed, 10 Aug 2011 16:47:02 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.4 The Tortoise and the Eagle http://www.aesop-fable.com/tortoise/the-tortoise-and-the-eagle http://www.aesop-fable.com/tortoise/the-tortoise-and-the-eagle#comments Tue, 24 Apr 2007 05:45:16 +0000 Aesop http://www.aesop-fable.com/tortoise/the-tortoise-and-the-eagle A Tortoise, lazily basking in the sun, complained to the sea-birds of her hard fate, that no one would teach her to fly.

An Eagle, hovering near, heard her lamentation and asked what reward she would give him if he would take her aloft and float her in the air.

“I will give you,” the Tortoise said, “all the riches of the Red Sea.”

“I will teach you to fly then,” said the Eagle; and taking her up in his talons he carried the Tortoise almost to the clouds.

Suddenly the Eagle let the Tortoise go, and she fell on a lofty mountain, dashing her shell to pieces.

The Tortoise exclaimed just before she died: “I have deserved my present fate; why did I think I was meant for wings and clouds, when I have such difficulty moving about on the earth?’

Moral: Think about the consequences before you wish for something.

]]> http://www.aesop-fable.com/tortoise/the-tortoise-and-the-eagle/feed 146 The Tortoise and the Hare http://www.aesop-fable.com/tortoise/the-tortoise-and-the-hare http://www.aesop-fable.com/tortoise/the-tortoise-and-the-hare#comments Mon, 16 Apr 2007 07:39:43 +0000 Aesop http://www.aesop-fable.com/tortoise/the-tortoise-and-the-hare A hare one day ridiculed the short feet and slow pace of the Tortoise, who replied, laughing: “Even if you were as swift as the wind, I will beat you in a race.”

The Hare, believing the Tortoise to be an easy match, agreed to the race. They agreed that the Fox should choose the course and fix the goal.

On the day of the race the two started together. The Hare raced off, leaving the Tortoise to choke on the dust left behind. The Tortoise never stopped for a moment, but went on with a slow but steady pace straight to the end of the course.

When the Hare was out of sight of the Tortoise, he lay down by the wayside and fell fast asleep. At last he woke up, and hopped as fast as he could to the finishing line. When he got there, he saw the Tortoise had reached the goal, and was comfortably dozing after her fatigue.

Moral: Slow but steady wins the race.

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