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One sunny morning, Hare and Tortoise were in the forest with their animal friends. Hare was very fast. He liked to run and jump. 'Look at me!' said Hare. 'I am the fastest animal in the forest!' The animals listened, but Tortoise stayed quiet. Hare laughed and said, 'Tortoise, you are so slow! You can never win a race.' Tortoise smiled and replied, 'Maybe. But I can try.' The animals were surprised. 'A race?' asked Fox. 'Yes!' said Tortoise. 'Let's have a race.' Hare laughed loudly. 'A race with you? That will be very easy!' he said. The animals marked a start line and a finish line. Then Fox shouted: 'Ready, set, go!' Hare ran very fast. In a few seconds, he was far ahead of Tortoise. Tortoise walked slowly. Step by step. Step by step. After some time, Hare looked back. 'Tortoise is very far away,' he said. 'I have plenty of time.' Hare saw a big tree. 'I will rest for a few minutes,' he thought. He sat under the tree and soon fell asleep. Meanwhile, Tortoise continued walking. Step by step. Step by step. He did not stop. He did not look back. He just kept going. After a long time, Tortoise passed the sleeping Hare. The other animals watched quietly. 'Tortoise is doing great!' whispered Squirrel. Slowly, Tortoise got closer and closer to the finish line. Then Hare woke up. 'Oh no!' he shouted. He looked ahead and saw Tortoise near the finish line. Hare started running as fast as he could. He ran and ran. But it was too late. Tortoise crossed the finish line first. 'The winner is Tortoise!' shouted Fox. All the animals cheered. 'Well done, Tortoise!' they said. Hare felt embarrassed. 'I am sorry,' said Hare. 'I was too proud. I thought winning would be easy.' Tortoise smiled and said, 'Slow and steady wins the race.'
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